Mood state and running economy in moderately trained male runners

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between psychological states as measured by the Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory and within-subject variation in running economy (RE) in moderately trained male runners (N = 10). Subjects (ages 20-34 yr) were monitored during treadmill running, five times a week (Monday through Friday) for 4 wk, at 2.68, 3.13, and 3.58 m, s-1. Tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, confusion, and a total mood disturbance (TMD) score were assessed every Friday prior to the treadmill running sessions. Oxygen consumption (VO2) was determined via the open-circuit method during each of the three running paces. VO2 values were averaged over 5 d and three speeds for each week (RE) and were correlated with the weekly TMD scores, resulting in a nonsignificant group correlation of r = -0.28. The within-subject group correlation between TMD scores and RE was r = 0.88. This positive correlation indicates that, when the focus of attention was on within-subject variation, weeks featuring more economical values were associated with more positive mental health profiles. Correlations between average VO2 and the six POMS subscales were tension. r = 0.81; depression, r = 0.73; anger, r = 0.58; vigor, r = -0.60: fatigue, r = 0.18; and confusion, r = 0.60. All correlation coefficients except for fatigue were significantly (P less than 0.01) related to average VO2. In conclusion, it appears that short-term fluctuations in RE of moderately trained male runners are closely tied to their mood state.