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How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

nytimes.com

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Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#51

Post by olaf »

adam_albrecht wrote: post #41
mannicken wrote: post #35

I have been using drugs when I was young as well as being a distance runner and, well, runner's high is very similar to artificial intoxication. In fact, nothing I've ever tried has given me the same level of intoxication and euphoria as a run over 70 minutes long. There are studies that show similarities between a runner's high and opioid intoxication but I never tried opioids so I can't tell anything about it from…

"Runner's High" is something I often hear about, but still have trouble fathoming. Whenever I'm running, all I can think about is how boring it is and how I want to stop. (and it's not because I can't do it - I'm in pretty good shape and could probably run 3-5 miles today without having done it in a while). Any tips on learning to enjoy running?

(short: run faster); My experience is: most important: trust your inner voice, don't demand too much of yourself (be gentle and forgiving to yourself); BUT ALSO "no pain, no gain", run every(!) day at least one hour, run faster until you feel slightly(!) uncomfortable, push yourself a bit, and then try to hold your speed longer and longer (3, 5, 10, 15, ... minutes this is essential for experiencing runner's high), look only a few meters ahead, concentrate purely on running [e.g. how your feet touch the ground, breathing], don't think actively about life problems, be here and now (also essential for runner's high). Don't expect too much, there will probably be days where you perform not super good, that's ok. Allow yourself some slower sections or short pauses (the pressure to urinate is welcome) in between, but after these, don't forget to raise your speed again, until you're running (not jogging). Do some stretching after running (for faster regeneration). Do it daily like teeth brushing (no discussion), not more than 1 day pause in 7 days (light rain is no excuse); trust, that "bad mood-" or "having eaten too much-" feelings disappear after 15, 20 minutes of running. This is how I learned and learn daily to enjoy running more and more (runner since at least 10 years).

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#52

Post by lmkg »

adam_albrecht wrote: post #41
mannicken wrote: post #35

I have been using drugs when I was young as well as being a distance runner and, well, runner's high is very similar to artificial intoxication. In fact, nothing I've ever tried has given me the same level of intoxication and euphoria as a run over 70 minutes long. There are studies that show similarities between a runner's high and opioid intoxication but I never tried opioids so I can't tell anything about it from…

"Runner's High" is something I often hear about, but still have trouble fathoming. Whenever I'm running, all I can think about is how boring it is and how I want to stop. (and it's not because I can't do it - I'm in pretty good shape and could probably run 3-5 miles today without having done it in a while). Any tips on learning to enjoy running?

Runner's High is also called The Zone, and it's very similar to many other things that are called The Zone, including that hyper-focused state of consciousness that programmers can achieve, and that semi-hypnotic trance that lets you drive for 6 hours on I-5 from SF to LA without going mad. It doesn't happen every time, depending on mood, stress, environment, sunspots, etc.

For me, it has a lot to do with rhythm. I find a good pace that lets my breathing and my steps achieve some sort of parity. Then I let my actions become automatic. It takes a little while, your muscles have to reach some sort of equilibrium, you have to get a feel for the surface you're on, and my mind usually needs to dump some useless junk first. Eventually the buzz dies down to a drone and you don't think about anything except the motion of your limbs and the air in your lungs.

Find a back road with no distractions and very few other people. Some people like music, some don't (Grateful Dead is popular). I find roads absolutely impossible, they're a erratic pile of breaking concentrations held together with joint-destroying concrete. Find a pace where you don't have to stop. Find a trail long enough where you can forget in the middle how long you've been running and how much longer you have to go. It may take a while. Exhaustion helps.

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#53

Post by waivej »

This summer a 2x Olympian (mountain biker) recommended "Thinking Body, Dancing Mind". It takes a Taoist/meditation approach to athletics and business.

She mentioned that it changed her life (turning her into an Olympic athlete) and that it was very popular at the Olympic training camp.

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#54

Post by dkarl »

dgallagher wrote: post #43

Just want to point out that there's a difference between "pain" and "discomfort". Pain is your body saying "I'm injured. If you don't stop now, expect things to become worse, potentially causing permanent damage." No athlete I'm aware of pushes through pain unless they expect to retire immediately after, or go into surgery. Runners who do this tend to get knocked out of the sport. Good runners recognize pain for what…

You have to learn how to tell the difference. It isn't at all obvious to an inexperienced person, which means that "discomfort" as you put it (we just called it "bad pain" and "good pain") can cause a lot of anxiety for someone who isn't used to it. Even professional athletes sometimes make mistakes and injure themselves in training, so the distinction isn't always clear even to them.

