Since the Olympic Marathon Trails I have heard and read over and over again how inspiring the athletes are, and how so many runners are going to channel thier inner Shalane during thier next race, when they need to dig deep and go hard. It’s truly a lovely and inspiring thought. After all, Shalane had one of the most dramatic marathon finishes ever, suffered dehydration in the raging Los Angeles heat and, with the help of her teammate Amy (Hastings) Cragg, pushed beyond human limitations to secure the last spot for the Olympic team, and collapsed at the finish.
It’s a made for tv ending. It’s inspiring! It’s something we want to imagine ourselves doing…until we get out on our 10 miler and start doing tempo repeats.
Let’s discuss some reality, shall we?
YOU ARE NOT SHALANE
Besides the obvious reasons, you are not like an Olympic marathoner because your mentality and experiences are vastly different, and this is what will matter most when you’re on the pain train during a race.
Of course we are inspired by elite athletes however, when things get tough out on a run, it’s so much easier to give up when thinking of someone like Shalane Flanagan or Kara Goucher or Meb Keflezighi. Why? When the suffering begins, it’s a matter of how long you can last in a battle of your metal will. What you tell yourself in those moments will have everything to do with the outcome of the race and how you feel about it afterward.
If you’re thinking about elites it’s a lot easier to quit by telling yourself “I am not an Olympic marathoner! This is not as important as that race. I can pull back. I’m not an elite, etc.” While elite influence and inspiration is great, it does little to help you in a personal battle against yourself. What you need is to draw upon your own experiences where you didn’t think you could push any harder or faster…and then you did.
I took this after a recent very intense run when I did not think I could do the tempo paces my coach laid out for me…especially after a hard swim. But I DID and took this picture to remind myself that I CAN!
HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT
This is the title of an extremely fascinating book by Matt Fitzgerald. It explores the mind/body connection (something scientists didn’t even believe in a few years back!) in exhaustive detail. It’s fascinating because your mind will quit long before your body actually needs to, every single time. It’s how you can explain a finishing kick or being able to kill your last mile repeat or getting that sudden burst of energy when your most kick ass song comes though your ear buds. Did your body suddenly replenish its glycogen stores or does the mere sight of the finish line provide your mind with all the energy it needs?
From the book:
“Endurance athletes, by definition, endure. They endure long hours of training, the privations of a monastic lifestyle, and all manner of aches and pains. But what endurance athletes must endure above all is not actual effort, but perception of effort.”
Why is this so important?
“The most important discovery of the brain revolution in endurance sports, and the most important truth you can know as an endurance athlete, is this: One cannot improve as an endurance athlete except by changing one’s relationship with perception of effort.”
And how does one do this? Certainly not just by watching other runners do it!
[Tweet “The most important truth you can know as an #endurance #athlete and more #mental games @mattfitwriter”]
WHAT YOU TELL YOURSELF MATTERS MOST
Most of us have some sort of internal dialogue when running or racing. The longer or harder the effort, the crazier and more desperate this self-talk can become. A lot of runners rely on well practiced mantras to get them though the worst parts of training and racing, and they practice their phrases just like speed work, intervals or hill repeats because it truly is just that important.
“Proof that athletes always have some reserve physical capacity at the point of exhaustion comes from a variety of studies, including some in which subjects are required to exercise to exhaustion and then their muscles are electrically stimulated to determine whether they could continue to work if only the athlete were willing to make them continue – – and every time it is discovered that they could.”
Take that muscles!
RUNNING THOUGH MY HEAD
I remember training for my very first marathon way back in 2005. When my training runs got really hard, I would tell myself that when that happened at the end of the marathon, I would think of my mom (who died when I was 17) or my athletic hero at the time (Brett Favre – – don’t laugh it’s true and it was 2005!) to get me to the finish. Well, I can tell you that at mile 25 of that marathon I couldn’t have given two shits about either one of them and all I wanted to do was STOP RUNNING! I didn’t and finished in just under four hours, but learned a very hard lesson on mental strength – – it needs to come from within.
