“You can go to the marathon start line physically ready but mentally be a bag of hammers.”

Its taper week before the Ottawa marathon and other than trying to rest my body and get ready to race on Sunday – my mind is going bananas. The wheels in my head are turning at 6000 rpm and I am trying to force out doubts, worry and negativity. There are some valid concerns with slightly tight hip flexors and feeling not quite rested and ready – but following plan and trying to stay on track.

I even recently found out (assumed) but found out elite runners(Rob Watson blog) have same mental (taper-week) madness. Feel less alone but wish I had trained my mind more.

One of the things that I wish I had more time to focus on is mental training and preparation. I beat myself into the ground with big miles and workouts and worked on stretching, nutrition and other aspects – but not mental. It was on the list but I never fully got to it.

A sports psychology expert gave me these 3 tips going into the last few days before the Ottawa marathon.

Top 3 tips for mental success on race day in no particular order:

• Visualize success not just at the finish line but all the way through.
• Think about how you want to feel during the race, hold on to that feeling when things get tough.
• Make sure you’re breathing properly, try and breathe from your belly as much as possible.

Natalie Robichaud

Natalie is the friend. Natalie describes herself as a Sports psychology consultant, hard core skier, passionate artist, rocking stepmother and partner to hard core skier. Natalie has a passion for helping athletes achieve mental success. I got to briefly know Natalie and tapped into her for advice. She also encouraged me to think about how I want to feel during a run and hold those thoughts – along with the idea that like physical training, mental training requires repetition and practice.

Natalie’s blog: http://skigurl.wordpress.com/ or find her on twitter @sportspsyguru

Mental Training reading

I found Jeff Galloway’s book (Mental Training for runners) a relatively simple read with some basic information. In the book Galloway states:

“I believe that stress and pressure stimulate the reflex brain to trigger a series of subconscious actions that result in low motivation, burnout, pain and loss of focus.”

The book also give tips on how to practice being motivated and positive before and during running and racing. He also gives the advice to confront each negative thought on race day with a positive one. Going to focus on that and relaxing on race day.

I have prepared. I am fit and I am going to give everything I have and leave it on the race course Sunday.

Going to stay positive, relax, get my last few runs in and see ya at the start line.

Run on friends.

Articles on mental training and toughness:

Mental toughness and the ability to overcome

Mental Tips for Marathon Running