Boost Your Running with Gamma, Beta Waves

It's no secret that athletic performance and mental attitude, or mindset, are as tightly coupled as a boa constrictor on its prey. The trick is to puzzle out how to use that relationship to our advantage as runners. I think a company called Brain Sync has one solution.

Train the Brain, Train the Body

Do you remember your first marathon? You know the feeling in the last few miles. You're no longer running on body energy; you're running on sheer will power and the enthusiasm of those around you. When all else is gone, it's mental, folks.

Think it's just new age bunk? Consider up and coming Kara Goucher. She ran in the 5K and 10K in the Olympics. She recently led the woman's field for most of the race in the Boston Marathon and finished third. But when she went to the New York Marathon, she took her sports psychologist with her to keep her focused. Hey, if it works for her...

I Can Get This From a MP3?

Indeed. I have used Brain Sync's products in the past and have been pleased with the results. So when I found their Running Meditation, I decided to try it.

When you think meditation, you think zoned-out, right? Granted, you don't want to do this while running. But this recording won't do that, despite the name. Instead, it's just some very cool music that has Beta and Gamma waves embedded in it, plus some spoken affirmations.

The site says these waves work by enabling cognition, alertness, precognition, concentration, clarity, and perception. I don't have the background to understand all that, but I can tell you this; I stayed focused, involuntarily fell into pace with the peppy music, and actually enjoyed the dreadmill.

I downloaded their Running Meditation MP3 and put it to the test. Not just any test, but the boring treadmill test. It was a complete success. I really do think that this will take my training to the next level.

Join a Running Club for Motivation

I re-joined my local running club this week. I had fallen off a few years ago when work and family life got a bit more intense. Mainly, it was the extra time commuting to a new job. It was being the Engineering Supervisor at the Marriott in Houston's medical district.

I resigned after just two years. My boss happened to be a psycho nut case that threw massive temper tantrums. Who needs it?

Anyway, my club is the Bay Area Running Club and I was rather active at the time. We do a lot of race management so I did a lot of volunteering. But there's many more running club benefits that you score than just giving back to the community.

Motivation and socializing are two of the biggest ones. It gets hotter than Hades here in the Texas during the summer (come on climate change!), and just knowing that there will be a group run is enough to silence the sedentary part of the brain. It sure beats going to the gym and running by yourself doing a treadmill workout!


Beginning runners can also benefit from the pool of experience that exists in any club. Most importantly, how to train for a 10K or a marathon and avoiding an injury like plantar fasciitis.

The interesting thing about running clubs in the Houston area is that there are so many of them that back in '93, an umbrella organization called HARRA (Houston Area Road Runners Association) was formed to coordinate things.

Unfortunately, runners in more rural areas may not have such a selection. Why not start your own club?

To Treadmill or not to Treadmill

I know, boooring! But sometimes it's the best alternative. I use a treadmill at 24 Hr Fitness quite often because of my schedule. I also use the time to multi-task by catching up on the news on the Fox News channel.

But just running like a drone just ain't for me. Sometimes I do interval training and sometimes I indulge in what I like to call the Mix it Up and Down Treadmill Workout. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Lately I've been missing some runs because I've been adding more insulation to my attic as well as installing radiant barrier foil. The weather here in South Texas is already hitting 90 degrees at mid-day. Ouch.

When the weather starts getting so summer hot, I really need motivation to get out there and run. To that purpose, I re-joined the Bay Area Running Club. I was a member for many years and just fell away. I'm getting back to it now.

I need motivation. It's early, but I'm already trying to decide which marathon to run this year. Decisions, decisions.