mental toughness Archives

Running is Therapeutic, Not Therapy

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | May 21, 2024 | Guest Perspective, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Elizabeth Morales

As far back as I can remember, movement has been a prominent part of my life. Whether it was always wanting to play outside as a child or being old enough to join team sports, I’ve always had a desire to move my body. This was fundamental to my upbringing, and little did I know that movement would evolve into one of my best coping mechanisms.

In honor of mental health awareness month, I wanted to share a little bit of my story and how running has helped me cope.

“ I used to be one of those people who felt like running was my therapy, but I have since grown to realize that running is therapeutic, not a substitute for therapy”

I think we can all attest to life being hard sometimes. As a child I dealt with my parents’ divorce and as I grew up, I began to see that life was not always so pleasant. In the seventh grade I decided to try out for the track team. I missed my dad and wanted to find more time with him. I knew if I started running track it would allow me to see him more and provide another way to bond. My dad was a track star in middle school and high school. Running track started out as a way to see my dad often. He picked me up from practice every day and came to every single track meet. He would always get there right as I was warming up for the 100-meter hurdles, an event he also ran as a teenager. He would give me the usual pep talk and meet me at the finish line. Those memories became the kind you cherish for the rest of your life.

In college I played intramural sports as a distraction, and I ran here and there to try to stay in shape. It was in college where I had my first panic attack. At the time I had no idea what it was, I honestly thought I might have been having an asthma attack. I found myself in my first toxic relationship with heavy insecurities and inadequate coping skills.

Fast forward to 2012, the hardest year of my life thus far. I felt like life was trying to keep me down that year. My mother got diagnosed with leukemia, I was going through yet another extremely hard break-up, and my grandfather passed away from cancer. It felt like one thing after the other. I was treading water with the fear of drowning that year. I was not well, and I didn’t know who to turn to.

That was the year I started therapy. Mental health can still be a taboo subject for some people and to be quite honest I felt more scared to walk into that office than to open up and start talking. I remember arriving and sitting in my car contemplating if I should go in or put it in reverse and drive away. I felt like if I needed a therapist then I must be crazy, right? Walking through that door was the catalyst of my growth journey.

Lizzie used running track to form a tighter bond with her dad.

As I started to work on myself in therapy, I started to run more. Being outdoors in nature is a common recommendation, whether it’s running, walking or just sitting outside letting the sun hit your face. For me, I felt liberated doing something for myself. It allowed me to be alone with my thoughts and with every step I felt as if I were moving in the right direction, leaving all the negativity behind. The energy I exerted seemed to keep my anxiety in check. Running gave me hope.

I used to be one of those people who felt like running was my therapy, but I have since grown to realize that running is therapeutic, not a substitute for therapy. Some of my deepest, most profound thoughts come to me when it’s just me and the monotonous sound of my feet hitting the pavement. Running forces you to stay in the present moment, no phones, no scrolling through social media, just you and the road.

Endurance running came into my life when I turned 30, I wanted to celebrate in a different way and ran my first half marathon. Here we are eight years later, and it has become much more than a hobby, it’s quite a passion of mine. Putting my body through a rigorous training block pushes me to believe in myself and that I am capable of all hard things. This belief bleeds into all aspects of my life, not just running.

If I can push myself physically then I can certainly push myself mentally. Running serves as the ultimate metaphor for life: keep moving forward. It does not matter how fast or how slow you go, so long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other.

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Elizabeth Morales, known in the South Florida running community as Lizzie, has completed 20 half marathons and seven marathons. You can follow her on Instagram through @lizzyontherun.

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Thoughts from a Coaching Role Model

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Apr 23, 2024 | Article, Coaching, Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

The way to grow as a coach is through experience, reading, listening to people who know more than you and asking them questions. Obtaining a coaching certification is important, but it is not what makes you a competent one. It is just a steppingstone into a fascinating world of learning and experimentation. Maintaining curiosity alive is what has made the coach I am today.

One of the most influential people in my coaching journey has been Steve Magness. He is knowledgeable, curious, experienced, science based, and a clear communicator. He is also generous, sharing his expertise and experience through many channels.

Steve Magness is one of the most influential people in my coaching journey

Magness is a globally recognized authority on performance and the author of influential books such as \”Do Hard Things\” and \”Peak Performance\”. His work delves into the intricacies of resilience and the science behind true toughness. Beyond his literary contributions, Magness has coached an array of clients ranging from professional sports teams to executives and artists, emphasizing a holistic approach to performance enhancement. His expertise has garnered attention from publications such as The New York Times and The Guardian, reflecting his profound impact on the realms of elite sport and mental performance.

In a social media world filled with shallowness and stupidity, Magness\’ feeds stand out as an oasis of enlightenment. I\’ve curated three of his posts that encapsulate concise running wisdom. May they prove as beneficial to you as they have been to me.

