
When you run your fastest mile, cover your longest distance, or set a deadlift PR, you may feel happy, excited, accomplished, or proud. When you cramp up in a big race, or miss a few weeks of training due to an injury, you may feel frustrated, angry, or sad. These are physical circumstances that result in an emotional response. When you have a stress-filled week of deadlines and commitments, you may notice that your back and legs feel “tight”. When you feel angry about not getting credit for something you did, you might feel it’s easier to hit your workout paces. These are emotional circumstances that result in a physical response.
We cannot ignore the mind-body connection … and as runners, if we can effectively train it, just as we train our lungs and legs, we can harness an incredibly powerful performance enhancing tool that is likely to get us through not just our next big race or training block, but many years or decades stacked together.
As we kick off 2025 – which, for many of us, marks the beginning of a new training cycle – it is a great time to consider your own mind-body connection and overall wellness. No one will deny that in order to get better at something you have to practice that thing: case in point, running. Professional runners do not achieve at that level simply because they want to; it has taken years of practice, hard work, doing all of the “little things”, and overcoming setbacks. So, if you want to get better at running, your first step is to run. But if you’re looking to become a more well-rounded runner, here are a few things to consider in the new year:
The biopsychosocial model is an interdisciplinary approach to health, wellness, and performance. It considers a person’s biology (anatomy, physiology, nutrition status) + psychology (mindset, mental health, emotions) + social environment (culture, relationships, financial status); this model guides an individual and their practitioners in developing goals, recognizing obstacles, and identifying available resources. When injuries arise, there is undoubtedly an emotional response; we cannot entirely separate a physical injury from the mental aspect. But even in the absence of injury – if we are striving for optimal well-being and peak performance – we cannot isolate the physical and mental components. This is why we created a collaborative wellness model, called Tri-Peak Performance Program (TP3). Just as our mind responds to a physical circumstance, our bodies can respond to a mental circumstance – for better or worse. With TP3, you have the opportunity to explore and address multiple components of wellness and performance simultaneously. We understand and value the importance of the mind-body connection, and we have the resources, ability & desire to work together in this way.
Here are a few examples of the mind-body connection and biopsychosocial model in practice:
So the next time you lace up for a run, we encourage you to pause, take a deep breath, and enjoy all parts of the process! Here’s to a happy and healthy 2025!