UCSD Center for Mindfulness mPEAK Program - meditation is like being a hockey goalie

Mindfulness for Athletes - Meditation is Like Being a Hockey Goalie

by Kathleen Lisson

I officially completed the first ever mPEAK program. The 8 week mindfulness course, offered at the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and modeled after a sucessful program for the US BMX Olympic team, offered plenty of 'food for thought.'

I came up with a good way to remind me to not think that I am failing at meditation when I think thoughts while meditating.

I imagine that meditation is like being a goalie in hockey. The thoughts are like hockey pucks.

The job of the goalie is to see the hockey pucks and divert them away from the goal net. Goalies only handle the puck as much as they need to - they don't focus on holding on to the puck.

The puck is a part of the game - no goalie stands at the net and expects the opposing team to never make a shot on goal. Pucks coming toward the net is part of the game just as thoughts occuring during my meditation. My 'job' as a meditator is to recognize the puck when it's coming toward the goal, and divert it so I can reconnect with the breath.

As a Buffalo native, I will always love my Buffalo Sabres! Here are Dominik Hasek's best moments as a goalie. I will think of him the next time I have an especially distracting "Thought on Goal."

So, does thinking of meditation as playing a goalie mean that I won't get frustrated when I let a thought get past my hockey stick? Of course not, goalies are human after all! I think that's why I picked hockey as a sport for my metaphor, it's very human and full of emotion, just like me. Meditation is not about losing my drive to win, after all. 

UCSD Center for Mindfulness mPEAK program

Improving Athletic Performance through Mindfulness - 

UCSD's mPEAK Program

by Kathleen Lisson

Shoes AND a meditation cushion - the new tools of running?

I am very fortunate to live in San Diego - I am able to attend the first public session of the UCSD Center for Mindfulness mPEAK program.

Our facilitators are Pete Kirchmer of Mindfulness Based Health, Lucas LeardMann and Lori Haase. My fellow students include an Ironman triathlete, a sports coach, a BMX cyclist, a physical therapist, a baseball player in a local Senior / Masters league, a surfer and several yoga enthusiasts. Some of us have practiced meditation before, and it is quite new for others.

The program is modeled closely to one that helped the USA Olympic BMX cycling team. According to the UCnet article 'Mindfulness training program may help Olympic athletes reach peak performance,' "the first group of athletes to complete a mindfulness training program developed at UC San Diego won first, second and third place at the 2014 USA Cycling Elite BMX National Championships."

The eight week program meets on Tuesday nights for two and a half hours, and participants are encouraged to meditate for an hour every day. During the meetings we experience meditation and different mental and movement exercises designed to let us explore the effects of mindfulness on physical performance. Instead of a classroom environment complete with lecture and handouts, our meetings focus on each participant experiencing mindfulness in new ways and gathering knowlege from those experiences.

I look forward to posting my reactions to the class on my blog. I want to give myself a few weeks to let the training sink in and reveal its benefits. If you would like a taste of what the daily meditation practice is like, here is a link to the audio files for our body scan meditation as well as other guided meditations: Guided Audio Files to Practice Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.

I would like to thank Alex Hutchinson of Sweat Science for writing the Runner's World article 'Mindfulness for Athletes' that piqued my interest in the mPEAK program. Follow Alex on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/sweatscience

I will admit, I signed up for the class wanting to know what those BMX athletes learned to improve their performance. I am now far more interested in the effects of mindfulness training in my own athletic performance!

Should I Start Running?

Tips for Future Runners - How to Find Out if You Will Like Running

The Finish Line is a great place to find out if you are inspired by running

by Kathleen Lisson

So, you want to be a runner.

Maybe you want to start running to improve your fitness, support a charity or spend time with a loved one. 

Before you invest time and money, what is one quick way to know if you are 'a real runner?'

My tip for exploring whether taking up running would be an inspiring choice is to volunteer at a local race. Before committing to lacing up your own running shoes, find the website of your local running club - the San Diego Track Club is here in San Diego - and inquire about volunteer opportunities. 

Many local 5K races benefit charities and serving as a guide along the course or helping athletes at the finish line will give prospective runners a front row seat to the different ways that running makes a difference in people's lives. 

• The first few finishers are competing at their top form and pouring their hearts out to put on a good performance. 

• The middle of the pack runners are striving to achieve personal goals and balancing the love of running with busy lives. 

• Some of the most heartwarming stories are at the back of the pack - runners finishing their first races with friends to cheer them on and non-athletes who have taken on the challenge of training to support a charity or honor a loved one. 

Experiencing the passion of other runners can inspire potential athletes to take on the rewarding challenge of training for their own race. 

How Much Water Should Runners Drink Every Day?

How Much Water Should I Drink Every Day in San Diego?

by Kathleen Lisson

How Much Water Should I Drink on a Long Run?

I have found myself drinking a lot more water since I moved to San Diego. My skin is drier and I am thirstier throughout the day due to the heat and sunshine.

Here is a formula for finding out how much water you should drink. Simply enter your weight and number of minutes of exercise every day. I like that it also accounts for how hot (San Diego) or cold (winter hiking) your environment is.

