I have a race coming up soon where all signs point to a good day. I know I have trained well and been smart about everything. But I also know I sometimes struggle to defeat the Mental Demons that lurk at the end of every Marathon. I'm no dummy. I know all about the power of being positive and confident. I have Faith in my life and lean on it (and Him) daily. I am by no means a pessimist. If you knew me "in real life" you'd never think I could be anything but positive. I've been "in the zone" enough to know what confidence can do. But I am realistic enough to know that things happen and that a good day is never guaranteed. The last 10K of a Marathon is a physical challenge but more importantly a mental one. I can't just finish a Marathon and know I'll BQ (like Tim will). For one who is right on the edge for my BQ, I need every second and ounce of strength I can garner. I've taken to using Mental Phrases during my training runs to see if that will help override the negative thoughts. When I get the inevitable bad stretches I tell myself "I feel terrific" or "This will pass soon enough". But it always seems a little artificial to me. So, what techniques do you use to keep yourself "up" and "strong" during tough patches? And what do you do before the race to ensure that great confidence that means everything. I have my last 20 miler this Saturday and I'd love to practice some mental ideas that all you smart and talented people use that have worked for you. Bill

Bill, I also am chasing a BQ and will try for mine in June. I also am on the edge and although I feel I have a good chance of getting it done this time around there are things we cannot control like the weather or a late in training injury so yes a lot of us go into these with some self doubt. Although BQ is my real goal I will enjoy the race for what it gives me on that given day. We put so much into our training that to come away with anything but pride and accomplishment would make the next training cycle impossible. This is the stratagy I used late in my last marathon, I Never allow myself to walk, even through late water stations I always feel if I compromise this rule I will be giving in and that will be the beginning and other compromises will become easier, like slowing down. I never look at the end of the race until I am there, Its easy to kid yourself that at mile 20 a magical vision comes over us and we know how its gonna end. I know there will be many struggles between 20 and 26.2 for me so I look forward to the challenges so that when they do come I am ready and step up to them not allow the 20 mile imaginary wall be an excuse for giving in. And finally as silly as this sounds I break up the miles into 2 mile segments. If I look forward to every mile it seems like a long way but it seems only half that far if I count by twos. I really hate reading signs late in a race reminding me this is mile 23 ! the reality is scarry so I try not to pay attention I really like races where the aid stations are not at the mile markers for this very reason. Every race is different and no matter how well you train things don't always go your way but if you believe in your training, and yours has been fantastic, you will smoke this race! Good luck Larry

I find myself improving form and increasing turnover rate when I spot a cameraperson. Maybe you could pretend that you are constantly in a viewfinder the last few miles! Seriously, you might think about what your personal power words might be (glide, Boston,...) and develop a chant using them. Good luck, Bill.

I argue with myself a lot too. And I try to pick out a topic of argument early on so I can pull it up when I'm getting tired. This may sound strange, but it works for me. Getting through NYC was hard because I was hurting (three weeks of pool running pre-race was not the best prep, but it got me through). At mile 18 I texted DH to tell him I was having foot problems and walking a lot. But I was able to run a lot of that last 8 miles because I'd make deals with myself (run to the next water stop and you can walk a few steps). And the inner discussion of how to pay some bills and finish some things around the house kept me distracted. I think those things allowed me to still BQ that race when it seemed pretty unlikely at one point. It's also probably the reason I don't remember much of miles 20 to 24...