On Greatness

What does it take to be great?

A relentless drive, a fiery competitiveness?

Yes, but the same thing that makes you great can be your downfall.

The greats balance it out:

– Caring deeply but being able to let go

– Harnessing aggression but in a controlled way

– A desire to win, to achieve, but with enough intrinsic motivation to keep them from chasing.

Learn how to become great without falling apart.

Steve Magness

My take: You have a running goal? Great! Focus and work for it. Work hard. Give it the best chance to become reality. It is OK to want it badly. Nothing wrong with it. But you can’t let it rule your life. Especially if running is not your profession. Don’t let a running goal ruin your life. Your family will still love you if you are not a Sub-2 half marathoner. If your friends don’t value you unless you are a Sub-3 marathoner, it is time to change friends. Maintain perspective.

On the training process:

The 5 Rules of Training:

1. The boring stuff is your foundation. Do that consistently for a long time.

2. Let it Come, Don’t Force it.

3. Take the Next Logical Step. Don\’t skip many steps.

4. You lose what you don’t train. You are either building or maintaining something.

5. Train the individual, not the system.

Steve Magness

My take: Endurance training is a journey that demands trust and patience. While the allure of speed may be captivating, it\’s the establishment of a solid foundation what truly matters. Constructing this base entails a methodical yet sometimes monotonous progression through various training stages. Each one is an essential step for improvement. Your coach is not hiding the shortcuts.

On Competitiveness

We’re used to thinking of competitiveness as either you got it, or you don’t.

But research paints a different picture. It depends where that competitiveness comes from.

Hyper-competitiveness is when we try to maintain our sense of self through winning. We seek validation through the external.

Self-developmental competitiveness occurs when the internal matters more than the external. It’s about growing through competing, discovering who we are, what we’re capable of & how to improve.

Steve Magness

My take: We all know that runner whose self-worth is linked to his/her PRs. Most likely you know someone who rather end up assisted by paramedics than not make it to the podium. Unless you are in the Olympics, it is not worth missing your kids’ wedding. It is not about not making sacrifices for what you want, it is about not neglecting your life, health, and family in exchange for a PR.

If you have any thoughts, please share them in the comment box below.

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On Runners’ Mental Toughness

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Jul 25, 2023 | Article, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

It wasn’t too long ago when completing a 20-mile-long run, overheated, dehydrated, destroyed, and borderline injured was considered a badge of honor. The “no pain, no gain” mentality taken to the extreme. This outdated machismo has cost many careers and even lives. Thank God that science and collective thought have evolved, leading to an updated concept that is not only more humanitarian but also safer.

I don’t know how it works in other sports, but runners, please adjust to the new way of thinking.

We’ve all heard the stories of football players collapsing with heat strokes under the misguided direction of coaches teaching toughness. We’ve heard of runners ending up in an emergency room rather than at the finish line of a race because they refused to “show weakness.” The story of an athlete ending up overtrained or injured because they refused to take a day off is all too common. Surprisingly, most of this could have been avoided by understanding what mental toughness is not.

\"\" — **Toughness is laudable, unless you will get injured because of it. Always live to run another day (Photo Sukh Winder, Pexels)**

In a recent podcast interview, I heard Dr. Justin Ross state that mental toughness could mean different things to different people, making it difficult to define. Dr. Ross is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in health, wellness, and human performance psychology. He has spent the bulk of his career in mental health and wellness initiatives for those performing in stressful, high-demanding environments, including athletics.

Ross defined what mental toughness is not: “Mental toughness is not running when you are injured. It is not running when you are sick. It is not ignoring your body because your mind wants to reach a certain volume for the week, thinking that missing a workout would hinder your success. That’s not what we understand mental toughness to be.”

I look back at the training of great runners like Emil Zatopek, who is known to have done 50×400 workouts several times per week. Sure, he won five golds and a silver in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and set a bunch of world records, but the peak of his career was compressed into those five years. These days, runners like Eliud Kipchoge have a peak lasting 15 years. For us mere recreational runners, if we want to run until we meet our maker, we should regulate our intensity and make sure we see the big picture while we train.

Listening to your body is a mental exercise where you must overcome the optimism that hip pain will magically go away if you keep running. Or that completing this last mile repeat, despite running on empty, is the difference between a personal record and a mediocre race. If you fail to recognize the warning signs, most likely you will end up overtrained or, even worse, injured.

“Optimism holds a place in the mental toughness conversation,” says Dr. Ross. “What doesn’t hold a place is irrational optimism.”

Coach Steve Magness has a great quote that I often cite to my trained athletes when they refuse to take a day off: “It is better to take three days off now than three weeks off three days from now.”

