Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
Tips for when the going gets tough
![[Deleted User]](https://w5.vanillicon.com/5534fd0c4ac2224108890faf67db54c6_100.png)
A friend has just asked how I keep going in a marathon when the going gets tough.
I thought it might be interesting and useful to find out the wierd and wonderful ways different people shut up that inner voice that says, 'Stop running you idiot, this hurts.'
I've only done two maras so not a lot of experience to draw on, but thinking about other long races, I just imagine how good it'll be to finish (and it WILL finish eventually) and look back knowing that I absolutely could not have run one second faster. I don't want to look back and kick myself for not trying hard enough on the event I've been slogging away at training for months.
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
I like to think of that inner voice as a little "friend" who only appears when I'm really working hard... so therefore when I hear that voice, it means I'm doing really well, and putting in a good effort! I try to greet that friend and have a conversation with them - weird as that sounds! - along the lines of 'Ah its you again, I must be running well then if you're here'
It works most of the time! Having said that, I'm closely watching this thread for other tips
I've only done 1 but I DO remember thinking' You could just stop, now'..Actually, that was quite comforting. It's always an option...
And then I thought ' What? After all those runs in the sleet? You've come all this way...literally and figuratively..to go home without a finisher's medal? What about the 2 buddies who ran the training runs with you...in the sleet! Frankly, Scarlet, at your age this could easily be a ' once in a lifetime' thing..'. No way was I going home without it...
* Loved that book, Puffy, for his description of seeing Portuguese-Men-o' War and phosphorescence at sea. I went through an ' Antartic' phase some years ago and recommend Shakleton's account of the sinking of the Endurance and the survival of his crew for sheer suspense.. and Scott's letter to Wilson's mother as the most restrained love -letter I've ever read.*
Ooohh ATM - could have a whole conversation with you about Antarctica... but won't here because this is a thread for marathon motivators. (And who's ever known me to go off the point in a thread???
)
Annajo - love the idea of turning the voice into a friend. Very cunning. And optimistic!
I count - or talk to someone randomly near by. Some people are nice and talk back - others just look at you like your mad, but it takes your mind off stuff. I also start chanting positive things in my head like 'what a nice day' or 'isn;t this easy'. I find if I tell myself often enough that I am finding it great fun or 'easy' it makes it seem less hard. And then when it gets really bad i just start thinking in terms of miles - i.e. I'll have a drink at the next mile or a gel or maybe even walk a bit (of course by the time the mile marker comes around I tell myself just one more mile THEN i'll walk a bit).
I also pick on folk to overtake - I really enjoy that.
The night before FLM last year (my first marathon) I read the following several times, especially the last paragraph, and slept with it under my pillow to try and make it sink in more. It seemed to work, I was full of pride and the biggest sense of accomplishment I had ever experienced on the day, the whole way round. When things got tough I remembered how "strong" and "tough" I had become and how I had beaten all those demons on those really nasty long training runs I'd done in the rain or on roads with no pavements etc, and how all that would seem worthless and one big joke if I couldn't keep going until the end now. Remembering things like the Adidas / lucozade slogans such a "Pain is temporary, success is forever" (or "memories are forever") and "I've run 100s of miles, I'm not giving up on the last 26.2" - and as you are near the end, you can amend that one to "I'm not giving up on the last 6 / 5 / 4 etc..."
Soooooooo much of a marathon is mental, it is absolutely utterly true. Once you have done your training and got to the start line in good health it is all these mantras and mind tricks and ways of silencing the demons that get you round - it is SO true!!
Anyway, enough babble from me for now.. here's the thing I read a zillion times before last year's FLM. Not sure who wrote it, unfortunately...
WHEN YOU STAND ON THE START LINE
When you stand on the Start Line, you join the club. When you stand at the Starting Line you earn your membership. Millions dream of being where you are. You are no longer a dreamer. You are a doer.
Thousands more started a training programme but never finished. They started with the same enthusiasm as (or more than) you. They started with more or less the same physical gifts or disadvantages as you did. They had no more and no less reason to be successful than you.
But somewhere along the way, they lost that enthusiasm. Somewhere on the road or on the track or treadmill, they decided that the rewards just weren't worth the effort. They decided that they could live without finding their limits, without challenging their expectations of themselves and without taking a hard look at their image of themselves.
You didn't. If you’re standing at the Start Line, you've not only accepted the challenge, but you've also beaten back the demons. You've conquered your imagination and self-imposed limitations. You've gone further, got stronger and become tougher than you ever imagined.
ooh, Lee-sterine, I like that one.
I've only done 3 marathons and the most recent (Leciester, last Oct) was the worst for me both mentally and physically - due to not training enough then overdoing it with half marathons too close to the day, and mentally due to lack of crowds / self confidence towards the end, 'losing the mental battle' as I say. I DO look back and think "oooh, if only I hadn't started walking at that point" and I have to admit it does bug me a bit. Overall I'm not too bothered as it wasn't one I was so fussed about getting a particular time and I still got round in a very respectable 4.11
Oh and Susan - I think I only managed to use that stern voice to slow us down because my legs were hurting so much right from the start that I couldn't have kept up with you for more than a couple of miles at the speed you were trying to run!! Haha.
