Mental Motivators

Back in Run Your First Marathon it says of Olympians "As their training got harder, their belief in regards to performance increased. They had a sense of humor. And they kept at it: a bad result was not a catastrophe, but a reason to be more determined."

"As the noted saying goes - training is 90 percent physical and 10 percent mental, but look out for that 10 percent."

So many times in life we have to fail to achieve and that is so hard for me because at the time I don't want to fail. Sometimes I've set myself up for it by lack of preparation and sometimes I was prepared and it happened anyway.

"Making the decision to run a marathon is the easy part. It is the follow-up that proves to be the challenge." I have learned a few things already. I can run when it is very cold. I can run with a tummy ache. I can plan my blog while I run. I have to have something to think about because I haven't worked out the music thing yet and thinking about "my daily life challenges" is not motivating.

I have one mental motivator I am working on for my 26.2 run that I will reveal later, the idea is from my Desert Shark friend Cindi. The book mentions several:

Visualization: "As a first-time marathoner, you should spend time visualizing yourself getting ready, being on the starting line, and seeing yourself finish, feeling good."

Focus: "Part of the experience is learning to concentrate and focus on your running when necessary...in order to monitor your effort and your body."

Self Confidence: "I can do it. If your are programmed to believe in your success, you will achieve it. It has been proven time and again that we are what we think, and we achieve what we believe we are capable of achieving."

Mike Franfurt who did his 50th and last marathon on the day of his 60th birthday, on the day he finished his first marathon at 40 he says "it suddenly flashed through my mind, I can do anything. I just ran a marathon."