Anyone who gets scared of the distance before a long run is reacting completely normally. With mental tricks, you can outsmart your mind to improve your endurance performance.
The starting gun fires, and countless kilometres lie ahead of you. At this thought, your legs can feel as heavy as lead even before the first step. This is a completely normal protective reaction of the brain. According to Dr. Justin Ross, a clinical psychologist from Denver, the human mind can only process about seven to ten pieces of information at the same time. Too much information or the thought of a huge, painful distance leads to mental fatigue. This blocks your performance.
For recreational athletes, this means: if you try to keep the entire route in your head at once, you overwhelm yourself mentally. The solution lies in so-called segmenting. This involves dividing the long distance into small, manageable sections. Dr. Michelle Cleere, also a clinical psychologist, explains that this method helps you focus on positive things instead of doubting your own strength or times. In your head, you simply pretend that the task is much smaller than it actually is.
There are various ways to divide a long distance in your head. Two particularly effective methods use things that are already on the plan:
According to Trail Runner Magazine, this approach helps you not to perceive the strain as a huge mountain. Instead, you celebrate many small successes one after the other.
Your takeaway: Divide your next long running route into small sections from snack to snack to protect your mind from fatigue.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.