Confidence

  Confidence and distance running do not always go hand in hand.  The sport itself is humbling as racing and injury are often quick to leave you feeling down.  This is partially due to our own expectations and the fact the there is only one winner each time we toe the line.  We may even avoid outward confidence to seem less arrogant or over the top.  The truth is that confidence is a necessary piece to your success and lacking that piece has held many potentially great distance runners back.

  The beautiful thing about having confidence is that it allows you to embrace a risk with less or no fear at all.  I’m a big proponent of running smart and believe that being smart in a race will yield the best results overall.  But to truly have a great race you should run smart for about 85-90% of the distance then let your confidence take you the rest of the way.  Confidence is what tells you to go for the win, to catch the person in front of you, or to simply drop the hammer and see what happens.  Without confidence we settle and that will only take you so far.  

 The perfect example of how confidence affects a runner is seen whenever a top high school athlete comes to college and gets handled in their first few races.  This is a kid who used to win everything so this will certainly phase them and it goes one of two ways.  They maintain confidence in themselves, their training, and their future or they begin to question everything.  The one who maintains confidence takes the losses in strides and almost all the time ends up running very well by the time they finish their collegiate career.  The one who begins to question starts develops of poor view of the sport, the team, and themselves as a runner and almost always begins to find other things more interesting.  The examples are based upon my experiences as an athlete and from the time I spent at Oklahoma State University coaching.  These examples may not take shape in all instances and it’s not to say the one who questions will not be successful.  My view is simply that a healthy confidence helps the athlete achieve success earlier and maintain healthier mental outlook.  An example of this is a good friend who is currently in his third year as a collegiate.  He left high school as one of the best 5K performers in the nation but after injury struggled in his first season as a collegiate.  He was down on himself and dug a hole that took him over a year to get out of before he believed in himself and his training again.  He doubted his ability and his decision to leave home for college all because he was not achieving the success he expected.  It took one good race to start his transition and he built confidence from there.  Now as a third year, he is competing as a top runner in the NCAA and continues to surprise people. 

How's This For Confidence?  That's A Women's Jersey

  Confidence is important, so where should we pull it from?  Short answer, everywhere.  Be proud of what you do and what you’re capable of.  Have faith in your training, your coach, your team, and yourself.  When you train, build on your weaknesses and know you are getting stronger physically and mentally.  Believe in the training plan you follow and the coaching advice you receive.  By focusing on  the way you perceive training and coaching you gain confidence in knowing that you've done everything right.  Regardless of the training itself, if you believe in it and what the coach is saying to you then you have no reason to doubt your fitness.  Remove the doubt and leave little room to freak out.  When racing with your team gain confidence in the fact that you run with these people every single day.  Be positive with yourself.  Even when things do not go as planned or as well as you had hoped try focus on the positive.  Maintaining confidence is just as important as building it.  Know that there are downs with the ups and that is more than alright.  Everyone struggles, but the strong pull themselves up quicker.  Show your confidence but don't be cocky.  Nothing is more frightening to a big talker than someone who can make a point without saying a word.  A positive outlook with yourself and your running will make your experience much more pleasant and may even give you the edge to become as great as you possibly can. 

  Be confident and have faith in yourself.  Be patient and train smart.   These two simple phrases will lead you to a steady state as a runner and if you can truly embody them in your everyday life you just may surprise yourself the next time you race.