Obstacle/Ultra Racing seems to be the new wave of fitness. If you talk to any ultra-marathon runners, they will tell you half the battle is mental. If you are training to do an iron man or a spartan race competitively, many will say the mental aspect would be to ‘embrace the pain’. While this may be a mantra for many, it is not the healthiest mental practice. Exercise and fitness should not be a punishment or something unenjoyable. Racing and the training leading to the race should be to push your personal goals, compete, and to improve yourself physically and mentally.

The purpose of mental training is to develop the techniques that you will use to handle adversity. The outcome of effective mental training is that you embrace uncomfortable, high pressure, and high stakes situations without emotion or judgement so that you can address the challenges you face as part of the process and thrive within the challenge. So how can you practice healthy mental training? By being aware of your thoughts. Understand you are pushing your body to its limits. Be aware of the negative/destructive thoughts that creep in. Whether that’s the pace you’re going, and you think you won’t achieve your goal time, or you’ve sustained an injury and now your race won’t go they way you anticipated. Having an untrained mind will produce counterproductive thoughts. 

To overcome a downward spiral, let go of the things you can not control and focus on what you can. Say you tweaked your ankle, and you have to drop to a slower pace, instead of feeling defeated and giving up on a competitive time, find a way. Maybe on downhill slopes or straight/flat legs of the race your ankle can handle a faster pace. On those area pick up your pace and then slow your pace when your ankle needs it. Not all is lost due to an injury, you just have to find a way to keep going. 

Start practicing the way you think. Be conscience of your thoughts. Recognize when you are going to a negative place and find a way to change the narrative. You will be surprised to see your training improve and your overall self-perception becoming more positive. Be resilient and execute to the best of your abilities and see your fitness goals increase.

– C. Hedrick