What was the world record for 5K in 1900? Yes, in 1900… in case you missed it, the world record is 12:35, by Ugandan athlete Joshua Cheptegei… back to the question… the year 1900, what was the record? 16:30 by Charles Bennet. How this adds up to pulls for runners’, stay tuned a good show coming up…. But first here is the intro.
Yes, that’s right the show where you learn more about scientifically proven methods that will help you get your mind wrapped around mental improvements.
How to build perseverance, how to get more resilient, hey even how to set your running ambition.
Doesn’t matter if you are an experienced runner or a beginner. What’s important is that you have experienced IT.
IT… no not as in the 1986 horror novel by Stephen King… with IT I mean that moment in time where you understood perhaps in a disappointing moment that your body was willing and able, BUT your mind was not.
You trained, you put in the effort, you even felt your progress as your times got better and your distances got longer.
But then suddenly, that one moment in time… it is in your head, something happened. That made you either slow down, stop, or worse just give up.
Or perhaps up until now you never asked yourself what you are really capable of. You don’t think of your running as something that progresses, you just run, but don’t consider improving:
That’s what this show, actually the whole concept is about….
Improvements to help you become a better, stronger and smarter runner…. Just a quick podcast usually I try to keep it under 20 minutes, that will give you a brief summary of steps, processes to get more out of your running, especially for the runner going closer to 40 or 50, hey that is an age where your best running is still out there, waiting for you.
In case you are a new listener, guess what… there are no 5 minute ads for some apparent miracle cure soft drink, or socks that apparently will benefit you greatly. I mention the socks because somehow the algorithm of Instagram seems to think I only have socks with holes in them… for the record I don’t. But they keep on recommending me socks in the most seriously professional made ad. With goosebump moment cinematography…
Honestly socks, that’s the cure? The right socks are THE solution that get 1.ooo of clicks and likes? Whow. Really? No of course not, and if you are someone who finds himself dreaming of running sometimes, and of looking at a trail thinking “whow” I wonder where that leads to… yes… definitely stay tuned, you might just find more food for thought in the next few minutes rather than thinking about your socks.
Who am I? Thanks for asking, well let’s start off with I am a passionate, endurance coach and motivational trainer, whose live revolves around running, work, based on the Christian faith, paying bills, raising kids and making time to teach runners’ mind techniques usually in real life works shops… but seeing that COVID 19 doesn’t want us to meet personally anymore there is no offer I can send you to. LOL.
Well there are our online courses, full of step by step guidance on how to actually mentally progress grow, and feel the improvements. Yes, first get a feel for them, then see them in improved times, that’s the actual sequence of events.
You can visit the site hypnorun.com and get an idea what we offer, but this is just for serious runners’ who are prepared to invest.
Don’t go there looking for free stuff… ok, hang on there is some free material, but the other programs are an investment
Similar to your running gear…. With a difference… the running gear will not make you faster, these courses will. They obviously have better marketing budgets than I do. Seriously, you know this, there are no shortcuts to obtaining an improved running time.
Ok before we get carried away. Back to the subject. The 5K record in 1900 was 16 minutes, and 30 seconds. That is pretty impressive. And now just a few weeks ago …in 2020… the amazingly talented athlete Joshua sets a stunning 12:35 time. World Record.
Incredible….
By the way what is your best 5K time? If you regularly take part in Park runs’ you will know this off by hard. Right now I feel shy I don’t want to remember my best 5K… LOL… Ok, maybe your time wont feel so slow if you look at it from the side: how many Kilometers you can run in 12 and a half minutes… no… doesn’t really make me feel any better LOL…. Hey I though this podcast was supposed to be inspiring.. ok we are getting there.
Now to Joshua….Monaco… 5K World record….Just for a second imagine… that speed…. That concentration…I have included the link to the actual Monaco event in the show notes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b01dG9v9LCY
It is worth a look.
In case you don’t know it, he is a runner from Uganda…. And actually, was not specializing in 5.000 meters. Nope, his first record was a silver medal in the 10K, or 10.000 meters. Then in 2018 he set a world record in 15K and became the cross-country world champion too. So, what I am getting at is, that his running history shows that he was doing pretty well at 10K and more distances.
So, what is my point? Well its two points actually. First one is… the world record for 5K has been improved upon by 4 minutes, exactly…. In 120 years. But it took 65 years to get that 1 minute or 60 second improvement. Don’t be too hard on yourself…. Focus on the process. Because you know this, discipline gets you to the destination, not desire…..
As for Joshua, obviously he had some inclination and feel for the fact that he can get an exceptional good time on the 5K, rather than going for longer distances. Then, he had to analyze and together with his trainer, work on a plan on how to break that world record. What areas of his running he needed to change, and this process took time?
Needed to develop, evolve…. Trial and error, yes even for the pro’s make an error sometimes.
But no, contrary to popular belief I will not ask you to train like a pro. Let’s leave that attention-grabbing headline up to the magazines. It is not really good advice, because I don’t know about you, but I guess you are not a pro runner.
You have some priorities which plainly speaking require your attention, and you don’t have a dedicated a team around you just to make sure your nutrition body, health everything is a-ok…. LOL.
Which brings me to you my dear listener. What is your own personal, well not WORLD, but record? What is it that you should be going for?
What is a distance that maybe you haven’t looked at for a long time?
Maybe it is a simple Cooper test, a 5K Park run, or it is a distance that scares you.
A marathon or an Ultra marathon.
