Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 09

ForEliteAtheletes to FunRunners 9 RACE : APPROACH 01732 452404 enough to qualify as finishers, with a bit extra. Did we give in? Did we overstretch ourselves before truly understanding the task in hand? Did we just take it easy to protect ourselves in someway? Here are a few suggestions as to what was taking place in the old noggin. In light of not having all the facts beforehand, I set a goal that was unrealistic versus my perceived level of capabilities at that time. This happens a lot within amateur and professional sport. People set a goal that is 5 steps ahead of where their abilities lie. Yes, one day that goal might be achievable. However, the timescale in which they expect to achieve it means there is physically not enough time to be able to leap 5 steps in one. It takes decades for people to run a sub-2.30 marathon, so why would one expect to achieve that having just left the sofa 10 months ago? Another possibility that took place in Iceland is in the amygdala – the part of the brain responsible for our fight or flight response. This response gets stimulated under extreme, acute stress, such as a sudden shock, a change in the expected pattern our subconscious is used to, or long sustained periods of extreme activity. 5 hours into running round a cold, windy, otherworldly Icelandic tundra, my amygdala kicked in and said “you know what, I’m going to protect you, and ask you to make the challenge slightly less difficult”. A third option could be found in the mindset studies of Professor Carol Dweck, who has observed two types of mindset within students – fixed mindset and growth mindset. In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that’s that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it. In Iceland, could my brain have decided to settle for a fixed mindset as a result of the stress? Leading me to choose to trust in what I think I am capable of, rather than staying in a growth mindset and experimenting, learning and applying techniques in the event to find new ways to break through to achieve the goal? The answer to why we move our goal is complex, one we should always be looking to explore potential answers too. For me, pursuing those answers with the athletes and professionals I work with can give me confidence that if I encourage, support and inspire them to go beyond what is capable, an answer could present itself. Graham In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits