But like any runner will attest to, you also need to be ready mentally.
Your mental fitness is just as important as the physical aspect, so let’s look at ways you can improve on this. How can you get your head in the game and maintain a strong and focussed mind throughout your next big race?
Prepare your Mind for your next Race
Mental preparation techniques and strategies will vary greatly depending on the person and generally aim to help you calm your nerves and remain focussed.
Developing a routine that you can repeat over and over, before every race, is a great way to do this.
Here are 6 Ways to Mentally Prepare for your next Big Run!
- Be Confident in your Training – Training for a race involves practicing in similar race specifics, course locations and weather conditions. Before your race, you can then gain immense confidence knowing you have tested yourself and prepared well. In the weeks leading up to a race, focus on completing each workout, training run or rest day to the best of your ability and not think too far ahead.
- Positive Self Talk – Practice positive self talk during training, and of course before and during your race. Be mindful and purposeful and speak to yourself as a coach would to a team. Be positive and uplifting to motivate yourself, or use mindfulness techniques to calm you down as needed. Also why not use a mantra like ‘I believe’ to trigger memories of past races or moments when you got through a tough hurdle and allow you to believe in yourself more.
- Visualise your Performance – Many athletes practice visualisation to prepare themselves and limit race day stress. Visualise your race, your goal and reaching your goal! This also involves imagining potential race scenarios and ways you will respond, so you can react quickly in real time.
- Focus on Technique – There are many things you can’t control on race day, so it’s important to focus on what you can! Don’t stress about the weather or allow pre-race nerves to set in. Just focus on the actions you can control like your technique or breaking the race into sections and hitting milestones that will motivate you.
- Find a Calm Routine – Race day can be loud and busy, so create and follow a calm routine so you don’t get overwhelmed or distracted. This may include listening to your favourite music, a motivational speech or podcast, meditation in a quiet space, arriving early, or right on time to avoid the chaos. Find a method that suits you, and repeat every race.
When it comes to training, you need to prepare both physically and mentally. They go hand in hand. Your mental preparation can make all the difference to you reaching your goal!
Do you need a Running Assessment to help your technique?
If you have a big race coming up, don’t forget we have trained Physiotherapists that offer Running Assessments to help improve your technique or cadence.
Our highly trained Running Physios will conduct a thorough assessment where they will discuss your injury history, running concerns and goals, then identify key areas of concern which may need improvement. The 1 hour session includes – Video Analysis of your jogging style, Assessment of your jogging specific muscle strength and joint flexibility, and Guidelines to help prevent injuries interrupting your training.
Running Assessments are currently available with selected Physiotherapists, and are fully claimable through private health (depending on your level of cover). READ MORE
Or Contact us on 3869 1099 or BOOK ONLINE.
Further Reading –
5 Tips for Beginner Runners
How to Avoid Common Running Injuries
Retrain your Running Style to Prevent Common Injuries