The Mental Side of Overreaching

We all know what overtraining means. Even the most intelligent athletes can fall victim to this sexy and alluring concept. You know who you are – perhaps you’ve earned the nickname “Workout Queen”, you’ve frequently run 100 mile weeks just because you want to hit the triple digits, or you’ve hit the pool 4 times a day just because you have some extra free time. 

Well, overreaching might be a tempting concept to you “enthusiastic” athletes. While there are a variety of definitions for overreaching in endurance sports, the one I like is from Matt Fitzgerald, a contributor to the magazine Triathlete. In the March 2009 issue, in his article titled “When Too Much Is Just Enough”, Fitzgerald defines overreaching as “when you are training hard enough so that, after seven to 10 days, your performance begins to decline due to accumulating fatigue. But the art of overreaching lies in cutting back your training as soon as you reach that threshold of performance decline in order to give your body a chance to adapt to all of that hard work.”

As I read this article, I began thinking about the physical and mental art of overreaching. Physically, if you know your body reasonable well (as most athletes do), you can find that delicate balance between reason and insanity and ride it pretty well until its time to cut back your training. Mentally, however, you face a different monster. You’re asking yourself to make peace with an unbelievable amount of physical exhaustion, perhaps entering into a training chaos mentality, and then expecting yourself to adjust immediately, without hesitation, as soon as you think you’ve reached that nasty threshold.

How do you make that transition from chaos to calm?

Keep in mind your ultimate performance goal. Allow that goal to guide your reasoning. When it is time to cut back from an intense training load, be aware that your body will likely respond favorably, but your mind might have tasted the cruel and delicious taste of fatigue and want more. We endurance athletes know this taste and often hunger for it. By keeping in mind your ultimate performance goal, you’re more likely to enjoy your slightly more relaxed training schedule and appreciate the physical and mental benefits of shifting your training. Remember, while we certainly want to enjoy or athletic journey, we still want to perform to our potential in competition. Try to avoid sabotaging that goal by becoming so addicted to the “training hard” component of your training that you fail to enjoy the easier and more relaxed side.

Get SMART

The official Greater Boston Track Club newsletter, the Wingfoot Express, highlights club members' performances, provides nutritional and training advice, and updates club members of upcoming events. The Wingfoot Express features a regular column by HPC's Laura Hayden, called The Other 90%, focused on sport psychology, mental preparation and peak performance. Below is this issue's article.

We all know that old adage ―sport performance is 10% physical, 90% mental, but have we really thought about the implications of such a statement? I don’t know the actual ratio of physical to mental preparation for peak performance. I’m sure the ratio is different depending on your sport, genetics, disposition, and style of competition. What I do know is the power the mind has over performance, regardless of who you are and what you do.

You’ve covered hundreds of miles, clocked repeated intervals, and spent many early mornings in the weight room. Your feet are blistered, quads are stacked, and time is drawing near. Whether you’re training for the next Grand Prix event, the upcoming cross country season, or Indoor Track, chances are you’re experiencing a bundle of feelings: excitement, nervousness, anxiety. Regardless of your event, you all know that feeling when you think about performing – palms begin to sweat and heart rate accelerates like my husband’s did when Kara Goucher flew past at mile 24 of the Boston Marathon.

If we know we’re prepared, why are we so nervous? We spend so much time physically training for an event and so little time mentally training for an event that the realization we might underperform hits us as we anticipate performing to the standard we set for ourselves. This realization is scary – we haven’t prepared for such a thought. Here, you’ll find one very simple way to minimize these thoughts and set yourself up for success.

The concept of goal setting is familiar to us as competitors. But this simple act, when done deliberately, can radically alter both our control over our performances and how we feel about our performances.

One approach to goal setting is setting SMART goals - clearly, we hope we are always setting goals that are smart, but this definition is not what I mean. I mean goals that are specific, measurable, adjustable, realistic, and time sensitive.

Rather than hold yourself to lofty, uninformed standards, set 2 types of SMART goals that realistically represent your current fitness and ability level:

1. Process Goals. Used to identify what part of your performance you’d like to focus on during practice or competition and what steps you must take to focus on your identified goal.

One non-SMART process goal might be, "I’m going to focus on lifting my knees when racing." As a SMART process goal, that statement will look a little different: "I’m going to focus on lifting my knees for the last 100 yards of the 400 at Club Nationals but, if I’m tired, I’ll drop down to 75 yards of high knees. I know this is possible because I tried it in practice." You’ll notice the goal is specific, measurable (last 100 yards), adjustable (allows for modification if tired), realistic (you’ve practiced high knees), and time sensitive (at Club Nationals).

