Great Training ≠ Great Racing

Mental toughness, inner grit, steel, drive. That inevitable moment in a race when the going gets tough has always been challenge for me. 

My inner voice, the side of the brain that shouts excuses 'you don't need this, slow down, take it easy, who cares if you run a PB' has always been strong and very, very stubborn. I've struggled in races because I either didn't want it bad enough or just wasn't will to hurt the required amount to achieve the goal. In other cases I've been unwilling to push hard enough in the early part of the race because I feared the inevitable discomfort that would come sooner. It's alway felt like the pain and discomfort of racing hard has come as a shock that causes me to panic. If I'm going to find X Percent and achieve my goals on race day I have to break in that horse. 

Training for a sub 3 marathon feels like a challenge that is just at the limits of my ability, I need every advantage to succeed. Learning to execute a great race from a mental perspective would be a huge plus. The percentage gains from training the brain as well as the body are immeasurable but potentially much higher than the promised gains of running shoe manufacturers. 

I've run races before where I've reached the point of having to dig deep.... I just mentally threw in the towel. I guess many of us have been there: you go out at goal pace and run well for 20 or 22 miles only to be swallowed up by the pace group advertising your target on their pace balloons or flags as they disappear down the road in front of you. Sometimes this is because your not physically prepared other times because your not mentally ready, either way it's not a nice feeling. I've trained really well for a races in the past, hitting all my pace and distance targets. Then when the going got tough I've I've said 'f**k this'. I've just been unwilling to deal with race pain which has almost come as a shock. The truth is, there should be no shock, only a calm acknowledgment and acceptance of the natural by-product of racing hard and racing well- temporary discomfort.

As part of my X percent quest I have to focus on being in good mental and physical shape.

I've been reading Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald and there is some great coping strategies in there. My plan is to develop an arsenal of weapons to quell the negative inner voice when it gets to the business end of racing by practising the techniques in training. Fitzgerald talks about understanding and acknowledging race pain but not dwelling on it which can turn the pain into suffering.

Another great book full of self talk tips is The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion by Simon Marshall PhD, Lesley Paterson. It contains plenty of case studies, exercises and race day tactics to master the mental side of endurance sports. I always considered self talk and mindfulness as a little airy-fairy, a bit hippy for my macho ego. But the truth is running and racing in particular is largely mental, as the saying goes it's 90% mental, 10% physical. 

I'm not sure how accurate that 90/10 ratio is but there is no denying the significance of good mental fortitude. It can be the difference in turning great training into a great race.