When workouts and rest are balanced, stress can be managed, reducing a build-up and overload that otherwise would trigger negative peptides, lowering motivation. When you find a way to insert joy into a run, even stressful workouts can leave you feeling positive. Too many hard workouts or challenges that exceed current ability result in lingering fatigue and increased stress. This stimulates production of negative neuropeptides which send their low motivation messages. If corrections are not made, the reflex brain will often reduce blood flow to weak links, the gut, muscles, and the frontal lobe, causing pain, the loss of energy, reduced muscle function, and foggy mental focus.
Here are some proven ways to regain control over your attitude and motivation:
Set realistic goals each season. Use the magic mile to set up a leap of faith goal and to monitor improvement. Use the magic mile time trial as a reality check. See chapter 16.
The body responds better to gradual improvement, allowing the many internal systems to improve the infrastructure without being exhausted or breaking down. A 3 % performance improvement is realistic during a training season, while a 5 % improvement is possible but very challenging. So a modest improvement of 3 % every 6 months is more likely to lead to steady and progressive changes over several years. See chapter 16.
The long runs are the most important training component in any training program. They will bestow the endurance necessary for your goal. You cannot go too slowly on the long ones. I recommend running at least 2 minutes per mile slower than your magic mile is predicting in the marathon itself—but it is better to go at a pace that is 3 to 4 minutes per mile slower. For maximum benefit, build the series of long-distance runs beyond the distance of the race, as noted in the schedules in 5K/10K Running, Half-Marathon: You Can Do It, Marathon: You Can Do It, Galloway Training Programs, and Running: A Year Round Plan. By going longer than marathon distance you may never hit the wall again.
Be sure to read the chapter on the Galloway Run Walk Run Method. Go with the ratio of running to walking, as noted. It is always OK to take the walk breaks more frequently.
Time goal runners: On non-long-run weekends, run a series of speed workouts as noted in Running: A Year Round Plan, Half-Marathon: You Can Do It, Marathon: You Can Do It, and Galloway Training Programs. These train you to deal with the physical and psychological challenges during the last six miles of your race—where your time goal is either made or compromised. These push back your performance wall—both mentally and physically.
Insert sufficient rest between the stress workouts to allow all the body parts to rebuild. Rest is crucial if you want to benefit from the hard workouts instead of increasing the fatigue level or breaking down with injury. On low mileage days, even if you have a form drill or hill workout scheduled, if you feel that you need to jog easily on that day and shorten the mileage, do so.
Back off when your gut instinct tells you that you may be getting injured. The prime reason that runners don’t achieve their goal is injury interruption with the loss of capacity. When your intuition tells you may have an injury and there are signs of this, stop the workout and take an extra day or two off. Consult with a doctor about medical issues.
The cadence drills can reduce mechanical stress by helping you run smoother and more efficiently. These are scheduled into short runs during the week (usually Tuesday and Thursday). See chapter 19.
The acceleration-gliders train the muscles to shift gears when needed so that you’re ready for any challenge. They also help you glide to save muscle resources while maintaining speed. See page 149.
Hills build just the right amount of strength to deal with hills on your race course. They also help you run more efficiently. See the chapter, Hill Training for Strength and Race Preparation, chapter 20.