Thank you for the overwhelming emails about The Marathon Rookie Times. I am just returning from vacation so this will be a short issue. I look forward to covering more in two weeks!

Stretching is easy to neglect during training. Be sure to strech within 15 minutes following each training run. Click on the following link to learn more:

www.marathonrookie.com/stretching.html

Relaxation is a great way to ignite the power of your imagination. It is also a great way to teach yourself how to relax your body during training runs.

By relaxation, I mean getting your mind and body into a totally relaxed state. When you get your body and mind into a relaxed state, then your subconscious mind opens up and accepts everything you put into it to be true.

First, let’s talk about the conscious and subconscious mind. Our conscious mind is the analytical part of our brain. The subconscious mind is where our beliefs are stored.

When we hear, read, or see something, our conscious mind works to decide whether we accept the input or determine it to be untrue. For example, let’s say that you believe you are confident. Now, let’s look at two scenarios:

1) You overhear someone say you lack confidence.

2) You overhear someone say you are highly confident in yourself.

If you hear someone say you are highly confident in yourself, then your conscious mind confirms this with your subconscious mind to be true.

On the other hand, if you hear someone say you lack confidence, then your conscious mind checks to see if this is true by consulting your subconscious mind. Since you believe you lack confidence, then your subconscious mind confirms this to be true.

So how can we make ourselves become confident? Self-talk or affirmations are one way. By telling ourselves many times every day that we are confident, our subconscious mind will eventually begin to accept that we are confident and our results will reflect our newfound confidence. While they work, self-talk and affirmations can take a long time to get results.

The quickest way to change our beliefs is to eliminate the conscious mind and get straight to the subconscious mind. We can do this through relaxation. Our subconscious mind does not know the truth from reality. Relaxation allows us to bypass our conscious mind (the analytical part) and get straight to the subconscious mind (our beliefs).

The best way to utilize the power of relaxation is through a guided relaxation CD. If you are a self-improvement junkie like myself, then you have probably already used some or at least know of some. If not, motivational guru Paul Huff has a great one to get you started. I use it myself and have experienced incredible results. I am such a firm believer in the power of relaxation that I am currently working with renowned sport psychologist Dr. Barbara Walker on a relaxation CD created specifically for marathon or half marathon runners. We hope to have it available by the end of August.

If you do not want to wait until then, consider giving Paul Huff’s CD a try (www.paulhuff.com). Huff will walk you through the steps to relaxation. He will then give you time to play a mental video while at a fully relaxed state when you subconscious mind will accept everything you put into it. Doesn’t that sound easy? Well, it is. And it only takes about 10 minutes each day.

Before listening to the CD, picture yourself making the perfect run. This can be a training run, marathon run, or half marathon run. When you reach the point on the CD, simply play the video. The results will astonish you!

We’ll talk more about relaxation in the next newsletter. I believe this is the single most important part of training. Professional athletes in every sport practice relaxation. You should too. I do. More to come in two weeks!

"I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times, but they can always fulfill their own potential."

Seven Layer Casserole

Ingredients:

1½ lbs chuck hamburger meat

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 Irish potatoes, sliced or chopped

1 small can sweet peas, undrained

1 can Campbell’s tomato soup

Directions:

Sauté hamburger meat, drain and set aside. Layer bell pepper, carrots, onion, and potatoes in a casserole dish; add undrained peas on top of vegetables. Pour soup on top of vegetables; layer hamburger on top of soup. Bake at 325o for 1½ hours.

Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

1 large bunch broccoli

½ cup raisins

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 purple onion, diced

1 cup pecans, chopped

Dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

Directions:

Wash broccoli and cut the spear tops into small pieces. Combine broccoli, raisins, bacon, onions and pecans. Make dressing by mixing mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Chill and serve.

- Submitted by J.B. (Rock Hill, SC)

Want to submit a recipe? Email me at Recipe@marathonrookie.com

Happy Running!

Brad Boughman
www.MarathonRookie.com

“Elevate your thinking, elevate your fun, elevate your results.”

- Brad Boughman

Brad Boughman works with runners who want to successfully train for and finish their first marathon or half marathon. To learn more about Coach Boughman’s personal coaching programs, visit www.MarathonRookie.com