Embracing the pain: how to survive a hell of a tempo

I’m back on a marathon training schedule, and it feels good.  Today called for my first tempo run in what feels like forever, but actually has only been two months or so.  

The plan was 1 mile warm up, 4 miles at 7:53 pace, 1 mile cool down.  In July and August, this would have been a pleasantly zippy run that wouldn’t have left me entirely breathless.  This time around though, it was tough.

I did, however, manage these splits:

9:03   7:49   7:54   7:43   7:34   9:30

I’ll admit right here and now, this was too ambitious of a pace for me right now.  Considering that I am just coming off of injury, I should have calculated my expectations for this workout differently.  However, I am stubborn and was unwilling to change my plan once I hit the road and actually managed some pretty sweet splits in the end. (Admission: I did have to stop a few times to toss my cookies, so my legs got a few seconds to recharge each time.  Puking is a normalcy for me, though, and isn’t necessarily an indicator of effort.  Also, have you ever thought about how difficult it is to puke discretely in an urban environment?)

I was really struggling on this run, but I got myself through with good results by employing some mental strategies.  I have been doing this more and more as I have been taking my workouts more seriously over the last year, and brain games really help me through the rough patches.  

When it comes down to it, your body is going to perform as well as you allow it in runs like this.  Sometimes all you need to bring out what you have deep inside you is a change in your thought patterns while you’re pounding it out.

So, without further ado: 

How to survive a bitch of a tempo, as prescribed by me:

1.  Focus on your form

When I am doing a speedy run and am really hurting, I try to take the energy that I am using to focus on my discomfort and use it instead to zero in on my form. Today I found that I was telling myself, “knees, knees, knees,” for a solid five minutes, focusing entirely on my knee lift for that period of time.

Are your knees lifting high enough to reflect the pace that you are aiming for?  Are you running tall with your chest forward? Are your arms swinging with the pace of your feet, elbows bent at 90º?  Are landing on and launching off of your forefoot?  Basically, it comes down to: are you running proudly?  

Running proudly and with the proper form, first of all gives your brain something practical and active to focus on, and secondly helps you run faster without really realizing it or putting in extra effort.  

After snapping out of my knee lift focus today, I glanced down at my watch and noticed that my pace had gone from 7:52 to 7:44 like it was nothing.  I even felt like I was running easier than I was before I started my form stint.  Look, guys, “knees, knees, knees,” works!

2. No negative self talk

Growing up playing a lot of sports, I’ve had a lot of different coaches with a variety of coaching styles...  the screaming tyrants to the coaxing buddy buddies.  And now, as my own coach, I’ve found that neither of these methods get me anywhere.  If I talk myself down in a workout, (i.e. “why can’t I keep that pace? I absolutely suck.  If I don’t make this next split I am giving up on myself.”) I will crumble and fail.  If I am too easy on myself, (i.e. “it’s okay if I slow down a bit here, I’m doing what I can.  Slow and steady works in the end,”) I don’t push hard enough and I am disappointed with myself later.  

To achieve great workouts, you have to encourage yourself. 

“I know I can do this.  I am a runner.  This is tough, but it’s what I’m made for.”

You can not grow as a runner or person if you are constantly talking yourself down.  On the other hand, you can’t cushion yourself too much either.  You have to find a medium between the screaming tyrant and the coaxing buddy buddy: push yourself but don’t beat yourself up.  Know that you can achieve more and bring yourself to a higher level, but don’t go screaming at yourself or throwing your lacrosse stick across the field when the going gets tough.  I mean, uh, don’t go throwing your running shoes across the street.

If you ever find yourself thinking negative thoughts, or having a general negative attitude towards yourself or your performance during a run, STOP it.  You're getting nowhere with that crap.

3. Embrace the pain

No beating around the bush here: running hurts.  But there is a beauty in that.  

This is WHY you train.  You work for this pain so that you can become a stronger runner and a better person.  You aren’t just lollygagging around the block to look good in a bikini.  You are testing your limits to compete against yourself, to achieve something you thought you never could.  You are kicking ASS.  If a tempo run hurts, you know that you are working towards something great.  

Make it worth it; make that hour of sheer hurt count.  Work through every step of that workout and build yourself into something great.

This mindset is especially helpful to tap into in the last mile of your tempo, when you feel like all hope for survival has been lost, or, god forbid, that it’s not worth it anymore.  It is worth it.  Keep going.

Anyway, I hope these mental techniques help you.  They sure help me.  Badabing badaboom.

Happy running!