🐦 this is all ive got 😂. My last race was 15k hot chocolate race.. and that was a fun race.. i remained happy the entire time..(which was a first) i was constantly thinking of how grateful i was to be able to run... thanking the volunteers more than i normally do...thanking the police officers that were on the course blocking traffic.. i dont know what got into me..but i told myself this was a race of gratitude.
A bird is a bird, and that bird works perfectly! 🤣 I bet you finished the Hot Chocolate race feeling fantastic! Gratitude will do that for us! Nice going! 💪🏽
Hey Matt B. I did my own training plan up to my marathon and plotted how many kms I had to run day after day plus I did interval training by spinning on a spinning team every two times per week and two days with fast but easy runs one strenght training day and in weekends I ran a plus 30 km run and one of the weekend days I just rested. I did it for 11 months and I did not miss one run or training once. Mental I said certain words for my self into my mirror such as " I CAN - I WILL - I MUST - I WANT TO COMPLETE THE MARATHON. At the same time I did It for my comrades in this place I live in a small city in the western DK we all have mental illness and I particular have been diagnosed as an autist together with severe mental ilness so it was very serious matters I ran for. And just show the city that even if there were such heavy diagnoses in play in my mind I could manage tlo complete such a very challengning running event in another city in another contry. I managed it and completed the Berlin marathon in about 5 hours and I was 54 years old then. Inga Dk.
That's incredible, Inga! This is a great example of focusing on something outside of yourself for motivation! You're a great example to everyone, but especially people in your town who see you doing something constructive and being so successful!
A wise man once said that the first 20 miles of a marathon is muscle and the last 10K is heart. I'd like to add the the marathon is all mental. For yesterday's race, I knew I lost fitness (abandoned workouts, DNF workouts) due to my hamstring injury. But mentally, I did not let that affect me. By mile 8, my hamstring started tightening up. Again, I did not let that affect me mentally. During the race, I kept visualizing mile 23. I visualize mile 23 because that is when I can open it up and finish strong to the finish. My mantra is "trust the training." Cheers, Matt. 🦩
Only a Brit or a Yank could make a statement using different units like that! 20 miles and 10K!😂 What do you weigh? 70 Kilo, what’s that in stones? 11, oh right 154 pounds!
Saying your mental strategy is easier said than done is a massive understatement! Your pacing yesterday did not give anything away regarding your hamstring bothering your from mile 8. I don't know how your time was compared with what you would hope for with ideal training, but either way you ran an ideal, or textbook, race! Big congrats!
@@its_Matt_B_ I appreciate that, Matt. I originally targeted a sub 4:40; but that went out the window with the injury. I hope this five-minute buffer holds up for next year, in light of the 5:29 adjustment this year. Cheers
@@Nyelands Just because we don't reach our ultimate potential in a specific event due to missed workouts, etc. doesn't mean the rest of our training isn't beneficial.
🦩 very enlightning thank you! I too think about those who cannot walk-run! it gives me a spike of energy…and the why I am running is to be in shape to be able to do stuff with my 2 grand children ❤
🦩 Great ideas Matt! Sometimes when I’m tired in a marathon, I tell myself that once I finish I never have to run again. 😂 I always do, but just telling myself I can quit forever after just a few more miles helps me get through it!
Thanks for the🦩, Anne, and I LOVE your motivator to just keep getting through the moment you're in! It's a good reminder that we can stop when we're done, but not a second before!
Interesting topic, Matt! I guess my way of dealing with it is mainly by having the attitude that being tough isn't the part of running that interests me. I've been tough enough through the years to run myself into injuries and burnout and I don't need to prove it again. Mainly my goal as a daily runner is to be ready to run again tomorrow. It's about getting better by being more fit and prepared. I suspect that the typical recreational marathoner is at least as mentally strong as the elite runners at the head of the field and that's not what sets them apart. Obviously not quitting makes a biggest difference, but the payoff seems to diminish after that. But a key thought for me is that what I'm doing at the moment is good enough. I don't need to do any more, just to keep at it for as long as I can, and I'll be happy with that when I'm looking over my data later on. I figure, whether true or not, that the only truly painful part of a hard running effort--if I'm not injured, and in that case I really should stop--is trying to run faster than I'm able to run and there's no point in trying to do more than I can do. And maybe this is one more thing that makes me a bad person, but I get a mental boost passing people who are walking or shuffling along the curb, suffering to the finish. In my mind at that moment, they're the ones who thought that they could slack off on training, that raceday magic and mental toughness would get them through. I did the hard days so that my race would be fun.🦩
This seems like a good, and healthy, perspective to take with your training. "I can only do what I can do" is something I tell myself too! Regarding those people at the end of their race who are walking. I haven't ever assumed they didn't' put in the work before the race, but rather I think their walking is a product of poor pacing (I don't think that makes you a bad person!).
During my marathon training, I visualized passing the finish line, but I guess I didn't visualize ending up at medical tent right after 😂 Still, some things might not go as we wish. It is important to have a positive attitude and be a problem solver instead of a problem quiter. On my last marathon, I hit the wall not at mile 20 but right after mile 23. It is unfortunate when you only have 5k left. Still, I never doubted in my ability to cross the finish line. I didn't reach my A-goal in that race, but every race is a learning opportunity. More experience will allow me to visualize better and be a better problem solver during the race🦩
It's probably a good thing you didn't visualize ending up in the medical tent; it would have happened sooner! Seriously though, sorry to hear it! You still ran a good race and you dealt with the adversity of bonking at 23! You're right about every marathon being a learning opportunity but it can also be a roll of the dice. I mean that in the way that we can prepare and plan but we don't know when something will go sideways (weather, fueling, GI issues). It's so important we roll with the punches and carry on!
@@its_Matt_B_ I am at peace with myself. I trained as well as I could and gave 100% on the race day. I am satisfied with the result. After a few short races, I will start training for another marathon (not sure which one yet). This time around I want to give training by power a go.
I have a marathon my 1st in October. Figure I’ll be a little over 5 hours so this is good for me. I broke both leg bones at my ankle 2 years ago so my mantra has been never give up. On long runs at the start when I’m running slow I tell myself run slow to run fast. In music I like eye of the tiger. 🦩 be kind , be happy and run well.
The "run slow to run fast" and "never give up" will get you through almost anything! Good luck with your training through the summer (and thanks for the 🦩).
🦩Great video as ever, Matt. At the tail end of marathons, I’m thinking about my parkrun course, how many parkruns there are left to do, and within 5k of the finish, where on my parkrun course I’d be. Sort of works for me. 🦩
This is a brilliant strategy, Jim, but I'm probably a little biased because I do the same thing.😁 I've got runs of every distance around where I live so it becomes comforting to know I only have to do the "10 mile loop" then my "FML" (five mile loop).
@@its_Matt_B_ I do this! But the best is when I get down to some number of "Daisy walks". Daisy is our aging Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Even better, she sprints the last 100m or so because she gets a carrot after her walk.
