Adding Meditation to Your Long Runs

How Do You Overcome a Difficult Run?

by Kathleen Lisson

Meditation and Running

Brad Stulberg recently wrote about the link between meditation and long distance running in the Competitor.com article 'Is Running Meditation.' Stulberg interviewed San Diego ultrarunner Cameron Rentch and offered tips on how to add meditation to long runs. In the article Rentch states that he uses meditation during practice or a race if he starts to focus on the more painful aspects of the run. He focuses on his breath instead of the negative thoughts.

My favorite tip is to direct attention to your breath during a steady state run, then to different areas of your body and the nature surrounding you as you run.

I agree that 'flow' is different than meditation. When I experience 'flow' there is no choice and meditation is about choosing to focus on a certain thing, like the breath.

The article is here: http://running.competitor.com/2015/07/training/is-running-meditation_132201

Runners: A quick trick to increase your weekly mileage - remembering your rave runs?

Positive Memories Good for Improving Running Performance

by Kathleen Lisson

An amazing run in Washington DC a few years ago... 

A recent article on the Triathlete website by Mackenzie Lobby Havey titled 'Study Finds Recalling Positive Memories Can Impact Performance' discussed the effects of a study published in the journal 'Memory.' According to the study results, college athletes exercised more when they made a habit of remembering good training experiences.

I go through phases where I am super eager to get out there and log some miles, and periods of time when I have to drag myself into my running shoes to stick to my training schedule. I am interested to see if setting aside time to remember great running experiences will help me stick to a hard training schedule.

Read the article here: http://triathlon.competitor.com/2015/06/training/study-finds-recalling-positive-memories-can-impact-performance_117976

Read the abstract for the study, conducted by University of New Hampshire psychologists Mathew J. Biondolillo and David B. Pillemer and titled 'Using memories to motivate future behaviour: An experimental exercise intervention' here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09658211.2014.889709

mPEAK 3 day intensive mindfulness training for athletes in San Diego

mPEAK Mindfulness Training 3 Day Intensive Meditation Class in San Diego

by Kathleen Lisson

mPEAK Intensive Particicpants - San Diego Meditation Class

I recently attended a 3 day intensive training in mPEAK mindfulness training in San Diego.  Before the training, athletes were asked to read three books about mindfulness, Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges, The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being by Daniel J. Siegel and Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence.

I have taken the 8 week mPEAK class, sponsored by the UCSD Center for Mindfulness, earlier in 2015, so I was interested to see how the teachings had been adjusted to fit into a 3 day format. For more information on the program, visit the Mindful Performance Enhancement, Awareness & Knowledge website here: http://mbpti.org/mpeak/