I finished my first marathon no thanks to Brett Favre.
On a very different race course nine years later, I found myself as the lead woman in a duathlon. I was exhausted, depleted, and hanging on by a thread. I didn’t know I was the lead woman and I didn’t care however, when a guy on bike rode up beside me and said into his two-way “I have the lead woman and second place isn’t far back so we have ourselves a race.” I felt sick to my stomach and then dug so deep that I practically had an out-of-body experience that shoved me the last .25 mile to the finish. I broke the tape and all of a sudden had renewed energy.
I don’t even look tired but I was a wreck just .25 miles before this.
Here’s the thing, I ran both races to my full potential, or I should say to my full level of giving a shit. In that first marathon all I wanted to do was cross the finish line and, in the duathlon, I was training for the world championship and I had a lot to prove to myself, and that made all the difference. It always does.
THE TAKEAWAY
I have a very hilly half-marathon to run tomorrow. I know from running it in years past that it will suck and suck terribly, especially in the last mile-long uphill slog to the finish. My mental game is ready and it will come down to how badly, in those moments, do I want it. Right now, I’m not sure. It’s not a goal race but, of course, I want to do well. My mind will be key in my performance since my body is more then up to the task.
You already have everything you need to run a successful race. YOU are the one who will truly know if you left it all out there or if you gave up. Maybe it won’t matter but maybe it will. The only question to ask yourself is “How badly do you want it?”
Do elites motivate you when it really matters? I’m curious.
What race have you really suffered for and what got you though it?
Brett Farve does sound like a good motivator until I’d be like – he doesn’t care that I’m dying right now!!! And I think we all need a person on a bike to pull up next to us near the end of a race to say that we are the lead runner. It would be a game changer! Never mind that for the majority, it would be an outright lie. Whatever stokes a fire under your ass, right?
LOL – it was a serious game changer but I mostly felt like NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
It’s an interesting post/topic for sure. Elites don’t motivate me when it matters to be honest. The only “out of body” experience I’ve had was finishing my first marathon. The last 6 miles, I was so out of it and began just trying to get through.
Good luck tomorrow!
Exactly! I know you have been on the pain train enough to get this concept. You should write about post about what motivates YOU to kill the 5K like you do. Inquiring minds want to know!
I for sure, am not Shalene lol. I love that you talk about digging deep and going further than you think you can. Quite honestly I don’t identify with elites at all but I admire the heck out of them!! Good luck on your hilly half, I will be virtually cheering you as I always do <3
Interesting and good to know!!
Thank you and I hope you feel better this weekend!
I actually do sometimes like to pretend that I’m running with Shalene, but during really hard times, it is really just belief in myself and wanting to prove to myself that I can do something that gets me through. I have to say that for LA marathon, mile 20-23 were actually the hardest, and thinking about the people I was dedicating the miles to really helped. By the last mile, I couldn’t even think anymore…. so I just told myself to stop thinking and just look ahead and keep moving. You’ll do great on your hilly half tomorrow.
Ah yes, there is definitely a point when your brain can shut down and that’s not always a bad thing. I too dedicated miles in my half-marathon and it helped for sure BUT I don’t think I was pushing as much as I could have. Back then, I didn’t know how to “race!”
Thanks for the encouragement tomorrow – I’m going to need it!
I would say that sometimes in my long runs, when it’s getting tough to keep going, I tell myself “Scott Jurek Runs this distance for a warm up! Get moving”…. then I remember that I can’t compare myself to an ultra runner… but keep running anyway.
The race that I remember struggling at the most was a Hero Run 5K this past November, I was tired, hungry, cold and my toes were burning, but knowing my son was at the finish line pushed me to the finish.
That is an amazing picture of your duathlon victory! simply amazing!
HAHAHA – yes, exactly that about Scott Jurek! And having your kids at the finish is a HUGE motivator!!
