One aspect of cross country that is least understood is the mental aspect of running. I have often heard "cross country runners are a different breed." This is where our sport differs from many others. It does take a unique person to put themselves in distress for 3.1 miles time and time again. This is the aspect that scares people away, because you have to be so mentally strong to overcome the physical challenges. It is hard work to mentally conquer the barriers or limits we (and others) place on ourselves. This is also an area where people can get weird. They say and do preposterous things to get themselves "psyched up" for competition. I am not an advocate of the philosophy, "if you BELIEVE it you can achieve it," or you CAN DO ANYTHING you want, JUST BELIEVE, (growl, grunt, whoop); and the hype goes on an on. I do believe you have to be mentally strong, focused, realistic and positive to be at your best. So, if we want to be great runners, we cannot avoid a discussion about mental principles.

As a runner, you are developing mental pictures of yourself, every time you run. They are either positive or negative. When you complete a hard workout or a long run, you have created a positive experience because you have over come a barrier. This brings confidence and sets a foundation for other positive experiences. Success does breed success. Success helps eliminate barriers. That is why it is important to be positive in your speech and your out look. Always try to find a positive experience to build on. Being negative and complaining only tears down your mental strength. Here are some mental principles to help you understand.

1. If you picture the positive, it is impossible, at the same time, to picture the negative. When we think about running, when we think about up coming meets or practices, we have images in our mind. We place ourselves in those images. Those images effect how we relate to those events. Positive images will help us relate in a positive way to the event; negative images brings a negative experience. Why is it that some people always have good races on certain courses and bad races on others? It may have something to do with how we picture ourselves before the event.

2. If you can control the picture, you can control the performance. It's not what you say, but how you picture yourself that is critical.
We all know people who will come up to you and say, "I'm going to win this race, " to try to psych themselves up (and psych you out). What a person says doesn't amount to a hill of beans. What is important is how a person pictures themselves before the race. What are the images that are in their mind as they come to the line.

3. The subconscious mind is the source of your mental power. The subconscious mind moves you to do whatever the conscious mind is picturing.
How do you get into you subconscious mind? I don't know. But, if the subconscious mind is where your decision making power comes from, and if the subconscious moves you to do what you are picturing, then it is essential to have a positive images. If we cannot picture ourselves performing at a certain level, it is likely it won't happen. On the other hand, there is more to a performance than just picturing it. Picturing something or wanting something bad enough is no guarantee it will happen.

4. Self-image always equals performance.
Our self-image places us within our perceived limits. Whether we like it or not, we have preconceived ideas of how far or fast we can run. You could call this your comfort zone. Take the example of a bowler who, let's say averages 160 - 185. Now let's say this bowler finds himself bowling a possible 300 game. When he realizes what he is doing, he starts to get nervous, his hands start to sweat, he gets tense, and soon he starts missing shots that were simple a few moments earlier. What happened? He got out of his comfort zone (or self-image) and choked.

5. Performance can be changed by changing the self-image.
We need to continually challenge our comfort zone in practice and in racing. Doing the little extra things everyday, pushing yourself through perceived barriers and staying positive helps to change the self-image. Have you ever experienced breaking a barrier (or personal record) then finding out that it is easier and easier to duplicate each time. You self-image has been changed, therefor your performance has changed.

1) Rehearsal - Rehearsal is going over something in your mind. When you picture yourself doing something perfectly you are eliminating barriers to performance. Perfect practice makes perfect. The opposite of perfect practice is worry. Worrying is rehearsal of error or defeat. Worrying is negative rehearsal. Being nervous, on the other hand is not negative like worrying. It just means that you care and want to do well.

2) Realistic Problem Solving - We all have limits. We all have weaknesses. We all have strengths. Just wishing away our real limits doesn't make them go away. We need to face our weaknesses and work around them by using our strengths.

3) Reinforcement - If you reinforce an error by rehearsing the error over and over in your mind, it makes the probability of making the error again likely. Focus on the positive. Find something positive to draw from. Reinforce the positive.

4) Affirmation - Affirmation is a statement in the first person, causing you to make a positive picture of who you want to be. You should reinforce your affirmation by writing it down and saying it to yourself (not anyone else) everyday. You need to control your talk. If you catch yourself saying or thinking negative, stop and repeat (or read) your affirmation.
The mental aspect of running is nothing more than making a series of positive decisions. For some people, it is easy to make positive decisions, for others it is a struggle. The above are tools that can help you make resolutions leading to success. Not all of these tools will work for everyone Personally I find that realistic problem solving and positive reinforcement work best for me. Find the ones that are most natural for you and use them.

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