Runmotions

Runmotions. Runmotions. Runmotions. Runmotions. Runmotions. Runmotions. Runmotions.

My version of running emotions.

And it is what you get when you do a run based off of any emotion. Happiness puts a spring into your step during a run. Anger can bring a form of power to a run. Envy can bring major distractions. Love can make your legs feel like the will be in step with the beating of your heart for the longest run you can imagine. 

To me, any emotion I can feel is potential energy for a run. Thus, it becomes a Runmotion. Figuring out a way to harness these emotions is tricky, but it can also bring you to a new level. After putting so much energy into your training, stretching, logging, and preparation it is important to make sure that your emotions are working for you too. One way I have found is to practice using an emotion while I run. I think about it. Focus on it. Realize why it matters that I can feel that one emotion right then. I tend to let the Runmotion follow its course in the beginning. I pay attention to what I am feeling and how my body responds to that emotion during the run. But then I try to alter the course the emotion wants to take. It tends to be extremely easy to run while I am angry, but it has taken me a while to learn how to run angry for more than 5 minutes. Anger is explosive, powerful, and a potentially renewable resource for a runner. No, I do not do my runs thinking about how I want to punch a wall or the girl next to me. But I do know how to take the emotion of anger, when I feel it, and turn it into a type of energy for a run. Stupid? Maybe, but I have gotten through long summer runs, tough repeat work outs, and many important races using emotions. 

The key is control. But not the kind of control where you keep things in check. You practice letting the emotions run their course and seeing where each one can have an advantage for you. Joy is an emotion I like to use before a race. It keeps things light and focused. It also reminds me of why I am at a certain race, why I am thankful to be there. I go through a bit of anger right before the gun goes off, mainly to help rev-up the system. Find out which emotions help you the best through tough spots. Disappointment, fear, frustration, desire, and hope are great examples of what I have used. You just have to be willing to mentally engage yourself. Find out what are motivating emotions and which ones tend to throw you off. Finding the switches and the power plugs can be the difference between surviving a race and totally bonking. Or doing something special on a day that would have just been good.

Exhibit A-Which runmotions are being shown here?

 

 

No emotion will make up for lack of hard work. While it is a great way to start motivating yourself, it is not a replacement for your mile repeats, core routine, long runs, or ice baths. It is just one more way to take care of your training and know yourself that little bit more. 

If you have no clue what I am talking about, try smiling in the middle of your next long run or hard work out. I want a big cheesy grin. Hell, throw in a laugh and tell me your next 5 steps don't feel a tad bit easier. Be in that moment with that emotion and go. Feed off what you already have inside.

*Not a single word here is scientific! But maybe I will have proof one day! :)

“The emotions aren't always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action”

-William James

     “There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours. To the cognition of the brain must be added the experience of the soul.” 

-Arnold Bennett