iOS/Android: When I run, my inner monologue sounds like an argument between a good coach and a bad coach. One voice tells me to take it easy, find my best pace, not to look at my watch, just find the right level of effort. Then the other voice butts in to say something like “Oh, look at you, running so slow, and you’re already tired! You suck!”
A lot of my training over the years has depended on reining in the bad coach and choosing, tentatively, to put my faith in the good one. That’s why I’m totally in love with Slow Down 2 Speed Up, one of three new mindful running tracks in the (free) Nike Run Club app. Nike coach Chris Bennett joins forces with Andy Puddicombe, the voice of Headspace, and they guide you through faster and faster intervals while asking you to pay attention to your body and mind. But they don’t duel like the coaches in my head; they’re both endlessly supportive.
In other words, it’s the good half of my internal monologue. The asshole voice is gone.