Mental Toughness?
ZenInTexas
Posts: 781 Member
This is something I have been giving a lot of thought to lately. About having the mental toughness to go the distance in the marathon and also how mental fortitude comes into play during racing shorter distances. I have definitely experienced both ends of the spectrum, I have been in races and found myself able to push through the pain and do things I've never thought possible and I've also been in races where I have completely given up. As to why I was able to push through in one and not the other I don't know. So my question is is this something that can be developed? Can you train to be tougher mentally? And if so, how?
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Good question. I think the answer is yes. I think that every training run plays into this. Even (maybe especially) the bad ones. There is something to be learned when you realize that you gave up when you could have pushed through. I think that marathon training is as much about the mental aspect as the physical. You learn what you are capable of and the amazing feeling of achievement. You come through it so much stronger, mentally and physically, than when you started. For me, training for the marathon was a bigger accomplishment than running the race itself. i don't think I had any doubt in my mind on race day that I would finish, but each and every training run was an accomplishment itself.0
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Great topic! Runner's World Magazine just posted something like this yesterday-See "Race training-how to build mental muscle". See link: www.runnersworld.com/race-training/how-to-build-mental-muscle?page=2. Yes, I think this can be developed but it's difficult to do and it takes time, effort, and discipline. Not sure you have to go to the extreme as in the RW article though. I try to do it by stacking really tough workouts under adverse conditions to prepare for anything (pyramid fartlek, Yasso 800s, super long runs). Some of it is visualizing success in your race and trying to prepare for all kinds of things that can go wrong and picture yourself crushing every problem and challenge you encounter. Also, during a race, I try to find incremental success, that is, reeling in/passing one runner/cluster of runners at a time or reaching a certain cruising speed and not slowing down for at least certain stretches. Also, I try to find ways to involve the right side (imaginative, creative side) of my brain when running so the negativity that the left/logical side tends to support gets balanced.0
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Absolutely. That is one of the reasons why long runs during training are so important and why splitting them is a bad idea. Being on the road, by yourself, for HOURS with no mental stimulation besides what you are providing yourself is how you build mental toughness.0
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yep.
get mental
get tough0 -
I found training for my first full marathon to be grueling. I'd done several half marathons prior to that, but I found there was a huge difference once I made the jump to a full. If you get a decent training plan and stick with it, you'll definitely build the mental toughness right along with your physical readiness.
The second time around, I haven't found the training to be nearly as grueling. I think mainly it's because I knew what to expect, but I'll concede that perhaps I should have picked a more challenging training plan the second time around rather than just do the same plan over again.0 -
Mental toughness (resilience) is pretty valuable. When I hit mile 20, I thought of all the tough sh** I did leading up to where I was at. The trail races, triathlons, nasty cat3/4 hills by my house, running during freezing rain, etc. My next full, I'm going to think about how I wanted to limp my cramped leg across the finish but trudged through it and ran. Hey, if it worked for Van Damme in all of his movies, why couldn't it work on a run?
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It's been a while since I've given up on a run mostly because I don't run on the treadmill as much and I have to get home
but it does amaze me sometimes how I used to be scared by my 6 milers and now those are normal. I still tend to get a little anxiety when I'm on my last mile... no matter how well I did or how strong my run felt, I just want to be home and have the whole thing done. I notice that my heart rate actually increases even if my pace does not. Anyone else get home sour? lol I call it that because we call it Barn Sour when a horse increases it's pace or runs back to the barn on a ride. 0 -
Absolutely mental toughness can be developed. All the things you do in training are part of developing it. Waking up at stupid o'clock when everyone will still be sleeping for hours. Long runs by yourself. Putting your running shoes on when you are just not feeling it. Going out when the weather is horrible. Not avoiding hills. I know people who will go out of their way to avoid a hill. I don't get it because not doing them doesn't make doing them any easier.
