4 Mental Tips to Boost Your Run

1. Think Positive. Your mind believes what you tell it. So why not fill it with positive thoughts about your running? Positive thoughts often lead to positive results. This is especially important on race day. If you stand at the staring line telling yourself that you feel good and are ready to run well, more than likely, you will run well.

More: 3 Ways to Stick to Your Running Resolution

 2. Believe In Yourself. If you train hard and get yourself into good shape your body will be capable of running to its potential. Believe in your condition and what you are capable of and you will see good results. Tell yourself what you are capable of accomplishing, believe in it, and then go out and do it.  

3. Imagine. Imagine what it will look like, feel like and sound like to run comfortably relaxed and in total control. To be flowing through a run or race at your goal pace with little to no effort. Finishing your run with a personal best and feeling refreshed and ready to do it again.

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4. Fantasize On The Run. Go out on your next run and find yourself running the perfect race and finishing in a personal best time. Or running in the Olympics and finding yourself fighting for a top three finish. Fantasizing during a run has several benefits.

First, you are giving your mind positive thoughts of feeling good and running within or even beyond yourself. Second, you are distracting your mind from the rigors of running. You may be feeling tired or strained during the run, but your mind is in full fantasy or running so well that it ignores your negative thoughts. And third, you are giving yourself a moment in time that feels good, maybe so good that you will work even harder to make your fantasy come true. 

The more you think positive, the more you believe in yourself, the more you imagine, and the more you fantasize, the more your mind will accept what you are giving it and make running as you want to run more obtainable. 

More: 6 Tips for Turning Your Resolution Into Reality

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About the Author

Joseph Renguso

Joseph A. Renguso has been running competitively since 1983 and has been coaching since 2005. He has taken his experiences as a runner, coach, and psychotherapist to create Trance State Running, a mental training download for runners which can be found at runningthemind.com.

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