Personal bests and great performances don’t just happen, they are made to happen. They’re engineered by training, commitment and personal investment. However, being in the right mental state as race day approaches is the real deal maker/breaker, as I know only so well and that’s what I’m going to write about in this edition of my blog.
Having run a few races myself, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of being mentally engaged with the many challenges that I’ve attempted and completed.
And as the first weekend of October is quickly approaching and many of my clients are racing in marathons at Chester and London – plus I have a 12-strong-team racing with me at the 250km Multi-Stage ULTRA-X in Jordan - I wonder what’s going through their minds with less than seven days to go to race day?
As their coach, I have a good idea of how much physical effort they've put in and I believe all of them have done enough to finish their particular races. How well they will perform? Well, that’s another question. For some, just completing the distance will be a Personal Best. For others, a 3:30:00 marathon result will be a sad face whereas a 3:29:59 will be a big smiley emoji for those chasing that time.
Over all my years of racing, I’ve found the last week before the race is the best time to start thinking about what lay ahead and the goal I was trying to achieve. At the height of my running back in '99 it would have been impossible to have remained at such a heightened state of alert for 52 weeks of that year but there were certainly races where I distilled the basics of why I was there and what I was trying to achieve, rather than just adding another marathon to my email signature.
Sure, there were marathons I entered which I never thought would be some of my quicker times (Mablethorpe Marathon comes to mind) but the races that I’m most proud of are those where I’ve invested time in getting to the start line rested, with a clear understanding of the race and with life nicely balanced. And when I say rested, I don’t mean for the night before but for the week leading up to the race with lots of extra zzz’s packed in and a Saturday spent doing very little on a settee.
Now, if you are running the London Marathon, learn the route – learn the landmarks – learn the highlights. It passes the time and provides a framework for your race plan. And if you are away with me in Jordan, make sure that while you are away that everything back home is covered. Peace of mind really helps. Make sure the Mortgage is covered, Car and Home Insurance is in place, your Out of Office is on and your nearest and dearest know what not to expect from you when you are away as there is no 'phone a friend' option where we are going in the sand.
I find the races are difficult enough without any added ‘worry-factor’. On Jen’s recent racing in Italy, we both found pre-race facetiming upsetting for the whole family and agreed that a few simple texts of our continued love and affection for each other was the only information we both needed. Seeing it from a 'Back Home' point of view helped. Going with the 'if something terrible has happened theory', there's nothing you can do when you are away and there's always time when you are back to sort it out when you are back is my approach.
The key to success is to think about the investment you’ve made both physically and mentally and to think back at how you felt when you entered the race. Excited is the first one that comes to my mind. On race day, listening to tunes and excluding the vampires will also help you concentrate on getting the biggest bang for your buck and of course, feel free to enjoy the whole race experience because it’s a real privilege to take part in any race as later years you’ll look back and be glad you gave your anything and everything if you know what I mean.
Rest - Race hard - Reflect :-)
1,136 Marathons - 264 Ultras - 9 Guinness World Records - 15 MDS
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