Brick walls, progress reflection and habit formation

Since my last post, my marathon (and half marathon) training has not exactly gone to plan. While the rest of the group seem to be hitting milestones, the only thing I seem to be hitting is a brick wall. In the space of just over a week, I have managed to get out for a grand total of zero runs outside due to cramps that have left me doubled over in pain for hours on end (a slight exaggeration, but you get the point!).

Now, I could go on and on making excuses about how and why cramps have prevented me from running, but rather than wallow in self-pity, I have decided to focus on the positives (what I have achieved rather than what I haven’t):

• 04/02/20 – Group Run 3 – in which I attempted hill sprints for the very first time (I died)
• 05/02/20 – Cross-training session – 10k on the exercise bike followed by some strength/conditioning exercises
• 07/02/20 – Cross-training session – uphill walking and some stretching to relieve the cramps
• 12/02/20 – Cross-training session – 5k on the elliptical
• 16/02/20 – Cross-training session – 5.15k on the treadmill and 8k on the exercise bike

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Having taken the time to reflect on what I’ve achieved over the past week, and actually refer back to my marathon training plan, I can confirm that all is not lost. Beating myself up about not getting out for a run isn’t going to get me anywhere and, according to a Runner’s World article I read recently, sometimes it is important to listen to your body when it’s crying out for a rest, because it most likely needs it.

Moving swiftly on, it is time to examine what I can do to ensure that the negativity I feel towards myself and my progress right now is mitigated by the establishment of behaviours that successfully result in getting out for a run.

On 03/02/20, we had a lecture with Dr Rhi Willmot where we learnt about the behavioural psychology behind training to run a marathon and the science of habit formation.

Lally and Gardner (2013) define habits as ‘automatic behavioural responses to environmental cues’ that develop through repeating a certain behaviour within a certain context. Put more simply, habits are a result of routine behaviours that follow cues and result in rewards. The use of rewards is essential to habit formation, as they act as positive reinforcers which increase the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated.

I am still very much in the early stages of creating my running habits, however some of my efforts thus far have proved to be successful. For example, completing my long slow run (LSR) on a Sunday:

• CUE = Receiving a message from my friend confirming the time for our run
• ROUTINE = Going on our run
• REWARD = Sense of achievement for completing the run, plus knowing that I have the rest of the day to take it easy and do whatever I want

As my progress over the past week has shown, where I’ve struggled most is actually just putting shoes on and getting out for a run. This is perhaps due to the fact that I currently have fewer positive reinforcers for going on a run versus staying inside. In other words, I have been much happier staying well within my comfort zone instead of challenging myself to try and step outside of it.

Stanovich and West’s (2000) Dual Process Theory offers one possible explanation as to why I might be more inclined to stay inside and less inclined to go for a run. The theory posits that any thoughts that arise can be processed by one of two systems. The ‘hot’ system is described as being inflexible, automatic and requiring very little brain power meaning it often deals with more unconscious notions. The ‘cold’ system is described as being more rule-based, analytical and requiring a greater amount of brain power, meaning it deals with more conscious notions.

So, when I’ve thought about going for a run, there has been a battle between the two systems in my mind, and throughout the past week it is clear that the ‘hot’ system has prevailed over the ‘cold’ system. Staying inside has provided me with the instant gratification on which the ‘hot’ system thrives; the positive feeling generated by warmth, pain relief and food (and binge-watching Game of Thrones…eeek!) which has triumphed over the weaker ‘cold’ system that has urged delay of the gratifying positive feelings until I have completed a run.

Had I not been suffering with cramps, there may have been a slightly increased likelihood of the ‘cold’ system beating the ‘hot’ system. As time goes by, and marathon day gets closer, I will attempt to increase the role of the ‘cold’ system in my decision-making when it comes to running so that that in itself becomes a habit, in a sense.

In closing, my next blog post will be a reflection of my performance in the upcoming Anglesey Half Marathon on 01/03/20. Between now and then, I will continue to work on correcting my bad habits and get back into training with the enthusiasm of the first few weeks.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit”

Aristotle

References

Lally, P., & Gardner, B. (2013). Promoting habit formation. Health Psychology Review, 7(sup1), S137-S158. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2011.603640

Stanovich, K. E., & West, R. F. (2000). Individual differences in reasoning: Implications for the rationality debate?. Behavioral and brain sciences, 23(5), 645-665. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00003435