I think you have to know realistically what pace you are capable of doing, be ambitious but not stupid about it, and then GO with it, not a second too fast or slow if you can, and adjust your pace at every mile until you get it right. So there!
I play songs in my head and try to remember the lyrics to my fave songs.
Sometimes I find that I am singing out loud and I get weird looks but I really don't care, I'm having fun.
I also start to break down the race into chunks and think to myself 'you can't be tired this is only the half marathon distance and you can do that easily'. and 'only eight miles to go, that is just the distance from my house to the strand and back' and then I think of it as a new run. By the time I have finished working out the maths of it all I have forgotten that I am tired.
I find that as soon as I start running my maths abilities disapear so it takes me ages to work out simple sums.
I've used the Non-runners Marathon Training book, it's really good. Loads of handy tips.
A couple of quotes nicked form another thread:
"Pain is temporary, success is forever"
"There are no impossible dreams; there is just our limited perception of what is possible."
Lee-sterine I think I got your point wrong! I was thinking you meant that you imagine looking back on yourself running that marathon and how annoying it would be to wish you had done something different on the day and imagine you could use the 'edit' function to change things and be wondering "what if.... I'd just pushed a little longer that day" or whatever.
Now I see what you mean, that you use that as a fun distraction looking back on your life, is that right?!"
I've tried the counting before. It works but is boring. If you have enough energy to chat to someone even for a couple of minutes it's incredible how quickly you manage to switch off and realise that you've done another half a mile in what felt like seconds!
I done the London Marathon last year for the first time and my mantras were :
RUN MY RACE AT MY OWN PACE.
NO FINISH NO MEDAL
I'M NEARER TO THE FINISH THEN THE START.
17 MILES WAS MY FURTHEST TRAINING RUN ,I THEN TOOK 1 MILE AT A TIME AFTER THAT AND MENTAL STRENGTH PLAYED A BIG PART WITH EACH MILE I PASSED.
I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYMORE MARATHONS IF I DON'T WANT TO ( l'm currently training for my 2nd one !! )
ENJOY, SMILE, RELAX AND FINISH SAFELY.
I also 'do maths' in my head - like try to work out how much time is left if I run at such and such a pace, converting it into minute miles then minute kilometres etc. That kind of thinking is hard when you are running! But it eats the miles up!
I break the race down into 4 x 10k chunks as well, telling myself that I've run 10k loads and loads of times in training. When you get to the 20 mile mark, that's all thats left is 10k, anyone who has done marathon training can do a 10k - well that's what I tell myself. After the second 10k you are halfway there and can start to count down - 19 then 18 etc. once you're down to single figures home is in sight!
I've done just 4 marathons, but each time, I've gone the day before and looked at the finish line, I can then picture it and know what I'm aiming for.
When out on my training runs, I tend to 'coach' myself in that I tell myself just to get on with it, "of course you can get up that hill - don't stop and stop whinging etc." I also take this coach on my races with me - she's a bit of a bully, but gets the job done
Depending on how I'm feeling I like to personify the route that I'm running, I tend to use this a lot when doing long training runs. I make the route my adversary, and it makes me more determined not to let it beat me. I often find myself cursing various parts of the route such as hills etc. The maths trick works very well also, especially after you're past half way as you keep hitting targets almost every mile.........only 1 hr to go, only 10k left.........only half hr to go........
Peter gosh you're hard on yourself! But - whatever gets you through! Your so right about it being in your head.
EPixie - I can relate to the idea of looking at the finish line. I'm doing Paris two weeks today (TWO WEEKS TODAY!!!) and I've never seen the finish so I'll def toddle off to have a look - it's not far from our hotel. With FLM last year I had to walk near Parliament Square and saw the blue line and all the barriers ready to go up and did def have a little thought that the next time I was there I'd have less than a mile to go.
Some great ideas here!
I like the 'only a 10k left' thought when you are at 20miles, especially if you remember that it can be your slowest 10k and you don't have to run it at your usual 10k pace!
i have only run one marathon and i tried not to look out for the distance markers - it worked for me not knowing how much i got left and when i found out (at the stations) it was another 5k chunk gone and there are only 8 of those babies right?
a good playlist on my ipod with motivational songs scattered in there also worked well although it was not constantly on- i still remember how i charged on when 'survivor' by destiny's child came on....! ....i know i know...
i ran in rome where there are some spectacular angel statues so i also imagined i had an angel running next to me giving me strength!
however when i got to 40k a loud 'cm'on!!!' and an imaginary self kick up the backside did wonders!
My worst nightmare was at 20 miles of the wolverhampton Marathon I kept hearing this tune in my head from Razorlite "I wish I was somewhere else but here!!" I needed that like a hole in the head so I put on my Ipod first tune Donna Summer "enough is enough"...... edit your ipod choose motivational tracks like
The London Marathon Theme ... on itunes
Don't stop me now! Queen
Gonna fly now.. theme from Rocky
Eye of the Tiger from Rocky
Proud ... Heather Small
We are the Champions... Queen
I carry jelly babies for when the going gets tough.
First I bite off its head (because its all in the mind), then I eat the middle bit (lots of energy) and then I eat the legs because I need their strength.
Silly? yup - but it keeps me going.
And what's wrong with talking to a jelly baby whilst you massacre it?