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#55

Post by dgallagher »

dkarl wrote: post #54
dgallagher wrote: post #43

Just want to point out that there's a difference between "pain" and "discomfort". Pain is your body saying "I'm injured. If you don't stop now, expect things to become worse, potentially causing permanent damage." No athlete I'm aware of pushes through pain unless they expect to retire immediately after, or go into surgery. Runners who do this tend to get knocked out of the sport. Good runners recognize pain for what…

You have to learn how to tell the difference. It isn't at all obvious to an inexperienced person, which means that "discomfort" as you put it (we just called it "bad pain" and "good pain") can cause a lot of anxiety for someone who isn't used to it. Even professional athletes sometimes make mistakes and injure themselves in training, so the distinction isn't always clear even to them.

You're very correct. The differentiation likely takes years of training to fully develop. A general rule of thumb to keep injury risk low is to never push yourself more than 10% of what you normally do (lots exercise books say this). If you can hold that level for several weeks without problem, it's likely safe to "notch up" another 5% or 10%. Lots of other variables at play too, of course (rest, stretching, warmup, etc...).

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#56

Post by chadgeidel »

adam_albrecht wrote: post #41
mannicken wrote: post #35

I have been using drugs when I was young as well as being a distance runner and, well, runner's high is very similar to artificial intoxication. In fact, nothing I've ever tried has given me the same level of intoxication and euphoria as a run over 70 minutes long. There are studies that show similarities between a runner's high and opioid intoxication but I never tried opioids so I can't tell anything about it from…

"Runner's High" is something I often hear about, but still have trouble fathoming. Whenever I'm running, all I can think about is how boring it is and how I want to stop. (and it's not because I can't do it - I'm in pretty good shape and could probably run 3-5 miles today without having done it in a while). Any tips on learning to enjoy running?

I "can't run more than a block" but I can ride my bike all afternoon. I've only experienced this a few times on long rides. This was back when I was riding quite a bit more than I do today - it took about 30-40'ish miles to get it. For reference this is on flat ground at about 1800 ft elevation. I'm not sure about running, but I would estimate that 3-5 miles isn't enough - maybe 10?

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#57

Post by chriskelley »

There is a book formerly called _Toughness_Training_for_Athletes_ that talks all about the practical application of mental toughness. Loehr talks about the importance of finding, maintaining, and controlling your "Ideal Performance State", or IPS, and how being able to harness and control your IPS on command is crucial to being a successful athlete.

I've been fortunate to be able to start for two national championship winning rugby teams, and I give a small fraction of credit for my personal athletic success to some of the lessons in the book.

It's now called Toughness Training for Sports: http://www.amazon.com/New-Toughness-Training-Sports-Psycholo...

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#58

Post by cullenking »

blhack wrote: post #37
cullenking wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You look like every other cyclist I've ever watched climbing a hill :) shameless plug while on this topic, you should check out my cycling site, http://ridewithgps.com - really cool if you have a garmin edge 500, 305 etc.

That's funny, the picture that you are using for a GPS receiver is a Magellan Explorist 210, it's the GPS that I've been using for biking for the last few years. But I don't think that it's compatible with your service.

Haha nice pointing that out - our old designer put that together, and I don't think he was fully aware of compatibility issues :) Thanks for pointing it out. However, you can still use the magellen, you just can't directly sync with the site using Garmin Communicator. Uploading a GPX or KML you pull off the unit manually will still work.

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#59

Post by alanh »

mannicken wrote: post #35

I have been using drugs when I was young as well as being a distance runner and, well, runner's high is very similar to artificial intoxication. In fact, nothing I've ever tried has given me the same level of intoxication and euphoria as a run over 70 minutes long. There are studies that show similarities between a runner's high and opioid intoxication but I never tried opioids so I can't tell anything about it from…

I’m sitting here chuckling, imagining people upvoting mannicken because their subconscious wants to believe running is addictive and makes you fat.

Re: How to Push Past the Pain, as the Champions Do

#60

Post by midnightmonster »

Maybe someday I'll be at the point where my fitness goals require regularly pushing through the pain, but right now I want to push through the resistance with mental work. As evidenced by the fact that I do eventually do most everything I'm supposed to be working on, I don't think any of my work is too hard absolutely--it only feels too hard or too long or too boring for how I'm feeling at the moment.

I'm a programmer doing almost all client work. Eventual goal is to build a different kind of business around building my own stuff.

One probable analog is knowing the course. That should mean it's easier to work well on tasks that I can see the end of, but it should also mean that it's easier to do something very much like something I've done before. The first may be helpful, the second is obvious and not helpful.

I have no direct competitors to keep in view or focus on beating. Maybe I can hack my brain to think about the work competitively somehow.

If there's an analog to focusing on the running, I'm not sure how it would work.

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