Interesting topic. Here's a long response. I’m not much of a “faith” guy so let me toss in some science. For me, pushing past tough spots involves out-thinking my own brain. [Insert joke here about how easy that should be. ] I don’t pretend to understand the nuances of neuroscience but my basic takeaway from what I’ve read is as follows: Most of our brain is used to do things about which we are unconscious. As a result of its evolutionary past—and like all other animals--large parts of our brain monitor our environment and our body, regulate breathing, perspiration, and a thousand other things we typically don’t consciously control, adjusting our systems as needed. Other parts of our brain are involved in producing those nifty little electrical signals that we know as thoughts, which allow humans to be more than instinctive animals. We get to reflect on ourselves. Sometimes the conscious and subconscious mechanisms of our brains are in conflict. Think of a big public speech or some other event that makes you nervous; anticipating a crisis your brain’s subconscious automatic “fight-or-flight” system kicks in (evolutionary self-preservation again) and your pulse races, adrenalin flows, etc. But you use the conscious parts of your brain to talk yourself into staying as calm as you can; you’re overriding the subconscious brain. If successful, you learn that the automatic response system of your brain was lying to you. There was no crisis; you did fine. In races, something similar happens, except it’s sort of the opposite of “fight-or-flight.” The subconscious brain senses the intense stress the body is going through and—switching to that self-preservation mode— in anticipation of running out energy, begins telling your body to shut down to conserve energy and other resources.. This happens before you are actually out of energy. So for a period, your body can still perform even though your brain is telling you it can’t--or at least shouldn't. All the efforts at “positive thinking,” “visioning,” “prayer,” dissociating, “mantras,” etc are all about getting past those subconscious brain messages by introducing your own conscious message that will allow you to tap into that last remaining bit of energy. The keys for me have been: 1. Understanding what’s going on during those tough spots. By understanding what’s going on, I can essentially tell the voices, “That’s BS. I know what you’re trying to do and I know I can keep at this a while longer.” [I just went through this over the weekend with a brutally hot 10K in which I was ready to stop by mile 2 but managed to hang on.] 2. Having a few experiences in training where my brain says “I can’t possibly go on” and then I successfully go on—for whatever reason. I prove to myself what all those neuroscientists tell us: there’s a difference between what your body can do and what your brain says it can do. In hitting a tough spot, when the “I can’t go on” voices occur, I remember those moments when I didn’t listen to the brain’s warnings and, instead, kept going. I think of my training, I tell myself I am prepared and I can do this. And I focus on what I’m trying to accomplish, which is never “run fast” but rather “run steady” or “run relaxed,” which is less intimidating yet achieves the same result.

Coaching is like teaching. We need to coach the mind and the soul. The trick is how do we nurture our souls? The advantage you have as a spiritual person allows you to draw from preternatural strength. Alberto Salazar spoke to me at Nike HQ about his reliance on his spiritual beliefs (he's a devout Catholic) and the peace of mind that it afforded him and can afford you. We need to ground our confidence within our self-esteem. One cannot underestimate the opportunity you have to step away from your uncertainties and hand it over to Him. The marathon in its essence is simply a metaphor for life. And as in life, nothing is guaranteed and fate plays its hand with an inscrutable shrug of its shoulders. You have the opportunity to see just how far your faith reaches? When we say we have it, but still voice doubts, is it real? I'm probably going to get into trouble for what I'm going to say next, but so be it. As a spiritual person, my best advice for you is to pray your way through the race. It's not being presumptious because you've done the requisite training. It's not being spiritually facetious because you're not a nominal Christian. You're a practicing Christian and this is a wonderful opportunity to live your faith through your race. What better pacer and coach could you have with you during your marathon than the very one who gave you the ability to run in the first place! Bill - all you have to do is hand it over to Him. He never fails. Alex (a brother in Christ)

And what do you do before the race to ensure that great confidence that means everything.

For me, that would be Imodium.

I'm probably going to get into trouble for what I'm going to say next, but so be it. As a spiritual person, my best advice for you is to pray your way through the race. It's not being presumptious because you've done the requisite training. It's not being spiritually facetious because you're not a nominal Christian. You're a practicing Christian and this is a wonderful opportunity to live your faith through your race. What better pacer and coach could you have with you during your marathon than the very one who gave you the ability to run in the first place!

I am not a religious person at all and I have absolutely no problem with what you are saying here. Though I'm not a religious person I still am very spiritual. I can rely on things like my family waiting for me at the finish, running with the memories of people important to me that I have lost, etc.. All of those things are within me, and I use them to pull me through those tough times. So I can definitely see where you're coming from and agree with you. I've only run one marathon, and a trick I used after mile 20 was the "one more mile" trick. Just run a mile. Then do it again. Try not to think about that whole 10K you need to run, just the next mile. That really helped me. Good luck!