Preparing to Race--Your Mantra (part 3 of 3)

"It's worth it" on the inside of my purple state ring

The last two posts discussed my talk, "Preparing to Race" at the Brevard Distance Runner's Camp.  The discussion was carried out in three parts and yes, the final part was about a mantra.  You may have guessed that from the title of this post.

Do YOU have a mantra?  Do you know what a mantra is?

After my sophomore year of high school cross-country I wasn't sure about doing cross-country the final two years.  I enjoyed basketball and did well in track, yet cross-country had been difficult and hadn't gone so well. Maybe it wasn't for me I thought.  I loved my team and also I was brought up being taught the values of hard work and having to do things you don't always want to do.  I dug in and worked hard my junior year of cross-country and finished runner-up at the state meet.  Like anyone, I knew I had to win the state championship my senior year.  That meant I had to run more the summer of 1999 than I ever had and that it was going to be tough.  Thus began my mantra, "It's worth it." 

By combining the physical aspect from post 1 and the mental aspects of post 2, I got to work.  I repeatedly used my mantra. When it could have been easy to think, "I want to sleep in" or "Maybe I'll just run later" or "Why am I doing this?" or "I don't want to keep going" or "Who cares?" etc, I trained my brain, mile after mile, to default to "It's worth it."  I used this mantra daily as I worked hard, got tired, missed some fun nights, and the finish line seemed far off.  I used this and it worked. 

What's YOUR mantra going to be this upcoming season?  Find your idea or phrase from something meaningful or inspirational to you.  Then practice it over and over again.  Train your brain to default to what keeps you on track for your goals.  It's worth it.