Clean Run Magazine - November 2007 - 41

Nita Woulf There is good stress and bad stress. Your job is to keep the good stress much higher than the bad stress. Good stress sharpens your focus and pumps adrenaline into your system. Bad stress can give you brain freeze and overwhelm your brain with negative thoughts. Here’s a quick list of tips to help you get into that “good stress” mode: • Chew gum or suck hard candy (lemon drops are very effective). Babies suck on paciﬁers, kids chew anything they want (pencils, gum, clothing), and adults eat and smoke. Humans have a very high oral fixation and satisfying that fixation creates calmness and pleasure in your brain. The act of chewing creates alertness in your brain; just remember to spit your gum out before you run so you don’t inhale it! • Breath deeply. Diaphragm breathing dumps tons of oxygen into your stress-ﬁlled brain and it’s easy to do. Just focus on starting your breath I love my dog. A competitor and trainer for over 15 years, Nita has won championships in NADAC and USDAA, and has achieved over 130 performance titles with her Huskies, Corgis, and Border Collies. She owns Clever K9’s Expert Dog Training and can be reached at nwoulf@cleverk9s.com or through her website at www.cleverk9s.com. from the bottom of your lungs so your stomach puffs out a bit. • Meditate. Okay, forget the chanting and sitting in a pretzel position. Just sit back in your lawn chair, close your eyes, and think about nothing for a few minutes. It’s remarkably refreshing and very calming. If you cannot think about nothing, pick a mantra and repeat it to yourself over and over. My personal favorite is, “I love my dog.” • Put the course map away! Staring at a map is not going to help your muscle memory. Instead, ﬁnd a quiet spot and move through the course in miniature, putting in your front and rear crosses, and so on just like you’re running the course. Watch the Olympic skiers in warm-up; they ski the course over and over again before ever going down the hill by moving their body through each turn, developing muscle memory. • Brush, groom, massage, or pet your dog. Science has shown that petting your dog lowers © MATTALLISONPHOTOGRAPHY.COM your blood pressure and respiration rate. • Get proper nutrition and hydration. It’s very important during stressful times that your brain has the proper nutrients to work at its optimum, so make sure you eat (healthy light snacks work great) and drink plenty of ﬂuids. • Go to the bathroom. This probably applies mostly to women, but when you’re stressed, you have to pee; so go often! I still think there should be a Porta-Potty near every start line. Good luck and happy trialing! D Brenna Fender is a freelance writer with an undergraduate degree in mass communications and a masters degree in elementary education. She lives with her husband, two young children, a Vizsla, a Whippet, and a cat. The dogs are collectively titled in agility, obedience, conformation, hunting, rally, and lure coursing. The cat, husband, and children are lacking in this regard. Contact Brenna at BrennaFender@gmail.com. November 07 | Clean Run 41

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Clean Run Magazine - November 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2007