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."

Running Gear Essential: A Training Log

Read a great article early this morning about training logs in Rocky Mountain Running & Triathlon. Picked this little magazine up at my weekly visit with Stacy at Muscle Works. By the way, I noticed I have a cascade of bruises on the outside of my thighs. To help avoid so much future pain I ran (not literally) to Wasatch Running Center to buy a foam roller to stretch my muscles with. I am also going to put Prolytes in my water all the time. I do need any edge I can get.

So back to the training log article, and I quote Jose Jimenez, "While you certainly don't need a training log to hit the road and run, such information will provide motivation, insight, quiet suggestions for improvement, and a plan for your goal. It could be the separator between the recreational jogger and the dedicated runner. No gear junkie would ever turn away a product with those claims." And there we have it. I think I am a gear junkie. That is actually part of the motivation to run. Like today, I can hardly wait to get home and get that Garmin GPS on my wrist and take it out for a run. How is that for motivation!

As you can see I have already chosen to do my journal electronically, and I am still trying out several different actual training logs to find one I like. My blog with log is now where I can get to all my favorite sites.

So quoting Jose again, "Don't get to race week wondering if you have trained enough to meet your race goals. Get logging today!"