Article written by Lewis Walker▼
in the categoryUncategorized▼
6 KEYS TO GETTING THROUGH THE MARATHON PAIN CAVE!
You know what it’s like when you’re at that point in your marathon when things start to get really hard…and within a short space of time what had felt easy and manageable now becomes increasingly overwhelming…coming in waves of discomfort that threatens to ruin your race…
Your quads hurt, your hamstrings feel like they’re going to cramp up, your stride shortens, your gut feel contorted, you feel like you’re straining, you’re engulfed in conflicted negative thoughts telling you to slow down, with anguish filled images of the clock just ticking away and a possible DNF…
Just how do you manage your way through all that…?
Performance psychologists are clear about what the research says: Psychological limits to performance come before the physical limits.
Injury aside, in our battle against slowing down and stopping we are ultimately limited by our degree of motivation to carry on and our ability to maintain a high level of perceived exertion.
Here are 6 Keys for race day mental preparation:
1. BELIEVING IN YOURSELF
You must believe that your goal is not only something that you really want to make happen…you need to believe its possible for you to achieve it, you have or can develop the necessary capabilities, the goal is a good fit for you (no conflicts), and lastly you are willing to commit to taking full responsibility to get to the outcome!
2. FORMATTING YOUR GOALS EFFECTIVELY
Having a highly motivating goal pulling you towards it is the first step. However it’s not enough. You must perform a Gap Analysis: compare what competencies will be needed to succeed with where you’re currently at. This will give you the process goals (what, when, and how) you need to work on to deliver the performance you desire.
Do a gap analysis on your motivation, confidence, concentration/focus, arousal control, self-talk, imagery…
3. MAKING A RACE PLAN
How do you want to be before your race? How will you control your level of arousal so you are in an optimal state of mind at the start? During the race, when the going inevitably gets tough, unbidden thoughts come up when your legs are telling you to slow or stop. This is when you need a pre-prepared plan to bring your mental strengths to bear. Planning what Motivational Mantras you’ll say, what you’ll picture in your mind’s eye and just how you’ll keep on track are key to getting through the pain cave.
4. TURNING THREAT INTO CHALLENGE
Research shows that finding ways to view a situation as a positive challenge significantly improves performance.
When you are in a threat state, feeling that the current demands are overwhelming your ability to cope, your performance can rapidly deteriorate. Being in a challenge state, where you believe that whatever happens you can find a way to handle it, deepens your self-belief, allows you to focus on the controllables and improves performance.
· Feelings of anxiety can be reframed into excitement.
· Seeing opponents as being there to help get the best out of you is a useful perspective.
· Perceiving discomfort as feedback that you’re getting the best out of yourself can raise your pain tolerance.
5. WITHIN RACE SELF-REGULATION
When the race gets going you need to periodically check inside yourself to see how you are feeling. Are you comfortable at this intensity? Does it feel easier or harder than you expected at this stage? And what’s happening on the outside? What’s your pace like? Where are you in the race? What are your competitors doing? What’s up ahead?
The Key Question is: ‘How am I doing and what do I need to focus on right now?’
This is the time to consider using your pre-prepared self-talk, imagery, and state management plans! Then turn your attention back to the outside world.
There is overwhelming evidence that a narrow external focus of attention, such as the back of the person in front, the next marker in the race, or some other salient feature is significantly performance enhancing.
6. POST-RACE REVIEW
Once you’ve given yourself a little time to either bask in the afterglow of your performance success…or commiserate if things didn’t go quite right it’s important to turn your attention to a performance review.
You can go through each of the previous sections noting what went well and what you could do differently next time. Be sure to keep notes so you can plan to implement this in your next race.
If you need assistance in going through this in much more depth to come up with a detailed plan to fit your personal circumstances, please contact me on lewis@TRS-training.com