Thank you Ana 🙂
I would never laugh at you using Brett Favre for motivation–sure, he stumbled a bit with that whole texting his genitals thing, but he’s back on track and doing triathlons! Maybe he’s motivated by you…
I did think about Shalane on that last horrible 12 miler I ran a few weeks ago, but only because I witnessed her dramatic finish the day before. The fact that she didn’t quit pushed me to finish my run. But I also pulled out my inner mantras as well. And thought about crossing the finish line at Big Sur.
Good luck on the hilly half this weekend!
Really? I had no clue he was doing triathlons now! Good for him – I glad I could inspire him 🙂
Focusing on that finish line at Big Sur I’m sure is a HUGE motivator. I did the same for NYC.
Elites do inspire me, but it’s honestly all the runners/bloggers I know who manage to kick ass without the elite lifestyle. More relatable!
I suffered through my first marathon and all I could think about was crossing the finish line so I could sit down. My stomach hurt, my legs felt heavy, and I would have pulled a full-on Andy Dwyer and laid down right there at mile 18 if I wasn’t so competitive with myself.
Good luck on your half marathon tomorrow! Those hills don’t stand a chance against you.
Totally agree about us “little people” and how many of my running friends and blog friends inspire me way more because I know all the details!
And YES it’s being competitive with yourself that helps finally cross the finish line!!
Thanks Laura.
What an appropriate post!
Yes, it’s all governed by the brain, a central theme to the book I just suggested to you. The CGM postulates that the brain limits all aspects of physical expenditure to keep the body in homeostasis so it doesn’t blow itself up. It is not VO2max as previously thought; but in fact that toxic metabolites are produced at a %age of VO2max, which in turn is governed by the brain. (That’s not what I learned in the 80s at University!).
Indeed this explains Shalane, Allies’ duathlon win (where did you get those quads?), and if you want to Google it- Julie Moss’ dramatic finish at Ironman Kona! I know you’ll love this book.
I wanna go to Rio and see Meb run! Awesome inspiration, I wanna be like Him! Did you see the post race press conference? The praise heaped on Meb by his teammates Galen, Amy, Jared, and Desi? What a humble man!, and steeped in greatness!
Yes, I got an IV at the end of Ironman HI 1981, so I can relate to Flanagan’s comment; and yes, they work REALLY fast!
I’ve had a few races where I’ve had a conversation with my brain- so who is it that talks to your brain????????
I couldn’t agree more about Meb. He is the TOTAL PACKAGE – not just an amazing athlete but a great man, which is why he will be remembered.
Hope you never need the IV again, but glad it’s there for super quick rehydration 🙂
And the brain talk – yep, I’ve had those full on conversations with my “alter ego,” aka the one who is NOT in pain!
Oh yes, I’ve definitely left it all out there. Gosh running kills sometimes. I have to admit that I’m not motivated by elites. Apples and oranges. Inspiring? Yes. When the going gets really tough though I go deep inside myself. I need to read that book!
Exactly that – YES! Get the book. It’s fascinating.
I’m a huge Matt Fitzgerald fan and I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while. I’ll have to get it! I believe our body goes where our mind goes. It’s inexplicable sometimes but it is true. Thanks for the nuggets from this. xo
I know you loved Mind Gym and this is of the same nature but explores MUCH deeper. You will love it!!
I get very inspired when reading athletic success stories, but in the end I only compare myself to… myself. My worst race was not that long or difficult itself, but I had underestimated the heat, and got dehydrated. I know better now.
Exactly! We will always be own best/worst competitor!
Sorry you had to learn about dehydration the hard way BUT, as you said, it will never happen again.
Oh, this is a great post. The mental game is definitely the hardest part! I’ve struggled with this on so many occasions. I have no idea what gets me through to be honest. It’s either there or it’s not!!
So glad you agree and now you need to do some mental training so it’s always THERE!