quote:<HR>Originally posted by TammyM:
When you are on long runs (or races for that matter) and it's getting tough - either you are physically getting tired or mentally exhausted - what do you say to yourself to keep yourself in the game, keep pushing yourself and finish strong? Do you have a phrase you repeat in your head for motivation; do you have some kind of an uplifting conversation with yourself?
<HR>
a very interesting question, Tamster...
It certainly depends on the type of run. I like LR's where the pace is easy and I solve many problems that are ongoing within myself...I like tempo runs when I'm just pushing along the pace on autopilot.
But I really like when I hit a difficult part of a run or race and realize that I'm dogging it, 'cuz I know it's just mental and all I need to do is focus, dig down and push myself. I find myself remembering the hard training times if it occurs during a race and tell myself 'you can do it, you've been here before...pick it up...'. During training, I find it's a bit harder to do it but I do my best.
The conversations that go on in my head (with myself) are endless. I suppose that could be considered trouble...
During the latter parts of several of my marathons, I've used a mantra like 'push the pace' or 'keep the cadence' and counting to maintain 180 steps/minute. But it's all about disassociation at that point.
Nice question.
TC
