Visualization is key to my racing success. Seeing the New York City Marathon course in my mind as I virtually ran through the streets of New York, I pictured different scenarios and how I would handle them throughout my eighteen weeks of training.
Additionally, I ran the first 20 miles of the race twice and the last ten miles of the race during my last two key runs before the scheduled race. I couldn’t have been more prepared.
I knew that if everything went well on race day this race was mine to be had. By now we know that the NYCM won’t be mine until November of 2013 and that I had a less than stellar run in Richmond in November.
Of the many things that went wrong in Richmond, only one of them was truly within my control… my thoughts. Aside from being sick the week leading up to the 26.2 mile run, if my thoughts had been in a better place, maybe I could have turned that day around and made lemonade.
This week I realized the majority of the course for Run for the Red is not accessible to spectators. I also learned that only 985 runners completed the race in 2013.
This race is one where I’m going to be all on my own and can’t depend on friends or pace groups to get me by.
Because I struggle the most on my long runs I’m visualizing being out on the roads of PA alone jamming along to the songs in my head and focusing on zoning out and honing in on running my own race at my own pace.
Initially, this thought freaked me out. Then I remembered that the very first marathon I ran in 1999 was spectator free, wasn’t closed to traffic and I ran all by myself (I even ran off course for a bit because I didn’t know where to go). If I did it then without even properly training, I can do it now. It feels a little bit like a return to my roots except now I’m wearing luon not cotton.
How do you mentally prepare for a challenging race? Do you like running long distances by yourself or with a friend?
I like running by myself.. I actually find that when I run with people I think about the fact that I’m running a lot more. When I’m with myself, my mind wanders and I just get in the zone. That being said, a marathon crowd is a huge motivator for me.
I think visualization is a great idea though, you got this!
Since I’ve been running semi-seriously for only one year or so, my mental game is still a work in progress. What helps me the most is visualizing myself on the course, going over what thoughts will run though my head, and preparing for pain. Especially for triathlons, mentally preparing to suffer is huge. 😉
I like starting long runs with friends and finishing by myself for a mental test. I don’t mind running on my own, but I like having company for anything over 5 miles. However, I’ve always raced by myself and I’m not sure how I’d be able to race with a friend.
Totally relate to this! I completely control the outcome of my races by my attitude. Go in confident and it’s mine. Not so much, and the race is so-so. The hardest thing is getting to that perfect place.
I can totally understand why you wouldn’t have been there mentally in Richmond. I had friends who were signed up for NY and after the whole debacle, they were really emotionally spent. To try to rally again for another race would have been very hard!
Thank you!
I’m running my first trail half marathon this weekend and have been slightly freaking out since my preparation has not been as good as I would have liked, but I try to just remind myself of all the even harder races I have done and was equally nervous about but ended up going well. That usually helps me to calm my nerves a bit at least!
I tend to like racing long distances alone….it’s easier for me to work through the pain that inevitably comes on my own :).
How did the race go??