Turning your attention inwards can help you run more economically.
Extensive research has been carried out on both psychological and physiological factors associated with distance running. For example, sports psychologists have investigated the relationship of anxiety and confidence to running achievement, while physiologists have examined factors such as VO2max and lactate threshold, relating these to athletic performance. But precious little work has been done that tries to directly link t...
Turning your attention inwards can help you run more economically.
Extensive research has been carried out on both psychological and physiological factors associated with distance running. For example, sports psychologists have investigated the relationship of anxiety and confidence to running achievement, while physiologists have examined factors such as VO2max and lactate threshold, relating these to athletic performance. But precious little work has been done that tries to directly link the psychological to the physiological.
Thus we have clues that state of mind and mental attitude can have an impact on athletic performance. But how do the mind and body link up? Which are the factors that interrelate?
An American team of researchers recently designed a study to start addressing such questions. They decided to focus on 'running economy' as a physiological measure. Running economy measures how much energy is used for a specified submaximal speed of running (this is standardised to take body mass into account). Various researchers have found that economical runners generally outperform less economic runners who are similar for other physiological measures, because they consume less oxygen for a similar work rate. In other words, at a given speed of running, they do not need to work so hard.
Experts don't currently know the factors which determine running economy. A team of scientists from Wayne State University, Detroit, and the University of North Carolina believed that psychological factors would be likely to have an impact on running economy. They decided to measure two mental variables - 'self-attention' and anxiety.
Eighteen competitive male distance runners took part in the study. All were in regular training at the time of the investigation, and each runner had completed a 10-km race in under 40 minutes during the previous year. Running economy was assessed for each runner on two separate occasions, measured as mls of oxygen consumed per kg body weight per minute of running at a standard speed.
Self-attention was assessed by asking runners to respond to a number of statements, placing themselves somewhere between 'not like me at all' and 'a lot like me'. Examples of statements were 'I think about myself a lot' and 'I'm constantly trying to figure myself out'. The study found that scores for self-attention were significantly correlated to running economy - ie, the participants who habitually directed attention inward were the most economical runners.
The researchers speculated that this effect might be explained by the fact that athletes who bring their awareness regularly to how their body feels will be better able to recognise muscular tension, and address this either by using relaxation techniques or altering their running style. Another possibility is that runners with a high degree of inward focus would be better able to use mental tools such as positive self-talk, and assessing and modifying race strategy.
Anxiety was measured using two different standard questionnaires. The first, called the Trait Anxiety Inventory, gives a general measure of susceptibility to feelings of anxiety. Statements such as 'I feel secure' and 'Unimportant thoughts run through my mind and bother me' are presented; respondents must place themselves somewhere on a scale between 'almost never' and 'almost always'. The second questionnaire used, the 'Sport Competition Anxiety Test', is designed to give a more specific estimate of the amount of anxiety an athlete experiences in competition. Examples of statements are 'Before I compete I am calm', and 'Before I compete I usually get uptight'.
Neither of these measures of anxiety were found to relate to running economy. Runners could score high on anxiety and still be found to be running economically in the tests. The researchers felt that perhaps the anxiety tests were too general, and had anxiety been assessed at the point of the running economy test, there might have been a stronger link.
Given the small sample size in the study, these issues would merit further investigation. What the study does point to is the potential benefit of athletes regularly directing their attention inwards while running. Techniques such as body awareness scanning and exercises to enhance awareness of breathing could therefore be useful additions to training programmes. Exercises from systems such as yoga, Alexander technique and Feldenkrais technique can all be used to enhance internal body awareness.
('The relationships of anxiety and self-attention to running economy in competitive male distance runners', Martin et al, Journal of Sports Science, 1995, Vol13, pp371-376)
Janet Pidcock