FROM OUR BLOG... Sport Psychology for Marathon Runners: The Mantra By Dr. Michele Kerulis, LCPC, CC-AASP, Director of Sport Psychology and Athletic Enhancement. Running 26.2 miles takes time, effort, consistent physical conditioning, and a solid mental plan. Several outlets like Runners World, Marathon Rookie, and Active provide training programs for runners, however, few programs address the psychological strength that is required to complete a marathon. Once you have the physical plan in place, incorporate a mental training plan to help you develop psychological strength. This mental training plan can help you push through when you experience difficulty during training runs and the race. In this article we focus on providing marathon runners with one tool that can help them cross the finish line: The Mantra. One specific skill runners can use to help them persevere is creating a mantra, which is a group of words that have psychological power. Think about that: Psychological Power! Mantras can be understood as a NOS system that gives you an additional energy burst when you need it the most. Your mantra is the power that will help you succeed. Creating your race mantra involves ongoing reflection and thought about why you are running. Your mantra is a short phrase that can easily summarize your reflections and remind you about your goals. When you feel like you need that extra boost during your race enlist the psychological power of your mantra. The following five steps will help you create your mantra. 1. Think about why you decided to run. What was it about running 26.2 miles that appealed to you? When was the moment that you decided to make the commitment and register for the race? People run for many different reasons: to raise awareness for charities, in memory of a loved one, to celebrate life, or to complete a physical challenge. Once you reflect upon your reason for running create one sentence that summarizes your reason (or reasons). For example, one runner named Sally, who ran after she overcame cancer stated, “I run to celebrate my health.” 2. Goals for running. Your long-term goal might be related to a specific finishing time. Short-term goals that lead up to race day include developing a training plan, finding a running group, learning about nutrition, and developing your mantra. Once you have a list of your goals create one sentence that summarizes them. Sally’s long-term goal was completing the race and her short-term goals included finding other survivors with which she can train. Her sentence summary of her goals was, “We run together, we survive together, we finish together.” Sally used “we” to include all people with cancer and was inspired by other people’s stories. 3. Anticipating roadblocks. It is important to remember that roadblocks are not an end to your goals. They are simply challenges to be faced. A few typical roadblocks for marathon runners include sore muscles, lost toe nails, stress fractures, and time off of training due to injury (check out Runner’s World Seven Most Common Injuries). The key here is to understand what might go wrong. If you think about this and talk with your coaches you can decrease anxiety and will have an understanding of common issues runners face. This will help you plan how to overcome obstacles. Sally anticipated low energy during training. She was concerned about her body having a negative reaction to intense physical training. She talked with her running group about this and created a plan of action (see step 4: Strategize for overcoming roadblocks). 4. Strategize for overcoming roadblocks. Once you have an idea of roadblocks you might face, create a strategy to overcome the roadblocks. Be especially cautious when you are overcoming a roadblock due to a physical injury and remind yourself to take time to recover. For example, if you experience sore muscles, set a specific time to take off from training (I know, this is difficult for many runners!) and remind yourself that rest and recovery is better for your body than training while injured. Then create one sentence that will help you stick to your strategy. Sally anticipated low energy as a primary roadblock. Her strategy included talking with her doctors, consulting with a dietitian who specializes in working with cancer survivors, and eliciting the support of her running community. Sally’s sentence was, “This fatigue will not overcome me; I will rest, recover, and run.” 5. Create the short phrase. After reflecting on the reason why you decided to run, examining your goals, and predicting and strategizing roadblocks, you are ready to take the main words of the sentences you created and develop your mantra. The mantra is designed to help you remember all of these things in an abbreviated way. Recall Sally’s sentences: -- Why she decided to run: “I run to celebrate my health.” -- Her goals: “We run together, we survive together, we finish together.” -- Her roadblock strategy: “This fatigue will not overcome me; I will rest, recover, and run.” One way to develop a short phrase mantra based on Sally’s example is to summarize her points: She is running to celebrate her health with a community of runners who are also cancer survivors. She realizes that she might face some physical limitations while training (fatigue) and she has a plan to rest and recover. The mantra Sally created was: Health, recover, run. The psychological power of a mantra is fantastic. The meaning behind your mantra is something that will help you move past the difficult parts of training and race day. When feeling doubtful, repeat your mantra to yourself and recall the reasons why you are in the exact moment at that exact time. Repeating the mantra can help you refocus on the here and now and help move you through the temporary difficulty that is holding you back on a specific run or race. Be positive in your intentions and utilize your mantra to help you cross the finish line. For more information on sport psychology skills applied to running contact IAE Sport Psych.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:41:52 +0000
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