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The
currents that determine our dreams and shape our lives
flow from the attitudes we nurture every day.
-from Coach
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Mental preparation
First, what works for one person may not
work for another. Try lots of things, but don't think that you are doing something wrong
if you don't get prepped and pumped up by the same things as other people.
Second, you don't have to be superstitious
about doing things the same way every time. You can be if you want, but that locks you in
a habit that might throw you off later. Better to be flexible.
Third, confidence comes from being prepared.
If you've done the workouts, then you are prepared. So be confident that you are the
strongest, toughest one and the power of your mind will overwhelm everyone else who will
crumble. The thing about mental preparation is that all it takes to prepare is to
THINK!
Suggestions for mental preparation:
Way ahead of time:
Set a certain time to do this: before bed, or before you run every day
Think about your goals for the race. A " feeling" goal and a
time goal if possible. Set these goals early, maybe after you've finished a race or
workout a week in advance. The next time you run that race, what will you do differently?
Visualization of the race: if you know the course or the track, think
about what it feels like. Feel how strong you are going to be, where you are going to make
moves, surges, be even tougher than anyone.
Think about the best race you ever had. What did that feel like? What
will it take to do it again even better? Visualize again.
Think about why you are doing this: the best reasons that you race.
Maybe you love the feeling of being competitive, of racing, of simply running, of being
strong and smooth.
Just before the race:
Think about all the pain you've endured in workouts and all you've
sacrificed to do this. Why would you compromise? You are the toughest one. You've worked
this hard, now it's payday.
Listen to a song or tape that gives you nervous energy and piques you
for the race to come.
Be calm, so calm it's eerie. This can be supreme confidence, maybe even
cockiness, but it's a good confident feeling. It scares others too. :-)
Write your goals down on a card and tape it to your mirror or locker or
daily planner. Decorate it so it makes you feel POSITIVE!
Tell someone else your goal. As many people as it takes. Be accountable!
Encourage someone else and you will get excited too.
Spirit buddies, inspirational quotes
Pick a word that you will focus on at the tough spots in a race: what
motivates you?
Think about your pride, personal and team
Never:
put yourself down before the race, ESPECIALLY around competitors
think "I just hope I'm not last" (life is a self-fulfilling
prophecy, you will come in second-last)
HOPE, anything! You WILL do something if you say it that way!
let anyone else's bad attitude drag you down
give yourself excuses or reasons to compromise
think you are out of your league; you are if you think that way! it's
okay to be scared, but overcome it with confidence.
think that there is a pecking order. You are a valuable part of the
team, and you might be the strongest one out there today. You don't have to stay behind a
certain someone on your team or competitor's team.
Excellence is an art won
by
training and habit. We do not act
rightly because we have virtue or
excellence, but rather we have those
because we have acted rightly. We are
what we repeatedly do. Excellence,
then, is not an act, but a habit.
-from Golden Shoe Award plaque |
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