You never know what race day will throw at you and hopefully you'll have the physical and mental training to be resilient and meet the challenge. I've had race days that have gone brilliantly and one's that have epically sucked. I did a 100k where I struggled with acute mountain sickness from mile 10 until I crossed the finish line. That race had more than a 50% DNF rate. It wasn't my legs that got me through that experience. It was my head and my heart.0 -
Great responses!! Thank you everyone!0
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I have wondered the same thing. If I fail at a race (not hit a PR or goal) it is always my mind..I give up! My first full is 4 weeks away, and I'm more afraid of giving up than my legs failing. I have run two 20 milers but both have been with my sister who is also training for the same full. But I have my last long run this weekend of 22 miler which I'm going solo. I haven't ran more than 16 miles by myself...so this will be a true testimate to my mental strength. And I just ran a half this past weekend, I pr'd by 4 seconds but it was an awful race, my legs are so tired! So hopefully my mind and legs can get it together for my last long run 0
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Even elite genetically gifted athletes need guidance and reassurance too (even the best of the best DNF sometimes), and they have access to top of the line sports psychologists/therapists etc on the side of their coaches support. Many of them are pushed ahead with the right support system. All of us regular folk PR'ing, pushing towards our goals, going it on our own, not being paid for what we do to ourselves... that's pretty epic if you ask me. Brain training ftw.0
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I agree with Dori that the more times you do this, the "easier" it gets. This is my 3rd season, my 4th and 5th marathons. I'm not nearly as nervous about the long runs as I was the last two years. My first road marathon was a disaster. We're talking puking on the side of the road & hanging out in the porta potties. Crying. But I did finish, in 4:45. I spent last year looking at what I could've improved & I made those necessary changes. I was able to get 3:45:08 in Jan at Rock n Roll AZ & 3:41:37 five weeks later in New Orleans.
Personally, I like running by myself. I talk to myself. I have run with other people & I don't like the distraction of listening to them blather on. I need to stay present and in the moment. I know now what my pace is. I know going into long runs how long it should take me. I accept it. I don't fight it. I just accept it. On some runs, there are what I call "the dark times." But I know they pass. I tell myself that. This will pass. Sometimes I feel sluggish, but if I hang on, I feel good again. Everything comes to an end.0 -
Great topic! I have been wondering the same thing as I am unsure how I will feel after 20 miles into my first marathon next weekend!0
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Many factors....what did you eat before a bad run the days before? Had any nagging injuries...? Spend enough time warming up? Did you consistently get speed work and tempo runs in.? Recovery time? Sleep?
I think you have to put yourself in training situations that are going to mentally chalkenge your mind as well as your mucles to learn to deal with it. Try a long with a pickup in the middle and speed up to finish, it is definitel mentally chalkenging, but like all the other training you do, you will eventuall adapt to it. Burn and learn!0 -
I have to say I love my "bad" runs. Whether it is weather (freezing rain and ice on a trail for 22miles) or just for whatever reason I feel it's not my day- I'm tired, it's TOM, etc.- I relish the success of finishing what I set out to do on those bad run days. I always know that my races are going to be easier than those runs, and the knowledge that I can say "this is easy, I did x, y, and z during training, and that was MUCH harder" is a huge mental boost on race day.0
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I was having a conversation today with one of my training partners about what race she's done so far where things went right. She told me it was a 50k we'd done earlier this year. There is a really tough hill that comes around the marathon point (it's a topic of much conversation and consternation) where she just put her head down, powered through and didn't get intimidated by it. And she attributed her mental toughness to our training.
I was doing a lot of exploring on our long training runs leading up to that race. I'd never been on a majority of these trails I wanted to check out so I didn't know what they were like and the likelihood we could get lost was pretty high. I told my two training partners that they were more than welcome to come with me but I only had one rule - no whining. So I got my buddies lost, found ourselves on stuff so steep we could have easily rolled backwards off the mountain and on ankle breaking rocky trails along with some beautiful runnable trails with spectacular views. They didn't whine and actually came back for more.
