Mental Toughness...an essential ingredient to running better.
Marathon number two in my little #4marathonsfor40 is done! My sister and I drove to Wilmington, NC to check another race off the list! It was a really great weekend with a very well organized COVID-style marathon. It ended up being a double loop with plenty of extra safety precautions in place; however, the race director did an awesome job of pulling it off!
As I probably mentioned in my last post, I wasn’t as well prepared as I normally am for a marathon. While I did start to get my mojo back toward the end of training, I definitely did not put in the speed work and paces that I typically do. So, imagine my surprise that I passed through the finish line at 3:22:59. That is a little over a minute slower than my PR….the PR that I achieved after working much harder than I have been lately. How did that happen? It was all between the ears!
Of course the physical component is an essential part of training! However, there is so much more to running a marathon than physical training. I have been doing a lot of work on mental toughness lately. This is an area of serious weakness for me. Some people who know me well may disagree because I tend to be a very determined person. However, determination is just a piece of a large puzzle.
In the past, I would set a goal. I would say it out loud, tell my friends, and profess it to my husband. In my head…..I knew it wouldn’t happen. There was just no belief in myself or my abilities. The training runs would typically go very well. Still, the belief just wasn’t there.
Recently, I listened to the Extra Kick podcast where Claire Bartholic talked about how she has a voice in her head while she’s running. The voice says something along the lines of, “It’s okay, sweetie, everyone will still love you if you don’t hit your goal.” I don’t remember the exact quote, but that is the same voice I hear! It is a great episode, by the way!
At the Skidaway marathon, I definitely let that voice win. I slowed down. At the end of the race, I was able to pick up the pace again. When I finished, I felt much better than I normally do after a marathon and realized I certainly didn’t give it my all. There really isn’t anything wrong with that. I had a great experience, didn’t injure myself, and finished the race! However, to hit goals, I know that voice needs to be quiet.
While running at the Wilmington marathon, I wouldn’t let that voice talk. I told myself to keep hanging onto marathon pace. Whenever my pace started to get slower, I pushed myself to get back to the pace as much as I could. Toward the end, I did slow a bit. Maybe part of it had to do with the constant sharp turns, not the best running surface toward the end, and the steep uphill about a quarter mile before the end. There was nothing I could do about any of those factors, but I feel like I held onto my pace much better than in many of my marathons. When I saw those obstacles the night before the race, it certainly did worry me a bit. However, I just told myself that everyone will have the same obstacles and every marathon has a unique challenge.
Telling myself to hold the pace wasn’t enough to accomplish this. In my back pocket were a bunch of mantras that I pulled out and repeated in my head when I needed them. This idea originally came to me from my friend and FYS athlete, Alicia Olsen. She uses mantras to get her through tough runs. I also listened to a great podcast by Ryan Hall with a great list of ideas!
Whenever things got hard, I told myself things like:
When it gets harder, I get stronger!
Stronger with every mile!
Pour it out…just pour it out. (Particularly helpful toward the end when I was pushing myself at the end.)
This hill is hard, but I can do hard things.
I really can’t take credit for any of them except for the hill mantra. Many of these mantras came from different podcasts or suggestions from others. I used to try to tell myself that I love hills, but I knew I was lying to myself! Admitting that the hill was hard, but that I could, in fact, do it was helpful to me. This definitely came into my mind during the steep hill toward the end.
So the result? With less training than usual, my marathon time was pretty close to a best for me! So does this mean less training in my future? Nope! It just means that I know with the normal amount of training and continuing to work on my mental toughness, I can reach bigger goals!
If you would like to read more about mindset, I recommend The Comeback Quotient by Matt Fitzgerald. It is a really fascinating book and may just help you on a journey to better mental fitness! Another excellent podcast to check out is Run to the Top where Claire Bartholic interviews Dr. Jacob Cooper. Check it out and let me know what you think!