2. Outcome Goals. Used to identify an end goal. We athletes are quick to choose outcome goals.

One non-SMART outcome goal might be "I’m going to break 5 minutes in the mile." While this goal is better than "I’m going to run really fast today", its not good enough to produce tangible results that accurately reflect our ability levels and allow for game-day circumstances to rear their ugly heads. As a SMART outcome goal, the above goal might look like this: "Since I’ve run 5:04, I’m going to try to break 5 minutes in the mile at Club Nationals if all the conditions come together for me but I’m going to reassess during the race and allow myself to speed up or slow down by 2-5 second at the 1k mark if I feel particularly good or bad." You’ll notice the goal is specific, measurable (5 minutes), adjustable (builds in 2-5 seconds of variation), realistic (you’ve run close to this time in the past), and time sensitive (at Club Nationals).

Why set SMART goals? By setting SMART process goals, you’ll find yourself focusing on process throughout your competition, which is often an overlooked part of competing. Runners often try to zone out to pass the time when racing, hoping that the race will unfold without too much drama until the last 50 meters. Focusing on process centers your mind on the task at hand, the present goal, and allows you to make adjustments to your technique during performance. Setting SMART outcome goals allows you to feel you have control over your performance. By setting goals that are specific to you, you place less emphasis on your competitors’ performances and more emphasis on your own abilities. You build into your
performance the possibility of needing to readjust your expectations and, therefore, reduce the disappointment you experience if your race doesn’t unfold according to plan (which is often the case).

This very simple step can help you jump to success, hurl into the winner’s circle, get on the right track, or perhaps, expedite the road to recovery. Allow your mental strength to guide your physical strength as you reach toward peak performance. In the words of Victor Hugo, "People do not lack strength, they lack will."

David Proctor's Most Important Lesson

"Track is an individual sport, and it requires you to know yourself and your body well. I was anorexic during freshman and sophomore years because I thought I'd put on too much weight to be fast. I remember the day I made the connection in my head that what I was doing was actually hurting me. Restrictive eating caused my underperformance and injuries. I learned the small things that help my body: hydration, nutrition, and psychology" (David Proctor, Bostonia Summer '09).

Sport is supposed to enhance our lives, yet the very pursuit of sport can lead to destructive behavior. David Proctor, Boston University alum sub-4 minute miler, reminds us of the serious issues that come to light when we look at our performances within our particular sport. Through honest reflection on our performances, we can identify destructive behaviors and work toward improving our performances, much like David Proctor did when he completed his senior year running a 3:59.14 mile. One of HPC's goals is to help clients through this complicated and reflective process toward performance enhancement.

Student-Athlete Led Drug Tests: Empowering or Demeaning?

A new program has been instituted in Arlington High School (Arlington, MA) called “Let Me Prove It”. The program requires student-athletes to solicit peers to take at home drug tests to prove their drug-free lifestyle. Arlington High School has recruited 5 ambassadors to take the drug tests, share the results with their parents or guardians, sign a certificate stating they are drug free, and encourage their peers to take drug tests. Ambassadors who encourage the most peers to take drug tests are eligible to receive college scholarships, provided by First Check Diagnostics, the company providing these drug tests. Responses to “Let Me Prove It” have spanned from wholehearted support to a willingness to try to outrage. Supporters suggest the program addresses drug use from a positive standpoint, which is in contrast to many previous attempts to address drug use. People against these drug tests view the tests as gimmicks intended to promote First Check Diagnostics rather than promote healthy living. Between the two extreme views lies the “lets try it” approach that suggests the importance of trying different tactics to address drug use and the failure of past tactics to successfully elicit behavior change from students.

If the pilot program is successful, several school districts are targeted for implementing this program over the next year: Malden, Burlington, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown. My initial response is interest over the selection process for school districts. Why are these schools targeted? Does the company have evidence to suggest these schools are the most at-risk for drug use? Are these schools expressing interest in the program?

In the era of youth development programs, the emphasis of such programs is on creating positive teacher-student relationships, developing strengths, and empowering youth. While I support creatively finding programs to address persistent issues, I wonder about the message this program carries to the students. I certainly hope a comprehensive evaluation is conducted during and following the pilot study to ensure that program leaders are acting ethically and responsibly, and, as sport psychologists say, doing no harm.