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.
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