For the past 10 weeks I have been teaching a walking clinic for the employees at American Express who have signed up for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer 60KM walk in September. It’s amazing to see the transformation of these amazing women who had a tough time completing a 5KM walk and who are now doing 16 KM walks as part of the training I have given them.
It reminds me of how powerful the mind is and how we have really only touched the surface with regards to what we are capable of. The more ultra races I do, the more I’m convinced that it is my mind that needs to be trained as much if not more than my legs. Physically I think I can do just about anything I set out to do as I feel that I am taking the proper steps to keep myself in the best shape possible.
My mental game, though, needs some fine tuning. There are certain parts of each race I’ve done this year where self-doubt has crept in and I must figure out why that is happening and what I can do to overcome it. I am proud that I have been able to fight through this but it would be nice to have a race where I didn’t have to. However, maybe that is the point of these ultra races. The longer I am out there, the more my mind begins to wander. Surely in a shorter race I wouldn’t have time to think about too many things but when I am out there for 4, 5, or 6 hours it seems like that negative self-talk is inevitable.
During my training I am paying very close attention to keeping my mind relaxed and also doing some visualization exercises. I am imagining that I am actually at the race and I am at the half-way mark where fatigue starts to set in. This will allow me to be as prepared as I can be mentally for the challenges of running a fast marathon.
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