gift of the gab...

Grab a cup of coffee, sit down, relax and let’s talk.  Talk about the language of the run.  Measuring your effort with your words.... when to converse with others, when to give yourself a pep talk or quite frankly when to feel the burn and shut-up.

Long runs...

I prefer to do my long runs with my sole sistas.  We pass the time and the miles with endless hours of conversation. I mean seriously, our 3 hour runs feel like 30 minutes on the couch with a therapist - we come home feeling warm, happy and inspired.  The conversation keeps my cardiovascular system in check because my running feels comfortable and it keeps me working at the right intensity level.

Tempo runs/Interval/speed training...

This is your solo act - the spotlight is on you as your performance is short, quick and intense. You are able to say a few words here and there, but you should not deliver a lengthy diatribe. For that reason, I suggest a tempo run with your boss or run with friends who are short of words and who do have much to say.  Do not do tempo runs on days when you are ready to blow off some mental steam - because you will be left short of breath, stressed out and mentally and physically exhausted.

Self-talk...

Now, talking to oneself is recommended on ANY run.  This is probably the most important of the talks....listening to your thoughts and motivating yourself to stay focused and centered.  Mantras work best.... short power bytes you play over and over in your head. Mantras can be your inner motivation when you need it most. They can vary from run to run, from day to night, butwhen you think of one that you connect with - write it down - and try to pull strength from it when you need to.  One of my favorites is: “I am fearlessly and wonderfully made (Psalms ) or “I am born to run”. Find your inner voice, be quite and listen.

Send us some of your running mantra’s....we would love to hear them :)

Happy (and chatty) trails,

Nikki