The Hardest Type of Training
There is one type of training that is the most difficult. Even though it is the most challenging, it can help you stay injury free, recover quickly from injury, help you set personal records, and even allow you to have a healthy lifetime of running. I call this type of training Ego Training.
Ego Training is not for the faint of heart. It involves holding yourself back, slowing down, walking, and even being passed by runners who typically finish behind you.
Ego Training is best used:
- when you feel the first tinge of pain in a joint, muscle, ligament, or bone. Slow down or walk home. Take one or two days off from running.
- during the first half of a race. Allow yourself to slow down and not be sucked in to the excitement of the race. During the second half of the race, you can pick up your pace and feel a lot better as you cross the finish line.
- when recovering from an injury. If you were doing 10-mile runs and speed workouts right before you got injured, it is easy to want to jump right back in and get back to where you were. If you hold yourself back and start out for as little as 10 minutes of running, then add 5 more minutes for a few days, all while listening to your body, you can successfully heal and get stronger more quickly than if you jump right back in to your previous level of training and re-injure yourself.
For those who take on the challenge of Ego Training, you have a better chance of fewer injuries, faster race times, and a humbled heart.
Coach Carol
