Be strong, but be yourself

Sunday, July 19, 2015 · Mike Davis

Good morning! Each day during the week I try to come up with a “Focus for the day” that I post on Facebook and Twitter. The intent is to encourage and help people keep a focused on some aspect of working out or running. Some days are I have a thought before I even open up my computer and other days I struggle coming up with one. Friday this “Focus for the day” just came to me as I put my fingers on the key board: “When you run or workout be strong but be yourself.” Kind of a simple thought though maybe even profound in many ways. The first part of the sentence is very much a part of No Finish Line Running’s coaching technical philosophy in that we want our runners to be strong. Being strong means being fit, prepared and confident and let that drive your run or workout. Here on the seacoast of New Hampshire we have our NFLR Coaching & Endurance Resource Center that we not only work with individual runners and groups, but we also offer Pilates and strength & conditioning and all of these resources focuses around helping people get strong. As a running coach my belief has always been that if we can provide resources that improve strength and stability our runners will minimize their risk of injury and enjoy their running on a much higher level. Strength and stability are typically related to some type of strength training but at NFLR strength and stability is everything from strength training through conditioning and running form. We combine all aspects of what we know to be important for runners and create a totally personal training plan and ultimately the outcome is a strong runner. The second part of my “Focus for the day” was “but be yourself” and that half of the focus is just as important as the “be strong” part. So often we see runners or even people just working out fall into the trap of trying to keep up with those around them or pushing much harder than they are ready for prepared. While we want our runners challenging themselves we also want them to stay within themselves at whatever level they are currently at. Avoiding injury is important enough of a reason for staying within yourself alone, but “be yourself” is also about confidence. A few years ago women’s marathon runner Kara Goucher was set to run her first Boston Marathon and the day before the race she was asked what her strategy was for the race. Kara said that her goal was to stay near the lead pack but not take the lead until mile 23. Definitely great strategy and very smart. I was pretty excited to watch the race and I really felt that Kara had a great chance to win. While it is exciting to go to Boston and watch the race live, I prefer watching on TV as I can actually follow the lead groups for the entire race. As I watched from just about the beginning I saw firsthand that Kara didn’t trust her abilities. Around mile 11 she did exactly what she said she didn’t want to do and took over as the lead female runner. She stayed the leader until mile 23 when two Kenyan woman passed her. Kara tried as she might to kick but she did not have the same kick left that the two Kenyan’s had and Goucher settled for a well-earned third place. While most of us can’t relate to that level of skill, we can relate to not trusting ourselves. Whether we are running a race or working out we need to trust if we stay within ourselves and are disciplined the results will be successful. My belief that back in 2009 if Goucher had trusted her training and stayed with the laid out strategy she may have very well won at Boston. We get very consumed with the people around us and often that works against us but we also lack discipline in the process. No doubt the inner competitor or the pressure of keeping up can drive us to excel but it also can have a lot of negative effects and ultimately derail our progress. “When you run or workout be strong and be yourself” This week be strong: get out there - think about form - do some core exercises – be smart This week be yourself: have your plan – be disciplined with your plan – trust your process – forget those around you – enjoy yourself We set up running programs for both groups and individuals that a specific to them and we then track them closely to make sure they are tracking and just as important not trying to overachieve. Most the time we have to reel them in because they are pushing harder than they should for various reasons. While it is easier to reel them in than it is to keep them tracking both are equally important. Have fun with your running this week and don’t focus on where you think you should be versus where you actually are. Stay the course and enjoy the course! Have a great week and see you on the road! God Bless Mike