You can apply mental toughness by being overcautious and playing it smart rather than pushing through when we know it is not advisable. Doing the right thing takes massive amounts of willpower, especially when you really don’t want to. A running friend once walked to the starting line of an important 10K when he realized the tightness in his calf was going to be an issue. So, he turned around, sat it out, watched all his friends finish, and lived to run another day. A few weeks later, he beat me in a half-marathon. Now, this is mental toughness.

\"\" — **Sleeplessness is no badge of honor. It is assuring you won’t be able to recover from your physical activity (Photo: Cottonbro Studio, Pexels)**

Don’t confuse this updated concept with complacency or laziness. Uncomfortable and/or painful moments are inevitable in running. And normal. We must learn to recognize and overcome them. At the same time, we need to be aware of what is expected and what is our brain turning on the engine check light and signaling that there is a problem to be addressed.

Ross defines mental toughness as: “a psychological set of resources and skills that you can apply when you are challenged.” The more challenges and uncomfortable situations you face and overcome, the more mental toughness you’ll build. Just as in mastering a second language or solving the Rubik’s Cube. It takes time and dedication to build up, just like a long run.

“While mental toughness is often equated with perseverance,” says Coach Jason Fitzgerald, “it also requires you to be in tune with your body. Pushing through illness or injury is not mental toughness. But challenging yourself in a workout, or not giving up on a tough long run, walk the fine line of being able to dig deep while finding the internal resources to do difficult things. You may not want to lace up because it’s early, dark, cold, you are tired, or you didn’t sleep well. Yet, you overcome that obstacle and go anyway. That is developing mental toughness.”

I hope you find these insights helpful as you navigate the concept of mental toughness in running. Remember, it’s essential to listen to your body, recognize the signs of overtraining or injury, and find the balance between pushing yourself and knowing when to rest and recover. Mental toughness is about applying psychological resources and skills to face challenges, and it grows stronger through perseverance and self-awareness.

Keep running strong, and may your journey be filled with both physical and mental resilience.

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What I Can’t Control in My Run

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Oct 12, 2021 | List, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

When I worked for the Florida Marlins in the early 1990s, manager Rene Lachemann often used a phrase that has stuck with me, almost 30 years later. Whenever a reporter asked him about an aspect of the game that was beyond his grasp, such as a pitching change from the opponent or the weather, he would indefectibly respond: “I can’t worry about something I can’t control.” For me, this has become a life lesson: If you can’t control it, don’t dwell on it, adjust, and move forward.

This applies perfectly to our running lives.

Crowded racing conditions are beyond our control, so suck it up and move forward (Photo: Pexels)

Just like Lachemann preached, we should only worry about the aspects of our running that we can have under our grasp. Other than that, we adjust to the realities that face us on the asphalt or the trail as soon as possible and then move forward. The obstacles are not going away regardless of how frustrating they may be, regardless of how much you bitch about them, so move on.

When it is time to run, workout or race, being cold, hot, humid, raining, too many people in the gym or the Garmin is not hitting the satellites, are irrelevant. No one expects you to run in the middle of an electric storm or run by a pack of stray dogs just because you carry mace. But you can always hit the treadmill if you have access to one, regardless of how boring it may be. You can run with a bottle of water if it is too hot and/or humid. You can dress up in layers for the chilly weather. You can run by feel if you forgot your watch. You can change your route if something doesn’t feel right. You get the point.

Also beyond our control are racing conditions. A bottleneck in the first curve, having to weave around slower runners, headwinds, inconsiderate people walking five side-by-side when they should have started at the back, people who abruptly stop at a water station, etc. Unless you always run in the front, you must have experienced most of these circumstances.

An uncharged running watch is not a valid excuse for skipping a workout

There are also issues that should have been under our control that just pop up unexpectedly. I’m referring to shoelaces getting undone, dropping off your phone, not carrying enough gels or chafing, just to name few. When these things occur, is there a solution? Yes, there is: Own your mistake. Do what you must do, get over the obstacle and keep moving forward. Don’t let it ruin your race. No amount of kicking and screaming will fix it. So suck it up!

Instead, concentrate on the aspects of your training and racing that are 100 percent under your domain. Those for which you can’t make excuses. Those where, if something happens, it is all on you. I am referring to, among others:

– Following your training plan
– Following your racing strategy
– Sticking to your fueling and hydration plan
– Dressing appropriately for the weather
– Inspecting your running gear to avoid forgetting something or malfunctions
– Making sure your shoes are tied up properly
– Charging your running watch
– Developing a personal mantra that will keep you strong during the inevitable challenging times
– Preparing mentally for the workout or race you are about to undergo
– Choosing a training course or race that suits what you are trying to accomplish
– Hydrating and fueling properly before your run/race to ensure optimal results

Of course, this is not a comprehensive list of items that are under your control, just a handful of them to enlighten you on how much actually is in your hands when you set up for a training session or you stand on a starting line.

So let’s be diligent on what we can control and let’s make sure we can endure what we can’t, and then move forward.