The formula is here: http://www.csgnetwork.com/humanh2owater.html

Using Music to Overcome Exhaustion - an Anecdote from Mount Kilimanjaro

One Climber's Story from Mount Kilimanjaro

by Kathleen Lisson

‘This is supposed to be the defining event of my life, my giant ‘f*ck you’ to a mid-life crisis, and I’m failing,’ I thought desperately. The past few days on the mountain had slowly taken away my self-identity. Without the pungent pleasure of oxygen I was less secure and outgoing. We were at over 16,000 feet, in the ‘glacial zone,’ and I was almost too exhausted to even take a drink of water and struggle with a food wrapper.

Just a few minutes after we stopped for food and water, it was time to start hiking again into the night, footprints keeping a slow, steady pace through loose soil, the path illuminated only by the dim light of our headlamps. We had started near midnight, and, after hiking for hours, I had cautiously asked how much longer until dawn. The answer was heartbreaking. Four more hours until the sun, and six until the summit.

Mountain climbing just isn’t your skill. You’ll never hike again, and I’m not sure you’ll even make it up this mountain, the voice inside my head promised. How can you keep this pace up? Your water is frozen, your guts are liquid and your stomach stopped digesting hours ago. Screw your goals, just stop now and rest. I focused on breathing slow and steady.  One foot in front of the other. Keep up with Kapange.

A half hour down the trail later, the group took another break. While the 20-somethings chatted and enjoyed energy bars around me, I lied on my back with my eyes closed and tried to slow my breathing. When Kapange told the group in a quiet voice to start hiking again, I knew it was time to pull out the iPod. My last weapon against the night, the exhausted voice inside my head and the steady thumping of my heartbeat in my ears.

Moments later, the music blared into my brain. These were the songs that I loved, that I had sang out loud in my car on my way to work, barrelling down the highway a continent away. I relaxed into the pace and let the lyrics replace my doubting inner voice. The endless night was still there, but I was powerful, I was smiling, I was once again the wise-ass redhead that cracked jokes and believed she could run half marathons and climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

When the dawn broke, I saw the most beautiful sunrise in my life over Kenya. It was still hours to Uhuru Peak, but I knew I would be present at the top.

San Diego Running Routes

San Diego Running Routes - Where does your run begin / end?

by Kathleen Lisson

As a runner and a new resident of San Diego, I have used Gmaps Pedometer to map several running loops for 2 mile, 3.5 mile and longer distances. I stay in my neighborhood for shorter runs and enjoy running in a nearby canyon on long runs. Short or long, all my runs have one thing in common.

Where Does Your Run Begin and End?

When I was younger, my runs began and ended in the same place - my driveway. Whether I was rushed for time or eager to start running, as soon as I got laced into my running shoes, I was off like a bolt.

The problem? Running without proper warm up and cool down can result in soreness and stiffness post-run. Stiffness can take the joy out of future runs and provides one more excuse to reduce the training load or skip a workout all together.

Older and wiser, I now build in a warm up and cool down segment into each run.

But Wait: what isn't better than running straight to your front door and sitting down on your couch in your icy cold air-conditioned living room after a tough outdoor workout?

Here's the bad news: switching straight from vigorous exercise to sitting or lying down may result in post-workout stiffness later on in the day. With busy runners trying to maximize every moment of every workout, a cool down may get squeezed out of their schedule. Repeated episodes of stiffness may reduce motivation and enjoyment of exercise in new and even seasoned athletes, and motivation is so important for those just starting to work out.

Yeah, Yeah, Cool Down - I’ve read that one in every Fitness Article ever written.

True, it is a fundamental and a no-brainer, but how many athletes have you seen finish a blistering set of repetitions or a long run, grab their water bottle and stand around drinking it for a minute before heading to their cars?

What is a quick, easy cool down?

I build a cool down into my runs by using Gmaps Pedometer to start and end my runs a few blocks from my house, not my front yard. I still run the distances on my half marathon training plan, and I stop post-workout stiffness naturally by letting my body cool down after my run.

When Should Runners Get a Sports Massage?

When do I “Feel Like Getting a Massage?”

by Kathleen Lisson

Wherever I am in my training season: basebuilding, sharpening or tapering, I schedule my massages once every month. I have used two techniques for remembering to get a massage - either I go on or close to the first of the month, or I rebook my next month’s massage appointment immediately after my previous massage.

If I am in a particularly hard phase of training, I will keep a look out for signs that I need to book a last-minute massage on my next rest day. My personal warning signs for overtraining include obvious signs and not-so-obvious signs.

The obvious signs:

• Sore leg muscles for a few days in a row.
• Getting minor injuries more often than usual, visits from old injuries I thought were healed.

Not-so-obvious signs:

• Catching every bug and illness that is “going around.”
• Changes in my sleep - sleeping like a log for hours or staying up extra late.
• Feeling bad exhausted (not good exhausted) and less motivated to run every day.
• Feeling agitated and struggling with my relationships.

I have also read that taking one’s pulse right after waking up and recording the results will allow an athlete to catch overtraining before it leads to injury. Recording daily results in one’s training journal and looking at the average heart rate at the end of the week is the best method for examining potential parasympathetic hyperactivity, according to the Evidence of Parasympathetic Hyperactivity in Functionally Overreached Athletes study, found here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23657173

Some athletes just opt to only take a rest day and end up on the couch eating a bowl of ice cream when they encounter these symptoms. Even worse, some just pop a few pain pills and try to run through their symptoms.

I like to go the extra mile and get a massage to completely relax my muscles and focus on drinking water and eating clean so I can come back at 100% on my next week of training.