So she told me after doing some of those trails that I'd dragged her on it reset her perspective on what was hard and she was able to deal with the challenges on race day a lot more easily.0 -
I absolutely think the mental toughness aspect can be developed, and even needs to be developed. My long runs for marathon training were as much mental as they were physical. Working up to 22 miles has given me the confidence to be able to go the additional 4+. Of course, any abnormal circumstances can wreck havoc with mental prep, as much as any physical injury -there was one day that I cut a 20 short at 16 because I was mentally exhausted from some stuff going on that had nothing to do with training. Just my observations thus far0
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Someone was giving a talk once and he said something that really stuck with me:
"if you do something once, chances are very good you will do it again."
My sense is that mental toughness is less about guts and grit and more about confidence and good habits, which is absolutely in our control and can be improved. If we cave on a run or skip a scheduled day, that can become a habit and that wears away our confidence. Conversely, if we recognize when it starts to happen and choose to drive on, then we will do that again in the future. Of course, it's a fine line and sometimes life happens or there is a very good reason to not run or run easier on a given day (injury, emergencies, etc.). I suppose we just have to be brutally honest with ourselves and constantly assess the situation. Oftentimes, when I feel like backing off a pace that I know I can maintain, instead of gritting my teeth, I just take a deep breath, relax and re-commit. Self-talk like "not today" or 'let's make this count" seems to help me, as well. It might help to think of it as replacing bad mental habits such as "I don't feel like doing this right now" with good habits such as "I will make this happen today".
Interesting topic and replies!0 -
Someone was giving a talk once and he said something that really stuck with me:
"if you do something once, chances are very good you will do it again."
My sense is that mental toughness is less about guts and grit and more about confidence and good habits, which is absolutely in our control and can be improved. If we cave on a run or skip a scheduled day, that can become a habit and that wears away our confidence. Conversely, if we recognize when it starts to happen and choose to drive on, then we will do that again in the future. Of course, it's a fine line and sometimes life happens or there is a very good reason to not run or run easier on a given day (injury, emergencies, etc.). I suppose we just have to be brutally honest with ourselves and constantly assess the situation. Oftentimes, when I feel like backing off a pace that I know I can maintain, instead of gritting my teeth, I just take a deep breath, relax and re-commit. Self-talk like "not today" or 'let's make this count" seems to help me, as well. It might help to think of it as replacing bad mental habits such as "I don't feel like doing this right now" with good habits such as "I will make this happen today".
Interesting topic and replies!
This is an excellent response. In my early years of running, when I would cut a run short, I would feel horrible and defeated afterwards, wondering why I didn't power through. Now I almost never stop a run short, and if I do, there is no regret because I know that I did what needed to be done. I guess this is a good example of developing that mental toughness.0 -
Thank you for this. I struggled with a tempo run today because my asthma was pushing back. During the last 3 minutes, the headphone kept falling out of my ear so I couldn't hear the stop. I picked a mailbox that looked right to check my phone. I had 24 seconds left, but I just gave up. I've regretted it all day. Success is a habit.0
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Thank you for this. I struggled with a tempo run today because my asthma was pushing back. During the last 3 minutes, the headphone kept falling out of my ear so I couldn't hear the stop. I picked a mailbox that looked right to check my phone. I had 24 seconds left, but I just gave up. I've regretted it all day. Success is a habit.
What is really important is to be kind to ourselves during this process. Regret is fine and completely reasonable. What is also important is that we accept what happens and resolve to do better in the future. This doesn't happen all at once and we will, beyond a shadow of doubt, come up short in the future. At that time, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back to the business at hand. Mental toughness is built by constant failure. Over and over, we fail and resolve to do better.
On my run this morning, I noticed that I was pushing a little too hard and my form was falling apart. I recalled the old "train, don't strain" gem from Lydiard and while I faded a bit on the last mile and half, I was able to push out a decent pace toward the end and ended the 13 mile run with a negative spit. I guess it's important to pay attention to what our bodies are doing and not push into the injury zone. Patience and persistence seem to be key, for me at least. It's a razor sharp fine line between "training" and "straining", for me anyway.
One last story: one time I was watching a kick boxing fight and one fighter clearly felt he was in better condition then the other one. Each time he went to his corner after a round he said "he can't go in the deep water with me". Sure enough, as the fight wore on, this guy went on to win quite handily. I often think of this when I am getting into those last few miles of long run, or the "deep water" of a run.0
