As your fall marathon grows nearer, the power of your mind becomes a key determinant of your success. Beyond physical training, mental resilience is vital for conquering the challenges ahead. This blog post focuses on 5 tips to harness your mental strength throughout your training segment, ensuring you're mentally prepared for your marathon journey.

1. Visualize Victory:

Visualization is a powerful tool. Envision your successful marathon, from the starting line to crossing the finish. By mentally rehearsing your achievement, you boost confidence and alleviate anxiety.

2. Set Smart Goals:

Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals with your coach. We can help provide direction and motivation during training, anchoring your efforts in purpose.

3. Positive Self-Talk:

Your internal dialogue matters. Foster self-encouragement and counter self-doubt with affirmations. A positive self-talk routine builds mental resilience. You are determined, strong, and capable. 

4. Embrace Challenges:

Challenges are often unavoidable opportunities in disguise. Adopt a growth mindset and learn from difficulties. Overcoming obstacles fortifies your mental toughness. There is nothing you cannot overcome.

5. Practice Mindfulness:

Stay present during training runs and the race itself. Techniques like focused breathing enhance focus and calmness.

Through visualization, goal setting, positive self-talk, embracing challenges, and mindfulness, you can elevate your mental game for your fall marathon. Your mental strength is your secret weapon - use it to shape your success!

6. Trust the Taper:

As Coach Rosie says: "The paces that may feel challenging in training now will feel significantly easier on race day. Remember that your legs will be fresh and you will reap the benefits of your hard work. Soak up the energy from the crowd and allow it to drive you forward. Above all, celebrate all of the hard work you have put in. This is your time to shine."

7. Break it Down: 

Coach Tom likes to say:  “Don’t think the of the Marathon as a 26-mile event, instead think of it as a series of 26 mile repeats”.  This implores simple focus on the next mile as the personal Marathon experience usually ebbs and flows.  So try not to think of Mile 26 when you’re at Mile 8.  Instead focus on Mile 9 and get through that.  Often times the break down of both workouts and the race itself into singular steps, make the process that much more palatable."

 

Major milestone:

Recently ran sub 5:00 in the mile for the 38th consecutive year.

What is the secret to your success?

Commitment to do something every day. Writing each workout in a training log. Having a goal to chase.

What is the biggest obstacle to reaching your goals and how do you get over it? 

Sleep. Staying healthy. Cannot take as many hits as I used to. Have to train smarter. Listen to my body. Incorporate cross training (i.e. bike).

What is the most rewarding part of training? 

I still love the feeling of hitting exhaustion after crushing a tough workout. The level of satisfaction on the cool down is still magical. It still feels amazing hitting it each year.

What advice would you give to other members of the Runcoach community?

Stay consistent. Set a goal and go after it. Sacrifice for the goal.

Anything else you would like to share?

Set a goal or a number of goals and let people know what you are doing. I have people asking me often how I am doing on cracking 5 mins. It keeps me honest and focused. Dont be afraid of having a crazy aggressive goal. But have achieveable mini-goals along the way so you feel success and stay motivated.

What feedback would you offer on the Runcoach experience?

Trust the training.

I started working with a nutritionist after bonking one too many times in a marathon. What I learned was not surprising, but also not common knowledge when trying to do your own research. The longer the distance, the more important the fueling!

1. Carbohydrate Intake:

• Spoiler alert; it's so much more than you think. I was taking what I thought was a lot, but it turned out my body was just burning at a higher rate than what I expected. The fix was actually pretty simple once I figured out what sat well during a race. I was able to make adjustments like sipping on a carbohydrate drink before the start, adding an extra gel, and carb-loading an extra day ahead of the race. Things like juice and gummy candy (who knew) were my secret weapons when I got sick of white rice.

2. Supplementing:

• This one is tricky. It's important to stay in my scope of practice, but I found supplements that were non-negotiable for me. They may be for you too! Iron is a big one, and I think absorption tends to complicate it. Ultimately, it was important for me to take daily and with the right foods/liquids. I found pill form and night time yielded the best absorption for me. Vitamin D is also crucial, and my levels were surprisingly low for the amount of sunshine I got training. Bone health isn't something to mess with in running. The key here was finding a quality high dose supplement, and not your average grocery store brand. Finally, I added in fish oil and curcumin after learning this was really beneficial for the kinds of stress runners experience. Take all of this with a grain of salt (or electrolyte). NOTE:  Both Iron and Vitamin D are not water soluble and should only be taken under the guidance of a Medical Professional.

