What's Your Mantra?

Another snippet from Coach Robbie:

The subject of my newsletter last week was on finding something to REWARD your self with. Did you pick something yet? Some of you wrote to me to tell me about the kind of stuff you reward yourself with. Very cool. If you haven’t picked out something to reward yourself with, give it some more thought and pick something. Give yourself a REWARD.

You see, running is kind of like a mind game. And as if I haven’t said it enough, you have to train your mind as much as your body in order to be successful. So another topic I want to touch on is the importance of the “MANTRA”. A Mantra is a positive statement or slogan you say (and repeat as required) to yourself to remain focused. I can remember two instances where I used a Mantra. I’ll tell you about my most recent.

March 30, 2008, ING Georgia Marathon, Atlanta, GA - I’m sure you all know how much I love Music. When I run long distances, I love to listen to very intense heavy metal music. So back on March 30th of this year I set out to complete the ING Georgia Marathon, my 3rd Marathon, with my trusty iPod Nano. Everything was going great. I was feeling great, running great. Everything was just great, great, great and then it happened. MY FREAKIN IPOD BATTERY DIED AT MILE 20!!! I was powering up this hill, listening to a favorite song, and then suddenly nothing, nada, silence. So there I was, with 6.2 miles to go, stripped of my tunes, my motivation, my secret weapon, left for dead. Of course I went on running and thinking, what am I going to do for the next 6.2 miles? I have to do something! And then it just hit me, a Mantra, which went something like this…

“I AM STRONG AND I FEEL NO PAIN”

I started saying this to myself over and over and over and over again for 6.2 miles. If I had been speaking these words out loud, I would have been labeled “Crazy Robbie”. But you know what? IT WORKED! I felt powerful and strong for the last 6.2 miles. I powered up and down hills and I didn’t feel any pain. In fact, the only thing I felt was a huge sense of accomplishment.

So no, I haven’t lost my marbles and you won’t either if you use a Mantra. The “Reward” and the “Mantra” are simply two of the most effective mental techniques that I know of that will help you to achieve your goal. Whether you’re doing intervals during the week, a 5k this weekend or training for your first Marathon, your have to train your mind. Another Mantra I have used is “ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE FINISH”. You will find that you can talk yourself into or out of anything. It’s a proven fact. Use this to your advantage. This is powerful stuff.

So the next time you’re running that hill, don’t let it have the pleasure of getting a single piece of you. Instead, take a chunk of that hill home with you. Show it who’s boss. After all, you’re the one in control, aren’t you? (Hint: the correct answer is not “Yeah”. It’s “HELL YEAH!”).
Run Strong and Run Happy