Runners

WARM-UPS MIND+HEALTHWORDS: RICK PEARSON. ILLUSTRATION: DAN WOODGERJULY 2018 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK 017## RISE AND SHINE‘The most likely timeto bail on a run is inthe early evening,’ saysAndy Lane, Professoror Sport Psychologyat the Universityof Wolverhampton(winninglane.com).‘If your bottom hitsthe sofa, the chancesare very low that you’llimmediately get up andgo for a run.’ Instead,Lane suggests planningruns for the morning orrunning some or all ofthe way home.``````SLOW DOWNIf you’re having astressful time at work,don’t attempt to setrecords on your nextrun. ‘The best thingto do is to go slowly,preferably in a niceenvironment, like apark’ says Lane. ‘Put nopressure on yourself.’If you don’t have apark nearby, make a``````playlist. ‘You can thengo to a gym and listento it while you’re on atreadmill,’ says Lane.``````PLAN YOUR ROUTE‘If you want to recordyour runs by time, thinkabout where you canrun without hassle –where you won’t be cutup by cars or chasedby dogs,’ says Lane.‘Strava is useful here, asit can show you wherelocal runs are. Parkrunroutes are also stress-free options.’``````RUN WITH OTHERSLet someone else setthe race pace – be it apacer or a friend yourun with regularly. Thiswill help to conservemental energy, as thedecision-making isout of your hands.There’s also evidenceto suggest runningin a group helps toboost performance.RUNNING ONTHE BRAINReduce distractions,run faster, feel better``````MODERN LIFE is full of stress anddistractions. By the time 5:30pm rollsaround, or you’ve inally fed the children,you may well be thinking, ‘I am simplyfar too tired to run.’ This is brain drain- and it’s ruining your running. Here arefour ways to limit or bypass the mentalfatigue that’s keeping you of the road. DON’T FORGET TO GO FOR A RUN Running protects your memoryRunning helps the brainstave of the memory-damaging impact ofchronic stress, accordingto a new study. Theresearch, published inthe journal Neurobiologyof Learning and Memory,found that runningmitigates the impactchronic stress has on thehippocampus, the partof the brain responsiblefor learning and memory.Senior author JefEdwards, an associateprofessor of physiologyand developmentalbiology at Brigham YoungUniversity, Utah, US,called exercise a ‘simpleand cost-efective wayto eliminate the negativeimpacts of chronic stresson memory’. Stressweakens the connectionsbetween neurons, butexercise strengthens them.``````The percentagereduction in thelikelihood ofdeveloping dementiaamong fit womencompared withunfit women,according to a studyby the University ofGothenburg,Sweden.90BR AINSTOPPED PLAYDon’t let mentalfatigue get in theway of your much-needed run