Designing My Mental Game: Callin' All Mantras!
Hello! I'm callin' for all YOUR running/race mantras! I'm putting together my Mental Game Plan for my Healdsburg Half Marathon this Saturday, and while I have a few staples I've relied on in the past, I'd LOVE to hear what mantras keep you in the game for your race.
To back it up a bit, I had the privilege of listening to former Olympic Sports Psychologist, Bobby McGee, last year at the USAT Level 1 coaching triathlon clinic in Santa Monica, CA. He shared this Mental Game Plan exercise with us:
Exercise #1:Print a map of your race route and visualize the following:
1. How will your body feel at the different points of the race
2. What will you tell yourself for motivation during the different points of the race
3. What do you want to remember during the race
Next, write those sentiments on your race map. You might have 'relax shoulders' during the second half of your run, and 'I AM an endurance athlete' as your overall mantra written at the top of the map. Keep the map in a visible place (bathroom mirror, kitchen fridge) to refer to often.
Well I've got my map, and top few fav's: BRING IT ON!, Beat that inner voice, it's okay to puke afterwards, Feel the Braids (my new one;-), and You have all day to recover/rest...on my dockett.
But I still don't have my overall mantra tag line up top to refer to. So help me out! What's your race mantra? What keeps YOU in your race? thx;-)
Comments
So that was my cheesy dose of inspiration for 26.2 miles. And it really did help! I still can't believe I did it somehow...
Great idea and good luck.
If I'm in a particularly tough portion of a run my mental pep talk goes as follows... "I can only live THIS 10 minutes of my life once. How do I want it to look? Do I want to remember that I slowed down and walked or that I pushed through?"
Good luck finding your mantra... long runs are all about the mental game!
can i just say how great all of these are?! and i hear your voices behind them.
BDD- SO agree with you. a lil prob for me though is that I mentally don't think i did put in the training necessary to achieve the goal I want. Guess I need to get over that!
Thank you so much for all these. Keep em' coming...love hearing what you use!
That quote
And
I worked with oncology kiddos all summer I just remembered them when I got tired because you damn well know they got tired of fighting but they never quit so why should I? I think that you have a whole new respect for the word tired when you see those kids.
That keeps me going because tomorrow is not guranteed so enjoy the ride while you can!
That which does not kill us . . .
I'm also a big fan of taking my mind off the run completely by trying to remember long dialogues from my favorite movies and long songs (I love Meatloaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Light while I'm running)
Breathe deep
Those work for me. Sometimes I remind myself that I actually LIKE doing this (running) and to keep smiling and have fun! I also tell myself "Good job" a few times.
My other favourite is "it's supposed to hurt" :-)
I always say to myself "Push it girl!" it's also on my Road ID. It just reminds me to push myself and I can do it.
Also, just get to the next mile when I'm having a not so great run :)
Smile and straighten that back like the paparazzi are always watching!
If I haven't really trained I just tell myself the faster I go the sooner it can be over.
Not sure why but it works for me.
i am strong
i find when i am tired i try to refocus on my form and that helps as well....
My mantra is usually simple "you can do this" or "you can't have the stack of pancakes until you cross the finish line"! haha!
Good luck! You're going do great!
Seriously, one of my favorites is I make the sound of a couple of pistons firing, like in an engine. It works in the water, on a bike, and on the run...
Mike