Designing My Mental Game


My 'Athlete' goal this week is to design a Mental Game for my Lavaman tri in 1.5 weeks;-) I've written about this strategy before here, and wanted to show what I've got so far. Above is the swim part. I've written a few notes on what I want to remember and tell myself for motivation during the race (notice the BREATHE OUT;-).

And here's what I have so far for the bike:
Sorta hard to see, I wrote: I am Representing MY fitness, I trained for this, I am a biker, enjoy the ride, even cadence.

And here's my run:
I've written: I AM a runner, you CAN do this, quick steps, Take in the pain and smile, Relax shoulders and face.

I'm also sharing this because I'd LOVE to hear the words of motivation YOU tell yourself during the race. I'm looking for a few more gems to repeat and figured the bloggy world is a perfect place to find em'. What mantra's or words of wisdom do you tell yourself during the swim, bike & run of a race? Tell me please so I can write em' on my mental game and practice, practice, practice saying them. ;-)
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Lauren said…
I always tell myself, I gave birth, and the pain lasted much longer than this will, and I survived.
March 18, 2010 at 9:02 AM
Velma said…
I love it! I use the words steady and strong - race your own race. BTW, MACCA will be there - so jealous!
March 18, 2010 at 9:50 AM
teacherwoman said…
Finish strong is one of my favorites... straight from my Dad's mouth. I remember running a trail race with him a few years back and it was horrible. Now, everytime I come to the last quarter mile of the run or last couple miles of the bike I can hear him say "FINISH STRONG"... and it makes me smile!
March 18, 2010 at 9:59 AM
Jill said…
I kinda use: You know it's inside you. And when it starts to get really hard and I'm hurting, I like to say: Bring on the pain, I'm ready; it's a sign of all the hard work I've done to get ready (well, take a few of those words out...but basically I like to tell myself to welcome the pain!). Downhill sections, I like to say: short, sweet, light on your feet. This was told to me by an Olympic Marathon Trials coach so I'd like to think she knows what she's talking about. :).
Have a great weekend, AM!!! :)
March 18, 2010 at 10:57 AM
misszippy said…
You sound like you have a great game plan in place. I always try to remember my prep and hard workouts and use them to instill confidence. I can tell the week before a race how it will go by how confident I am feeling. So draw on your training and know you are ready!
March 18, 2010 at 11:09 AM
AM! said…
oooh, these are all really great mantras! Thank you so much! just had to say that. keep em' coming;-)
March 18, 2010 at 11:38 AM
Unknown said…
I love this idea, I think I'm going to do it for my first race :)

Thanks for the advice about cadence on my blog, it's something I've not thought once about before so I'm sure I've got a lot of room for improvement!
March 18, 2010 at 12:03 PM
Aimee said…
I love your plan! For some reason I tend to say, "You can do this" when the going gets tough and then, "I'm really doing this" when it's going great! :) You are going to do awesome!
March 18, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Anne said…
What an inspiring post and so many inspiring comments...I'm totally stealing some of these for my first race in May :)
March 18, 2010 at 12:28 PM
Maggs said…
Is that "Yawn" on the first swim leg? That should be go go go. Go out fast and then let someone pass you and hang on for the draft.

I usually think swim long and steady, reach, reach, reach for the swim. The bike is bust ass to get to the front of the race. The run is, oh my god don't let her catch me.

I'm always thinking as soon as I get caught on the run I can slow down, so I trick myself into running harder because I don't think I'm going to run the whole distance that fast. Sometimes i get caught, sometimes not.
March 18, 2010 at 1:18 PM
Big Daddy Diesel said…
Race day and the finishline is the reward for all the hard work you put in get to this point.

Good luck
March 18, 2010 at 2:21 PM
Unknown said…
I have a lot of mantras that I repeat over and over at different times of a race. I like JIll's mantra about the hills, that one is great! For some weird reason, I like to repeat things that have to do with an animal's natural movement...weird, I know. Like when I"m running I say, "Light as a feather, quick like a bird." If I swam, it would be something about a dolphin or a fish because they move so gracefully. Funny but they work for me!
March 18, 2010 at 3:40 PM
AM! said…
okay, all these are so freakin' good I can't handle it!! I'm sooo glad I wrote this post and asked for your words. And now I'll have your voices in my head on race day;-)
March 18, 2010 at 3:44 PM
Alicia said…
For some reason that Nemo song just keeps playing through my head. I just replace swimming with running- "Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running, running, running..." It helps!
March 18, 2010 at 5:52 PM
Julie said…
Hi Anne Marie,
Looks like a great plan that you have in place there!! I am so excited for you:) When I am running and things get rough...I say to myself, "Suck it up buttercup!" Then if that dosn't work I just tell myself to move my ass and to do it fast:)
March 18, 2010 at 6:01 PM
Tawnee Prazak, M.S., CSCS said…
Good luck!

My mantra: "If you don't push your hardest, you'll regret it later."

No, I didn't do Lavaman last year; was at Oceanside then too.
March 18, 2010 at 9:00 PM
Anonymous said…
I tend to think that the race is already written before the gun goes off; it's just execution after that...you can't control mother nature or mechanical issues, so just follow your plan.

You KNOW what you can do, just believe in it - it's hard, but make the confidence come naturally....the run is the killer, so just keep telling yourself, "I'll run hard to the next cone, then the next tree, then the next rock....." and so on.

I bet you can pick your finish time within 30 secs. before the race even starts.....
March 18, 2010 at 9:08 PM
RunToTheFinish said…
Hiya! A CSA is community crop share or a buying club. So technically mine is a buying club since it's not 100% local, but I get a great big box of organic fruits and veggies for uber cheap! here is a little more info http://runtothefinish.blogspot.com/2010/03/fruit-and-veggie-buying-club.html
March 19, 2010 at 2:48 AM
Anonymous said…
I LOVE the visual race plan. I am a wacko for doing a typed up race plan, but I'd never thought out writing it out on the maps! My new trick!! (THANKS!!) My mantra for this weekend's half marathon: Strong and Steady and Go to the Pain
March 19, 2010 at 4:49 AM
Paula (Adventure Junkie Mom) said…
Great visual race plan. I do this too, and I think it is important. BTW, you do know me from CafeMom (Sportymama) While I am swimming, I am thinking, "long, reach, long" and from Nemo, "just keep swimming" LOL Biking, is "push through the pain" and on the run, "keep it up, I am strong, I am strong" and "finish this strong" I also sometimes visualize my muscles in my body. How they look, while they are working hard. Almost as if I were watching the muscles on a race horse. =)
AM you are going to ROCK Lavaman!! Good luck sister!!
March 19, 2010 at 8:05 AM
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