Many articles have come across my desk in recent weeks related to how runners and running athletes can boost their running confidence. The articles have some great information that could be put into immediate use.
This includes factors such as: 1) Follow a routine. Although this refers mainly to a race day some aspects also apply to training days. 2) Believe in yourself. Tell yourself that you’re capable of achieving your goals. 3) Go the distance. Do this by aiming to complete runs longer than the race distance.
If you look carefully at these recommendations they refer mainly to one’s mental attitude. They do not, and I repeat, do not, refer to the actual act of running. Thus they are secondary factors.
There is no questioning the fact that the mental side of skill (running) execution or race performance is extremely important. But without the technical and physical aspects being well developed, the mental has little to no impact! Why this fact is typically ignored is hard to understand.
The only possible explanation that I can see is that the running or skill execution is taken for granted; it is assumed that it is already well mastered. But this could not be further from the truth. Most runners and running athletes can still show tremendous improvement in their ability to execute the main actions involved in the running.
But yet, very little attention is given to how well the performer executes the skill, i.e., how good his running technique is and if he has sufficiently well-developed physical qualities specific to his or her technique. These are the two key elements that determine the success of any athlete.
But they are ignored in favor of other factors that play a role only when the physical and technical qualities of the athlete should already be well developed. This is why working on the mental aspects do not typically lead to greater success in the running.
For example, having a better attitude or believing more strongly in yourself does not make you a stronger runner for the distance. It does not make you faster. It does not improve your technique. These are the things that boost your running confidence and make you a better runner! Once they are well developed and perfected then the mental training can make a world of difference in your performance.
The bottom line is that we are ignoring the key elements that can make you a faster and more effective runner: better technique and development of the physical qualities such as strength of the muscles as they are used in running. When training is devoted to these factors you will not have to psych yourself up to run the race; you will know that you can run the race at your best. You will have the running confidence needed.
This is what training should be all about. You train yourself to perform as needed. This in turn will develop your attitude and confidence to levels that you can only dream about in your mental training. Without the physical and technical aspects being worked on and improved your mental training will only help get rid of some of the negative thoughts that you may have.
The mental aspects are important but you probably would not have any negative thoughts if you had the confidence developed from the training on the technical and physical aspects of running. This should be the prime focus of all runners.
See Build a Better Athlete and Explosive Running for more information.