RESISTANCE POWER DURING THE CLIMB

 

“Resistance is the secret of joy!” Alice Walker

As I approach the same hill on a route that I have used regularly in my running routine, I adjust my breathing and my footwork, use more power from my arms, and concentrate on the journey and technique, rather than the destination to power me to the top. When we are facing a challenge, especially if the prospects are not looking good, we need to prepare our strategy without over-analysing the 'what if's' or adding the famous 'but...' whilst we're starting to gather our energy, and use our developed resistance to get to the destination. Rather than just being a question of using all your strength and force until you drop, the key to success is building the foundations of a deep resistance both mentally and physically, that may surprisingly result in a faster and more satisfying overall performance.

I have recently started adding some ballet barre exercises into my fitness regimen. This is thanks to a friend whose example as a ballet dancer has encouraged me to build on my basic dance experience and work more on resistance training in a consistent way during the week. Since starting these exercises, I have noticed changes in speed when I walk or run and how I hold myself. The positions and footwork for ballet require not only a physical resistance but also a calm, balanced control and a centred mind. To achieve this balance, there needs to be a regular awareness and time dedicated to the way we reason and think under pressure, and how to work this to our advantage. As the Technical Director of the French Olympic Team, Claude Fauquet, states in his Ted Talk; 'High performance sport: for a human performance' (Sport de haut niveau: Pour une performance humaine), we often forget that an athlete is, above all, a human being who sets an objective to which they will attempt to create a way through to arrive at the summit. It requires a considerable amount of time, reflection and, above all, knowledge.

In times of intense pressure, we tend to see our true colours, which is not necessarily to imply our weaknesses or failures, perhaps we simply become more in tune to how and what we need to overcome the particular obstacles we are facing. Over the years, we gain experience through life situations that can determine our response to the challenges we will face in the future. If we want to get up the hill in the most effective way possible, we must not seek to just run it as fast as possible to complete it. It is working with the dynamics of resistance that brings about the real difference. In his Ted Talk, Fauquet also says we sometimes forget that when we increase speed, we consequently increase the level of resistance. So, in order to be effective, a strategy needs to include a way to tackle resistance, be it physical resistance or it could be resistance to change in an environment. For example, an office that is developing rapidly can increase tension within its workforce without a proper awareness of the pressing factors causing any intensified opposition to the changes. Our attitude to the resistance will determine how the journey forward progresses and quite often how quickly we get to where we need to be. We think sometimes that, by taking shortcuts or increasing the pace of our training or development, we are making the necessary leap forward, be it for a run, career or in many other areas of our lives. However, speed does not always equal the best long-term result.

When I took part in the 5km races at the beginning, I started out believing speed training was the key, but my efforts weren't guaranteed to pay off. One day it started raining quite heavily during the race and I ended up running a faster time, but then on another occasion, I had prepared thoroughly for my training physically as a runner, but not hard enough mentally. I had overlooked the power of preparing my mind. In 2003, I participated in a race in London headed up by Paula Radcliffe, with 20,000 other female runners, and I was being sponsored for Cancer Research. I lost my mum to cancer when I was 18 and, whilst running with her name on my back, I started to struggle. Waves of unhelpful thoughts such a "I can't do this" and "I'm not going to finish" hit me. There was no reason physically why I couldn't finish, but as I thought about the people I was running for, it felt like being hit by a strong, unexpected wave when shallow swimming off a beach. Caught off-guard, and submerged by doubt, I slowed down to a very slow pace, but refused to walk and regrouped in my mind.

At times like these, we need to use our knowledge of resistance to get us up the hill. Our legs can carry themselves, but our mind can make them believe otherwise. It is a union between the two. A conscious effort to see the circuit before you and to break each section down working on technique, refining each motion, more definite movements of the arms propelling you forward and reducing the surface between your feet hitting the pavement, activating fully core muscles and focusing towards the next fixed point on your way towards the goal. The view at the top will be more than worth it. Whenever you are passing through the tide of resistance, with time, learn to turn around to help encourage and pull someone else through.