Marathon Mental Training

One thing you hear over and over again about runners who successfully finish a marathon is that it was all mental. They basically willed their bodies to run the 26.2 miles. Whether you are finishing triathlons or competing in the New York or Boston marathons, you will feel exhilarated after you finish.

While your legs are doing the running, you must keep your brain happy!

Here are some tips for you to remember when you’re running:

* Find the positive in everything you think. By this I mean, take a "half-full" rather than "half-empty" approach while you run. If the half-empty attitude any less valid? No, but it doesn’t help you when you need some mental boosting up. Instead of letting yourself think, "I’ve only run half the way," tell yourself, "Look, I’ve already run half the way." Just try it. You can be cynical and critical after your run, but not while the run.

* As you run, keep in touch with what’s going on. Don’t zone out; like the parent too engrossed in his newspaper to listen to his kid’s story, you might really miss something that your legs or the road is trying to tell you. Pay attention to your breathing and your pacing as you run.

* Successful runners also know to coach themselves during their marathons. Remind yourself what to do if you find yourself tensing up while you run. Wearing the right shoes from Nike, Asics, Adidas, Mizuno or Puma accounts for only part of your success.

* Use positive visual imagery to help you see yourself successfully with other runners past the finish line. This will be even more amazing if you are finishing triathlons. You completed the third leg as a triathlete of swimming, cycling and now the run of a marathon or half-marathon.

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As a practical guide to the 26.2-mile journey, How To Run And Enjoy The Marathon is a series of 15 self-help and service-oriented articles about running marathons - the proper shoes to running etiquette - is written by James Raia, a journalist and veteran middle-of-the-pack marathon and ultramarathon runner in Sacramento, Calif. Click Here to download the ebook!
 

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see also marathon runner