This week last year I pondered the psychological aspects of running.

• The week began when I discussed what goes through your head while you are running. You are to some degree concentrating on the task at hand and distracting yourself from what you are doing.
• I recommended that you cut your hair before race day to gain a small edge. This is mostly a psychological advantage, but there are a few (very) minor physical benefits to it as well which obviously depend upon how long your hair was to begin with and how much you cut it.
• It’s important to step back once in a while and revisit your past achievements. This week last year I was reminded that a year prior I had had a great chat with Bill Rodgers when I was looking at the finisher’s certificate of a race I had run. The memories are one of the best parts of being a runner, so take a few minutes now and again to indulge in them and even share them with a friend or family member.
• While it is always important to get the advice of your primary care physician, I do not spend much time worrying about whether or not running will ruin my heart. Better a healthy life well lived than a sick life lived on a couch, and my operating assumption is that the running is not only going to provide a better life for me but will in all likelihood provide a longer one as well.
• This week two years ago I continued my discussion about the New Rules of Lifting, this time examining the eigth and the ninth rules. I also wrote about the 5 most common treadmill mistakes, namely:
  1. Taking it too easy
  2. Stepping off of a moving treadmill
  3. Using the handrails
  4. Unnatural stride length
  5. Not realizing how much easier it is