Having trouble finding training time? Make better use of downtime or your training run to get the most out of your day.
Many of us find ourselves with time during the day where our cognition is not critical to what we are doing. We might be standing in line, taking a shower or unfortunately sitting in a meeting where the current topic isn’t very relevant to us. Or we might be out for a training run or walk where we are just trying to accumulate mileage. We often fill up this time by checking our phones, listening to music, people watching, thinking about something else or just tuning out, all of which might be enjoyable and perhaps productive.
If you are serious about improving as a runner, it represents a perfect opportunity to train some running skills that you don’t often get around to, like running form, vision, balance, breathing, and mobility to name a few. One of the things we love about NeuroTraining is that many aspects can be done almost anywhere, e.g., home, office, gym, road or trail. NeuroTraining while you are running is particularly appealing, because you are not only learning a skill, but applying it in the context of the activity that you are hoping to improve.
The only requirement is singular focus or mindfulness on the skill you are trying to improve. Your brain is most likely to remember things that are important. If you are not focused or are trying to improve multiple things at once, it’s almost a direct message that says, “What I’m doing right now isn’t that important.” If you want to train several things when you run, do them one at a time and take a little time to just run without a focus in between. We often call this “Do the drill, forget the drill”. “Do the drill” is a conscious, focused acquisition of skill or knowledge and “Forget the drill” is a non-conscious application and integration of what you’ve just learned.