3. Frequency:

• I was eating a lot, but not eating often. Snacks are back! I found that I was struggling on my doubles (running 2x/day) because I wasn't necessarily under fueled, but rather lacking quick energy because it had been so long since I last ate. Sometimes you just aren't hungry, and that's where the right foods come into play. Once I found the right snack, I was able to power through my second run rather than slog through junk miles.

4. Hydration:

• Take what you're drinking during the day, and double it (well kind of). I was not drinking enough, and it was showing. Coffee is my weakness, and if I could just drink that during the day I would. However, it wasn't setting me up for feeling good in warm weather training/racing. Even in the cooler months it's helpful, as we just aren't that thirsty. Once being assigned a higher intake, I went to the store and bought that giant bottle with the time stamps. I didn't care how I looked. I was hydrated and energized. It goes without saying, but throw in electrolytes ahead of training if you can.

5. Blood Work:

• When in doubt, go to your primary care doctor! They can order labs for you to figure out why you might be feeling off (or injured). I try to get my usual levels tested after each season so that I know what I need to work on. Training is stress and then adaptation, and so these values will change naturally. The body is amazing this way! These tips helped me take my health to the next level. Taking control of your nutrition can be fun (and should be easily accessible). I know when I got it right it became like my own superpower. I hope these ideas help you too!

Written by Coach Alex

After all the time and effort you invested in training, you want your hard work to pay off on race day.  Here are 10 tips to keep in mind in the final days before the big day.

1. Hydrate. Dehydration can make even an “easy” pace feel harder. Consume plenty of water in the days before the race.  Sip fluids in small doses throughout the day to avoid stomach upset.
2. Stick to familiar foods. Avoid the temptation at the expo to test out new sports foods and drinks. Stick to foods that have given you a boost during training without upsetting your stomach.  Avoid any new foods or ingredients to avoid GI distress.

3. Stick to the training plan. In the days before the race, it’s tempting to cram in extra mileage or intense workouts to propel yourself to a PR. That’s not a good idea.  You can’t boost your fitness at this point—you only risk injury.  Use the time to rest, run easy, and get plenty of shuteye. You want to feel springy and energetic, and ready to unleash all the strength, and speed you worked so hard to develop.

4. Don't diet...Some runners attempt to cut back on calories during the taper, as they cut back their miles. But in the days before the race, you want to be building up your stores of glycogen so that you can have them to burn during the race. If you’re training for a half-marathon or a marathon, aim to get 70% of your daily calories from carbs in the final three days of your race. If you try to restrict calories, you could end up at the starting line feeling depleted and fatigued.

5. ...But don't get carried away with carb-loading. Other runners use the race as an excuse to eat with abandon. That can lead to GI distress, a heavy-legged feeling at the starting line, and a race that's derailed by emergency pit stops.

6. Review the course. Review the race route and course elevation, or if you can, drive or run on stretches of the course. Take mental notes on where you’ll have to push and where you can cruise. Visualize yourself crossing the finish line feeling composed, strong, and exhilarated.

7. Gather your tried-and-trusted gear.  Resist the temptation to use or wear something new for the special occasion of race day.  A gear or clothing malfunction before or during the race can rock your focus and derail the day you’ve worked so hard to prepare for.  Plan to race in the shoes, apparel, gear, and gadgets that have been reliable in training.

8. Review your logistics.  What are your plans for picking up your race packet? How will you get to the race in the morning and get home afterwards? Where will you park? Make a plan for race weekend, write it down, and stick to it. Spending time to nail down these logistics will help relieve stress and free up energy you need to focus.

9. Reflect on your training. Add up all the miles you logged to train for this big event. Take note of all the times you pushed yourself out the door for a tough workout when you would have rather stayed in. Draw confidence from all that you accomplished on the way to the starting line. Take time to reflect on the major milestones you hit—say the first time you completed a mile, achieved a new personal best, or hit a pace that once felt impossible. Use those memories and that pride to fuel your confidence heading into race day.

10. Reset your goals.  Have a few time goals for the race. Consider how your training went,  how healthy you feel, and any niggling aches and tweaks you may have developed along the way. If work, life, illness or injury got in the way of training, save your original time goal for another day. And be sure to set process goals for the race, which aren’t tied to the numbers on the finish-line clock. You might aim to run up the hills you previously walked, or try to do a negative split—that is, finish the second half the race faster than the first half.

Good luck!

After you cross the finish line, be sure to tell us about your training and racing experience. Share your story here. 

Modified by Coach Cally