Where is it if you think back you had a great race, but you haven’t revisited it because… well you somehow doubt you will make a big improvement. Which is a thought you should change immediately, because there are no points for negative thinking or limiting thoughts.
For some runners’ this seems like a difficult exercise because, they are immediately limiting themselves with sentences like, “yes back that was then” … or “well I am older now am I not..”.
Sure, yes you are older, however that was not the question. The question was simply to find a moment in time where you had a good run event. Perhaps you made it into the top 10 of your age group. Or you simple improved on the previous years’ time.
Let’s say you participate in your local 10K every year. How about, either looking at a shorter distance with a significant improvement, or you go for a half marathon, which will require you to really develop a strong pace.
Once you have this goal, you apply the usual goal settings. I won’t go into it in detail, you can get a free copy of my book, I have also included the link in the website where I explain the goal setting process in detail.
Then once you have set that goal, you need to be absolutely confident that you will adhere to the new training plan… adhere to it without fail, without skipping a run here, or avoiding a session there, means discipline.
If this part of the podcast makes you shiver and quiver, perhaps down to your liver… hang in there. Don’t give up. You haven’t even started, and you want to throw in the towel already. What you need is a process.
And no, I am not going to give you a simple metaphor like in some running magazines “just break it into small chunks” … no, I will give you a tool that ensures you will stick to your plan.
But…… bad news… you might not like it a lot…. If you can do a pull up… you will like it better than if you cannot do a single one. Actually, you might stop listening if you cannot do a pull up… but let me explain to you what this is all about.
Remember when you were a kid, you would climb up trees? Perhaps even fell down one or two. Still today I clearly remember the tree in front of our house. You could climb up and;….. it felt like you could see for miles. And the climbing part was actually easy. Pulling myself up, and getting a solid step, and in no time, I would be a few feet off the ground.
Hey this must have been possible for most of you listeners out there, correct? Now if you didn’t stay active or if you are a Zombie runner, I am sure that today you struggle to do a pull up. OR struggle to do 10? Well, that is about to change, because, listen up learning to do a pull up, following a solid strategy will teach you about adhering to a process and that will be vital for getting your personal best.
Building up your lats, strength in your wrists to do pull ups, takes time, effort. And progress is slow.
Same when you want to improve your run time. You don’t need strong wrists obviously, but you need to develop and build those muscles which takes time and effort. You need to improve the quality of the time invested in training. Need to focus on developing those areas where you are weak, where you know you struggle. You need to ignite that ambition, that spirit and belief that yup definitely worth going for your own personal gold …. Plus ever so often, the progress is slow.
Let us, look at how foundations are built, without getting injured… yes… most runners wanting to get better at a distance just think all it takes is to run the same distance simply faster. But no, that’s actually a trail which will lead you straight to injury.
Remember the episode Zombie runner?
If you haven’t listened to it… please do so…. Too many runners’ that have bad posture. Usually runners’ that have a wealth of race behind them. Don’t underestimate them, even though they have bad posture, they can run. But… the bent forward, hunchbacked of Notre dame type of running… in the long run it can cause injury simply because on one side is strained more than the other, plus the body language, doesn’t exactly lead your mind to access your full powers, does it. I mean seriously walking hunch back, eyes down, facing the next step, that’s not where inspiration is found.
Therefore to get into the habit of having a strong mindset, body posture, and guess what helps… yup you guessed it… pull ups do a miracle here.
Plus as I mentioned before, the process is worth it too.
Shoulder pain, aching back, or muscle imbalance. say goodbye to that as a runner, by learning the pull or to do more pull ups than you currently can.
It is a three-step process, one that will ensure you need to stay disciplined, because unlike running where you can skip a workout or two or three, and still run, albeit slower. But skip a workout during pull ups, and its most certain you start at zero again. Huge setbacks expected.
The pull up is divided into three parts. Which is what I recommend for your best 5K too… please feel free to replace 5 with whatever distance it is you are interested in setting your personal best.
The first step is to build a foundation. Then to engage the back muscles, the lats. And then… do it in reverse…. Practice lowering yourself. Most people give up because they try to do pull ups but neglect the steps just mentioned.
Same with runners, neglecting to prepare the basics. Well maybe you bought the socks, wrote your goal on your vision board… but that’s it. After realizing that running the same distance, and there hardly is a time improvement, they give up.
Stick to a process that will help you progress, and the basics include setting aside more time for training. Making sure you work on your known weak areas. Hey if you cannot lower yourself on the pull up bar, you need to develop that grip and strength.
Same if you cannot yet improve on your 1KM pace. Perhaps there is some infringement you need to address, go to the gym, start a new regime of stretching, start stretching.
Then develop a faster pace over one lap out of 5.
And once you are able to repeat that performance, at home reflect on what you just did. Wrap your mind around THAT pace. Yes, it was only one lap out of 4 where you had that pace, BUT focus on that alp alone.
Then next time, aim to repeat it, and if on that day you feel great, make it two fast laps out of 4. Focus and reflect on what you achieved… and continue this for the coming weeks.
Aiming for faster lap, accomplishing it… and then expanding that lap time over a longer distance. By mentally rehearsing what you have accomplished… giving your brain much needed proof that YES I CAN DO IT. I am improving, granted not over your whole distance, but over one segment. Once you learnt and proved and reflected on THAT….
And that is your Joshua Cheptegei – moment. Your best run will happen.
It really is as simple as that. ……, thanks for joining me on this show, please do recommend and share it with someone who you know could use this content. My name is Heiko, remember… take it easy.