When we choose to do something in virtually all aspects of life, we have expectations for ourselves. Thus, you will naturally have expectations as a marathon runner to your innate talents and the results you seek with physical training. So, Boost your Mental strength in a marathon race is mostly about expectations and abilities that have to be developed and aligned. It will also be beneficial as in many other areas of life, that you have imagination, so you can imagine situations in the future, prepare for them and meet them as you have imagined or at least be close to.
The Headlines
- Your definition of success
- Believe in yourself
- Willpower
- Your Marathon Training Progress
Your Definition of Success is Mental Strength
Sometimes the novice runner who finally has started a marathon training program will be disappointed in the beginning. Maybe he will say, running is not really for me and I am not created to run, it may be something genetic.
By nature, we can be created very differently and some of us have physiology and body with better conditions for long-distance running. But we cannot say that some of us aren’t created to run. The reason is often that we have set up unrealistic high expectations of our own abilities and running progress.
Particularly as a beginner, you will more often set up unrealistic high expectations for yourself, because you don’t have a base of experiences for comparison yet. When your expectations and efforts exceed your abilities, you risk becoming dissatisfied and losing your motivation to continue running.
Be aware of your mental Focus
In this case, it will be a good idea to adjust your mental focus. It will always be possible to see the glass as half empty no matter how the training goes. Why not see the glass as half-filled? In practice, it will actually be nearly filled, because at this point you are already started with your marathon training plan.
No matter how we evaluate our running performances, we can only do our best and if you adjust the expectations with your physical capacity, it will be unrealistic and unfair to demand more – in my opinion. What matters is your definition of success. Choose mental strength to your benefit.
Besides, if you think of the body’s capability to adapt and all the mental benefits in general, you will progress every time you run. To make a decision and follow a marathon training program, who leads to the start line in your chosen marathon race also means that…
Mental strength is Believing in Yourself
We all have the ability to perform well. Good performances do not have to be a matter of winning a marathon race but achieving a great result concerning your own capacity and abilities. What matters is whether we can mobilize and manage our resources when the starting signal goes. When the start goes in one of the big city marathon races, there will probably be more than 10 runners at the start line, which have the physical capacity to win.
Even a very comprehensive medical examination will not be able to tell who the winner will be at the finish line. The victory is almost entirely a matter of the ability to focus the resources, which makes mental strength a crucial factor.
Maybe you think that success as a marathon runner entirely is a product of training and innate attributes. Believing in yourself means your mental attitude is just as important. One of the key elements included here is …
The Cornerstone of Mental Strength is Willpower
Some people have strong willpower in their sports or do extraordinary things. They can do this because they can conquer themselves and hereby break out of their comfort zone. They perform much more than we think they can and we wonder how they can run as they do. The Elite runner does this because he has willpower that puts everything else in place within him when he runs the competition.
Therefore, we must train our willpower. It’s the cornerstone of Mental Strenght in Marathon Training. Willpower is generally a condition to get something out of skills and talents and achieve goals. Without willpower, you will not achieve anything even if you have talent and abilities.
Without certain willpower, you will never become a marathon runner, though you might have both talent and skills to reach far as a marathon runner. So let’s see how willpower influences…
Mental Strength and Marathon Training Progress
Let us assume that you are a beginner in marathon training. As soon as you get started with your first marathon training session, you have taken the first step in training your willpower, since you change your behavior and do something else than you are used to.
Once you have followed the marathon training program for a period and maintained your decision, you train your “willpower muscle.” If you continue with your training, this discipline and self-control will further develop your willpower. Thus, over time you begin to get results that you never have thought possible before.
It is important to acknowledge the will as an ability on equal foot with other abilities. When you acknowledge the will as an ability, you also acknowledge that the will can be developed as your other abilities. They will act as a muscle and can be trained in the same way. The more you train and strengthen the will, the bigger it becomes.
You develop other abilities too!
So, no matter how much willpower you have right now, you should work to develop it, since the will is a basic ability that determines what you get out of all your other abilities. Even though you may not win a marathon by following a marathon training program, you will create a great basis to get something out of your other abilities. Let’s resume the benefits of mental strength here:
- If you make a difficult decision, so that you can get it better in the future, it will increase both your life quality and train your willpower
- Willpower is like a muscle: you can train it stronger by doing things you don’t want to (procrastination) and by accomplishing your goals
- Willpower will kick-start your way to the goal
- By using your willpower strategically, you will easier achieve your goals
- Your inner motivation is all the things you are passionate about
- Your external motivation is the external factors that motivate you
- Your mental strength is the sum of your willpower, the inner and outer motivation
Mental Strength is Following a Marathon Training Program
Physical strength will get you to the start line. But mental strength will get you to the finish line. If you follow a personal marathon training program to the end and complete your chosen marathon race, then you have trained your willpower strong. Furthermore, you have reached your big goal and you have at the same time an excellent physical and mental condition as a starting point to go for other goals in your life – WOW.
I hope you like this review and if you have any questions about this topic or want to leave your own Personal review, please leave a comment below.
Training for a race is extremely difficult! You reach the pinnacle of human performance when training, which takes a lot of physical exertion. But, the camaraderie and support people receive while training is so critical to mental strength. It’s like what you said about changing behavior, you’re starting something new and that takes time to develop. Marathons are not easy to do, and they take a great deal of mental fortitude. Thanks for your post!
Hi Robert
Thank you for the comment.
It’s true that camaraderie means a lot even among competitors before and after a race
Be Well
Hi there thanks for the review it was really helpful. Most of the time, marathon runners are thinking about their pace and the distance they have left. Pace and distance, making up 40 percent of all thoughts, these speed measurements and self pep-talks allowed the participants to either slow down or speed up, as needed. Learning to break through the mental barriers can help ensure you reach the finish line without losing your cool.
Hi Philebur
Thank you for the comment.
Be Well