Tuesday, October 17, 2006

UNRELENTING DISCIPLINE

I’m still feeling good as Chicago approaches quickly. What’s weird is that I got really nervous as I typed yesterday’s blog entry. The rest of the day I was fine.

I ran an easy 5 miles this morning and felt a ton better than yesterday.

Since I have some free time during the taper I decided to try and organize a bunch of running articles, race reports, race results, etc. that I’ve collected over the years. I tend to collect stuff in a big pile for awhile before finally getting around to organizing it – which includes throwing about one-third of it out.

Anyway, I came across some stuff I wrote that’s worth reviewing before Chicago. I posted all my marathon times a week or two ago. It includes a stretch of 4 marathons from June 2001 to October 2003 when I ran between 2:58 and 3:03. During that stretch I treated each marathon like a (mental) test. I would break the race down into sections (pre-race, 1st 10 miles, 2nd 10 miles and last 10K) and I’d write down notes for each of those sections. The notes would be reminders like the things I wrote yesterday, as well as affirmations, splits I wanted to hit, notes on the course, when to take gels, etc.

While I didn’t do that this time, I’ve been reviewing what I wrote in the past. Here are a few things;

Have confidence.
Focus on relaxing and remaining calm.
My practice performance indicates a readiness to excel.
Focus just enough to maintain pace.
Be patient I’m a well-oiled machine.
Stay in the moment – focus on breathing, stride, arm carriage, etc.
Reel people in.
I’m in a position to strike and get what I like.
You should exercise unrelenting discipline over your thought patterns. Cultivate only productive attitudes. You are the product of everything you put into your body and mind.
Quote of the day;

“Then the gun goes off, the crowd moves out and I struggle along as best as I can with the expectation that my first mile will turn out far too slow. I never fully credit the effects of a two-week rest, a three-day carb binge, infusion of adrenaline and caffeine, the bracing jolt of chilly morning air, etc…and next thing I know, I've gone through the first mile half a minute faster than I meant to without even trying.” - Chelle, from her sub-3 race report

2 comments:

Andrew said...

Controlling your thoughts would be key in a big city marathon. There's so many distractions. With all the myriad of race strategies being performed on the same stretch of pavement, it would be hard for me to focus in on myself and ignore everyone. Go to it!

massoman said...

controlling your thoughts is key. to. everything.
i copied those thoughts of yours. i like 'em.