How To Stay Positive And Confident During Tapering For Marathon
- Liubov Lomonosova
- Apr 13, 2021
- 3 min read
"Doubt yourself? Start doubting your doubt!" - Jim Afremow
Tapering is a final stage of marathon preparation. It is when all training has been already done and it's time to allow body to replenish its storages, recover while having appropriate decreasing load just enough to maintain your fitness and show your best result on the race day, in other words achieve an effect of super compensation.
2-3 weeks out from race day it is very common to start doubting yourself and that can be very dangerous. Mental preparation is as important and physical one. There is an old legend about Two Wolves from Cherokee people that show pretty well how the mind works.
"Tale Of Two Wolves",is a story of a grandfather using a metaphor of two wolves fighting within him to explain his inner conflicts to his grandson. When his grandson asks which wolf wins, the grandfather answers whichever he chooses to feed is the one that wins. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Wolves
One of the condition of performing well on race day is to be confident. Confidence builds up with positive mindset. So always 'feed' the good wolf.
Here are few steps on how to stay positive and build up confidence:
write down everything that went well in your training cycle. What little or big wins did you have? Remember the time and workouts that made you feel good when fast
when you are having doubts, write it down and find a positive thought (that is 100% truth) to substitute your doubting thought with. Example. Negative: "I don't know how I will be able to run my marathon at my goal speed, if I had many bad workouts." Positive: "Maybe you did have some bad workouts, but you also had some good ones too, remember how you felt back then. Also now is a time for your body to recover and get ready for the race day. Trust to tapering period and leave a room for good surprise on the race day."
visualize your successful outcomes on the race day. Visualization can be done by watching goal race, favorite athletes running fast and then sitting quiet with eyes closed and imagining your race in details - how you feel, what's the weather like, who surrounds you, how your body feels, what clothes you wear, what your thoughts are, etc. If you struggle with visualization by yourself, use Champions Mind App for guided visualization.
practice "what if something goes wrong" scenarios with the solutions of how to get back on the successful outcome.
write down positive affirmation and stick to the places around your house, for example, bathroom mirror. Repeat affirmations several time throughout the day with confidence and conviction. Examples of positive affirmations:
"I have strong inner drive to be my absolute best." - Jim Afremow
"I totally trust my talent and training." - Jim Afremow
"I'm willing to really 'go for it' to find out how good I can be" - Jim Afremow
I can run fast and effortless.
Have an absolute belief in yourself! Your own support for yourself is the most important!
I believe in you! Doyou believe in yourself?
Looking for a well balanced training, coaching advice, support and help with setting your running goals. Please reach out lyubov.lomonosova@gmail.com I will happy to learn about your journey and how I can help you become a better runner.
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