Associative vs Dissociative Running

For those of you at the last clinic dealing with Tapering and Carb-Loading and Psychological Preparation, I didn't get a chance to offer a somewhat variable perspective on the issue. So, here goes.

First, I know the Associative runner well - they are the elites in the running world. Not that I run with, coach or even see the elite runners, except for one half-marathon race run in Palos Heights. Some complain about having to run the same turf back again, but I always enjoy my jaunt running towards that turn-around point and watching these elite runners long past the turn-around and on their way back to the finish, probably running somewhere around 5:00 pace and some change.

I have run this race for the past 4-years and every time we meet in opposing directions, I shout at them some words of praise and encouragement, and rarely do I get a reaction, nor do their eyes make contact with mine. They are simply so internally focused on running ahead or stabilizing the gap from the leaders ahead of them. No reaction, no smile, no response to me that says they recognized my good-will. But, I do know they hear it and they just don't respond because they are so focused on holding that fast-line to win and be in the money. I know this because as the back-leaders of the front-end runners that have no chance of winning, but still running a very fast race under 6-min/mile, do sometimes acknowledge my praise.

As Misty noted, I do listen to music when I train and when I run the marathon. Technically that is Dissociative, a distraction to the mind/body connection. But, I couch that in the sense that in the race, I resort to a playlist of songs that are well-thought out and the tempo of that music intended to match the speed or pace I need to run, or to stimulate me to some other run-strategy. For example, my Boston Marathon playlist has George Thorogood's "Gear Jammer" timed in the sequence when I first hit the Newton Hills a bit beyond mile 16. That song is intended to stimulate a response to run the hills hard and it does as exemplified in my Boston performances. So, if music is supposedly dissociative, but it can stimulate a physical response that I have conditioned the body to respond to, is it really a distraction or has it crossed the gray-zone into Associative running?

Crowds are another external distraction, but at Boston I find them exceedingly beneficial to cue-in and wave to, or give high-five hand slaps, as long as they are recognizing me specifically and I respond to them individually. Yes, you expend precious energy doing something that isn't directly related to you moving forward running, but if one gains internal energy, whether actual or spiritual or motivational, is that Dissociative or Associative. I always seem to get a boost and seem to find myself running faster after such experiences, so I can only conclude it is something to keep doing, regardless if it technically falls in the Dissociative schema.

The real point of the matter is that most of us mortals cannot expect to be entirely associative in our running strategy and probably should explore other aspects of self and the race that help us keep moving on track. In a different perspective, I believe you have to "blend" both philosophies together to get the best experience out of it. I am constantly working with both associative and dissociative techniques when I run. Part of the method to blend both is in your race plan. I can be listening to music in my ears, my eyes watching for the spectators and whatever on the sides of the race course and take whatever that gives me, but I know in my plan at 30-min intervals, I dose my gel-solution, I check my watch to see the HR, I cue-in on how I am feeling, make any adjustments and keep on going.

So, I guess what I want you to understand is, you can strive to be totally Associative or you can be totally Dissociative, but I think another approach to consider is to "blend" the two, using what music, the sights and the spectators can give you in sustaining your motivation and running pace, but periodically check-in on the internal status of your physiology and needs. If you balance the two correctly, you can fare nicely out there.

There is no right nor wrong in this matter, just a matter of perspective and just trying to say it is not an either-or choice, but strive to find the mix of associative and dissociative behavioral pattern that brings the best out of you. Not easy to do, but you can do it!