Finding flow from the start line to the finish line.
KEY POINTS
- Research shows that practicing mindfulness allows athletes to optimize performance, prevent injury, and find flow!
- At each water station, bring your attention into the present moment.
- Let your body’s wisdom tell you whether it is time to pick up your pace or back off.
- Offer yourself a cue to improve your foot strike, your stride, your overall alignment.
Take a few slow, deep breaths, and ask yourself “How am I feeling about tomorrow’s race?” Perhaps you are feeling anxious, confident, excited, uncertain….
Breathe and simply observe the feelings with an attitude of kindness and curiosity. How do the feelings actually feel in your body? Is the anxiousness jittery or buzzy? Is the confidence forceful and swaggering?
Are there thoughts associated with these feelings? Such as “I shouldn’t be feeling anxious.” or “I got this.”
Whatever you are thinking and feeling, and however your thoughts and feelings are manifesting in your body, bring a spacious awareness to your experience. Nothing to change, nothing to fix, just breathing and being with your experience as it is.
That is mindfulness—paying attention here and now, with kindness and curiosity, so that you can choose your behavior. Research indicates that practicing mindfulness allows athletes to optimize performance, prevent injury, and find flow!
Ideally you would have incorporated mindfulness into your race prep from the beginning. If you didn’t, the tips below will help you during the race. If you are feeling anxious on the start line, simply breathe and notice the sensations associated with anxiety, and let the thought “I shouldn’t be feeling anxious” arise and pass away.
Use each water station to come into the moment; forget about the miles behind, the miles ahead, and simply bring your attention into the here and now. Taste the water or drink mix. Feel it slide down your throat. Then focus your attention on the sights, the sounds, the feel of your feet hitting the pavement, the swing of your arms, the sensation of your body moving through space.
If at mile 16 you are thinking ,“I’ve hit the wall,” drop your attention down into your body, and really listen to the wisdom it is offering. If you have a nagging twinge, offer yourself a simple cue to improve your foot strike, your stride, your overall alignment. If that twinge intensifies, it may be wise to slow your pace or walk for a moment. Honoring your body will prevent you from seriously injuring yourself.
Alternatively, when you drop your attention into your body, you may discover that, contrary to what your mind is telling you, your body actually feels both challenged and capable, your rhythm is steady and reliable, and your running mechanics are fluid.
When you have a moment, or a mile, where you are struggling, offer yourself some self-compassion. Say, “This is rough, every marathoner struggles, I am simply going to put one foot in front of the other.”
Please note, the suggestions above can be applied just as effectively to the challenges of daily life, as they can to running a marathon.
