Whatever stage you’re at – the beginning of your Couch to 5K journey, planning your first 10k, half marathon, or just getting outdoors regularly to keep your body and mind healthy - mental practice or ‘visualisation’, can be such a useful tool.  Obviously, this can be used or any sport, but we’ll use running as our example.

If fact, it’s one of the most researched mental skills in sport and, given some practise, can really make a difference to your running and, when we can get there, events and races.

I remember decades ago reading about the Swiss Olympic Ski team who, whilst sitting indoors in their training centre, visualised skiing every inch of their races, imagining each and every turn, mogul, jump, bend, gate, start and finish points .. and how sensors picked up how each muscle responded as though they were actually completing the race!

It’s one of the best ways to exercise and condition your brain for successful outcomes and has also been shown to offer support when injured.

What is Mental practice?

Mental practice draws on your imagination to create positive images of you as a runner.  It’s the process of using your all of your senses to mentally rehearse a skill you wish to complete and improve. Using the mind, you call up this imagery over and over, enhancing the skill through repetition or rehearsal, similar to physical practice.

"What you see in your mind's eye can strongly influence your beliefs and achievements," says Jerry Lynch, PhD "Our central nervous system does not distinguish between real and imagined events: it sees and accepts all images as if they were real."

If we use the term ‘visualisation’ then we may assume it’s just using the sense of sight, but to really benefit from this we need to use a combination of senses, visual (what you see), auditory (what you hear) and kinaesthetic (what your body feels) and add in extra one magic bullet, emotion … how it makes you feel!

How does it work?

The key here is that when you visualise, you actually stimulate the same brain regions as you would when you physically perform that same skill. Effective visualisation also fires impulses to the muscles, priming them for action. The more vivid the visualisation, the more effectively your brain primes your muscles to complete the same physical and technical action in real life.

Why is mental practice so useful?

It helps you cope with new situations before you actually encounter them. It has also been shown to increase self-confidence, the ability to focus and concentrate as well improve both physical and psychological performance.

Therefore, by just using your mind, you can actually help your body physically prepare for event and races.  At a time when these seem a way off … let’s make the most of the time we have!

How do you do it?

The most important thing is to use all the senses and, for me I find adding a positive emotion really helps too. There's more, but that's essentially it.

1. Set aside 10-15 minutes when you won’t be disturbed, find a quiet space, no phones.

2. Have an idea for something very specific that you want to imagine doing well in your running.  For this example, we’re focusing on good running form … but it may be getting up a hill, it may be the final push of your ‘long run’, improving your posture.  If you’ve entered an event (a bit of future planning!) it may be at the start area, surrounded by the noise and jostle of other runners and then getting into your pace.  If you are entering a more technical event like a Duathlon or Triathlon, you can use this method to mentally rehearse transition sections.

3. Effective mental practice can only happen from a place of relaxation.  Close your eyes, take five deep abdominal breaths. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, to help you relax.  If you can, try nasal breathing throughout your practice.

4. Relax and clear your mind of distractions

5. We are focussing on good running form … so Imagine yourself running down your favourite route – your road, over your local fields or paths.  Be specific: See yourself moving with good posture, arms close to your sides, swinging forward and back in relaxed good form. Your feet lightly touch the ground as your legs lengthen into a smooth stride. Your breathing is relaxed and comfortable. You are strong and swift and you feel as though you could run forever.

6. Hold your focus for about 60 seconds, then pause for 30 seconds.  Refocus your breathing and attention and then repeat.  Each time you attempt this, increase your visualisation time gradually.

7. As with any new technique it takes time to learn, so try and build it into your training routine … and see what happens!

8. You can also use this during a run to imagine yourself running the next
part of your route, good if you’re tiring or your motivation is dipping.