As Summer soon turns to Autumn, for many that will mean the return of racing.
Whether it’s a big city marathon that you have been targeting for months, or just small local events, there is always a buzz about racing that is near impossible to recreate in training.
Whilst many runners are good at working hard to prepare physically for a race, less attention is typically given to the mental aspect, and that is what I want to go through here.
When you have worked so hard to grind out the miles, you want to make sure that your mental game is on point to allow you to enjoy the benefit of all that training.
Lets get into it…
I want you to picture it being race day.
Firstly, you’ve got to become a pro at taking care of the basics. Doing this will allow full focus to be on preparing yourself mentally and physically to race.
Unfortunately, you can’t just magic yourself on to the start line, as there are practical and logistical considerations that need to be managed.
I’ve always made it my aim for these to be as smooth as possible, as I don’t want any trivial things taking up more valuable energy than they should when I’ve got a race to focus on.
Remember everything you have put in to be here? You want to make sure that all this isn’t wasted time, energy, effort and money because you’ve gotten in a flap by running late.
Your own specifics will be specific to you, but typical basics you’ll always want to have sorted on race day
What am I eating and when?
Where do I need to be and at when?
How long does it take to get there? (Think worst case scenario).
Where and when can I warm up, change and go to the toilet?
Have I got my race number, kit, food and drink?
You get the gist. Taking care of all this stuff well in advance makes life on race day a million times easier.
That’s housekeeping taken care of. Onto the good stuff that’s really going to get you ready to perform.
Do you get nervous on race day? Whether that be hours before or once at the race?
I really hope that the answer to this is yes.
Because it shows that you care. It means something to you. That you want it to go well. If you didn’t feel much and were horizontally laid back, I’d be concerned.
One I get these butterflies I know it’s time to switch on. A nice easy one is to reword nerves to excitement. Like a kid on Christmas Day who can’t wait to open his or her presents.
No matter what the race, how big or how small, how far or how short, working on learning to follow these 3-steps below should leave you in a great mental state ready to perform.
- Protect your energy with your life
Ask 100 people at a race how they are feeling about the race. I’d be willing to bet that a number well into the 90s would be ready to tell you why today is NOT going to go well.
‘It’s hot, it’s cold, it’s windy, the course is hard, I’m injured, I’m not ready etc etc etc. Yawn.
This is the absolute last thing I want to be around on race day. Energy vampires, mood hovers, negative Nancy’s – They are to be avoided at all costs, whether that is general chit-chat or warming up, stay away from these people.
I highly recommend on race day, either being by yourself, or with people who you know are good to have around. People who are uplifting, inspiring, and who radiate energy for you to want to do well.
2. Provide Yourself with Overwhelming Evidence
Self-doubts are near impossible to eliminate, and after 23 years in the game it’s certainly something I am yet to achieve, nor met anyone else who can do this.
But what is much more achievable, is to flood yourself with evidence as to why the doubts are not going to stop you, essentially replacing them with a positive and truthful statement.
I’m really nervous – It shows I care
How will I get through this – I’ve done this hundreds of times before
I feel sluggish – I’m always fine once I’ve warmed up
The pace I’m after is really fast – I’ve trained for this
I don’t want to be here – Think how good it’ll be afterwards
I’m not in shape – This is a big step back
The conditions are bad – I’ve done well in this before
I’m going to drop out – I’ve never dropped out
These are some common ones and no doubt you’ll have your own.
3. Maximise Your Warm-Up
I think this is one of the biggest differences between elites and amateurs. Many amateurs don’t really utilise the full opportunity that the warm-up provides.
This is a very individual thing but a great opportunity to really dial in mentally as well as physically. The 45 minutes before the race is where you can go from normal mode to your alter ego race character. You can even name him or her.
People have often said that I become a different person when I’m at a race. Great, I want to be!
The warm up is a great time to go through the overwhelming evidence drill talked about above, as well as dialling in on final thoughts as to what the strategy is going to be off the start line.
Summary
There you have it – Simple, but highly effective strategies that when implemented, should leave you feeling good and ready for your race. Like anything, they may not happen overnight, and will take practice. Keep at them though, and you’ll soon start noticing a difference for how you feel on race day.
In-race mental strategy is an entire discussion in itself, and one we’ll cover in a future article.