The mental challenge part of the race (Read 1276 times)

I agree. I've got to work on pushing myself during races. One mental trick of torture is reminding myself of just how short of a time it really is and in just a matter of how ever many minutes are left, I'll be standing around like nothing happened...so I might as well make the most of it.

i think this is the most helpful suggestion for me, too. my trouble is not at the end-- i get a whiff of an approaching finish and i pick it up w/o thinking twice-- but on longer courses, i just sort of fall apart and feel like a lost cause in the middle, especially if there are hills or i'm not familiar with the course and don't know what's around the corner. experience will help, and more skill with my pacing. but i *know* my biggest problem right now is mental. if my legs are fresh enough for the last mile to sprint as hard as i do and still not feel ruined after crossing the line, i think they probably have a little more "go" in them in the middle of the race, too.

Here's a few good ones : Hebrews 12:1 - ...and "let us run with patience the race that is set before us". James 4:7 - "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you". And by sig. verse below.

Those are not from the Bible. They are from the "New Testament" (just messin with ya)

Excellent topic. One way to work on this is with fartlek workouts. This gets you physically and mentally aclimated to pushing out of your comfort zone in your workouts. Too often training can turn into "just jogging". I use a basic mental training exercise. When I am on a training run and for whatever reason, find myself in the zone, I try to focus on how I'm feeling - posture, breathing, surroundings, etc. I try to take a mental snapshot of the moment. Then I run very hard for the next half mile or mile so that I begin to approach exhaustion and imagine I'm running toward a finish line, something more closely resembling the fatigue I'd feel in an actual race. Once I've "experienced" the race pace/feel, I back off a bit and get back to that "zone" feeling and again, and take another mental snapshot. I rinse/repeat this as long as I can. As you can see, this routine also results in a fartlek type workout.