There is time for easy running and there is time to put the pedal to the metal (…for a medal). With that push can come pain, panic, and overwhelm.
Sometimes pain and panic are signs that you need to slow down and/or seek medical help, but during a healthy race it’s just your body screaming out for less discomfort and more Netflix.
When it’s the latter you need to distract or quiet yourself. These 5 calming tactics will unwrap your mind from the ever looming “I can’t handle this” and propel you to the finish line.
5 Calming Tactics for Tough Runs
1. Ground yourself
My thoughts can get so far away from me that I’m no longer present in the race, but somewhere else. When that happens, I ground myself with the 5 to 1 counting technique.
I look around and visually explore 5 things I can see. It might be pine trees, sandy pea gravel, or the t-shirt running in front of me.
I observe 4 things I can touch. What do my feet in my shoes feel like? What does the ground feel like underneath that? The wind? My clothes?
I discover 3 things I hear, 2 things I smell, and 1 thing I taste.
And with those 5, I’m back at the race.
2. Distract yourself
Instead of running to the finish line, run to the next tree, the next turn. Instead of thinking of all that’s left to cover, break it up into different legs, matching them to familiar distances in your routine runs.
Don’t focus on what is hurting (like that blister on your foot) and instead focus on what is not hurting. Get away from your feet, legs, and lungs. Think about your arms (focus on their swing), hands, ears, or nose.
3. Change yourself
Our running form falls apart when we start hurting.
Take a moment to shake out your arms and shoulders which might be pulling in, exhale loudly and forcefully, straighten your back and lean forward, try a smile.
Look like a strong runner and your mind will be convinced. Read more in Managing Race Day Stress.
4. Encourage yourself
Before a hard run, pick a mantra or two. Your mantra should remind you of your strength and your plan.
When I ran my first marathon, the course actually ran by my house. My mantra was “Mile 22 may be your home, but it’s not your finish” and suddenly the race was broken down into two portions. I could focus on getting to mile 22 and then to the finish line.
“I eat hills for breakfast”
“My pace. My race.”
5. Remind yourself
Remind yourself why you’re out there and why you trained for it.
You knew the run was going to be hard, but you trusted yourself. You trusted you would show up, push through, and get it done.
So be there. Get it done.
More than 200 firefighters are struggling to tackle an out-of-control wildfire on Crete — Greece’s largest island and a tourist hotspot — as authorities order mass evacuations.
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The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon near Ierapetra, a town on the island’s southeast coast, amid unusually high temperatures, 3 to 5 degrees Celsius (5.4 to 9 Fahrenheit) above average, and gale-force winds of around 50 miles an hour.
The conditions are creating “new outbreaks, making firefighting work very difficult,” the Fire Department’s press spokesperson, Chief Vasilios Vathrakoyannis, said in a statement Thursday.
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More than 230 firefighters, along with 46 vehicles and 10 helicopters have been deployed to fight the blaze, according to fire officials.
The flames have spread rapidly, reaching homes as well as hotels and other tourist accommodations.
Authorities asked residents of four settlements to evacuate and move toward Ierapetra. About 1,500 people have been evacuated so far, according to the Greek public broadcaster ERT.
The Ierapetra municipality has converted an indoor training center facility into a makeshift camp, where hundreds of tourists and residents who abandoned their homes spent the night Wednesday.
The police, medical services and the coast guard have all been called to the area.
“We are entering the third and most difficult month of the fire season,” Vathrakoyannis said. July is typically the hottest month in Greece and is often accompanied by strong winds. “These conditions favor the spread of fires and increase their danger,” he said.
Wildfires have ripped through other European countries this week as the continent endures a brutal heat wave.
Tens of thousands were evacuated in Turkey as blazes ripped through the western Izmir and Manisa provinces and southern Hatay province, damaging nearly 200 homes.
Blazes also broke out in France and in Spain, where two people died.
Europe experiences wildfires every year, but they are becoming more intense and frequent due to human-caused climate change, which fuels heat and drought, both helping set the stage for fierce, destructive fires.