1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:05,000 You're listening to episode 238 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:07,920 In this episode, we're going to explore the mental attributes 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:11,200 that contribute to a successful training cycle and racing. 4 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:22,000 This is the Marathon Running podcast by Letty and Ryan from 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,760 We Got the Runs. Join us in our running community 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,440 for weekly content that is motivational, educational, and 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,760 inspirational. And let the Marathon running 8 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,640 podcast take you from the starting line to the finish line 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:40,360 and beyond. Hey runners, and welcome to 10 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:42,720 episode 238. My name is Letty. 11 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:44,640 My name is Ryan. And welcome back to another 12 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,400 episode of the Marathon Running Podcast where we talk about all 13 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:49,760 things running. Lucy Letty, what's new with you? 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:53,800 Not much, just planning another big trip. 15 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,320 Kenya, huh? Kenya in January, you guys, I'm 16 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,840 super excited. So remind us, what are you going 17 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,640 to be doing there? Just hanging out at the spa, 18 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,640 Ryan. Oh, that's what I thought going 19 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:09,200 on safaris. No, basically we are going to, I 20 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,760 might regret admitting this, but we're going to try to film a 21 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:16,320 documentary in Kenya about running fast, why people in 22 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:20,240 Kenya run so fast, etc. And we're going to do that in 23 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,080 one of the training camps with some of the fastest runners in 24 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,440 the world. The recent Valencia Marathon 25 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,240 winner is at that camp. Benson Kipruto, Amos Kipruto, 26 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,040 all these world major winners, they're all at that camp that we 27 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,440 get to go to. And so that's a whole new chunk 28 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:39,320 of learning. As you can see, I have my 29 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:43,240 documentary book that I've been reading and taking notes and 30 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,320 figuring all this out from scratch and hopefully have it 31 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:51,560 turn out somewhat, somewhat OK. You realize there's a podcast 32 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,880 that nobody can see, right? That's true. 33 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,560 Yeah, I'm. Just kidding. 34 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:57,360 I'm getting too used to YouTube now. 35 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,560 So you got one of your friends from Germany who's a 36 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,240 videographer to help you, huh? Yes, absolutely. 37 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,039 I could never do this by myself with my action cameras. 38 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:11,800 He actually has the real equipment, so that should come 39 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,400 in handy. And you knew him growing up, 40 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:15,560 right? You went to school with him. 41 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,400 I've known this guy since we were four or five years when we 42 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:19,720 played on the same Soccer League. 43 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,560 Back when, you know, back when I played soccer in Germany when 44 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:24,600 they only had boy leagues and I was the only girl. 45 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:27,640 That's fun. So you also have other people 46 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:31,440 going, or we're going and weren't going and who's that? 47 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,600 So I have two more friends, local friends, local running 48 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,960 friends going and they are very excited about it too. 49 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,120 We're all kind of excited about the whole experience. 50 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:41,960 They're very excited about the safari. 51 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,440 I'm excited about all the footage that I'm going to be 52 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,920 able to capture and maybe a really cool story with it and 53 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:49,840 see what we can do. Sounds fun. 54 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,680 Yeah. Getting all your vaccines, yes. 55 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,880 Yellow fever and brain meningitis and typhoid are 56 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,800 coming up next week all at the same time, so I might be a 57 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,520 little grumpy. What's non brain meningitis? 58 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,520 No, I said brain meningitis. I know, but what's non brain if 59 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,880 you have brain meningitis? What's non brain meningitis? 60 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:12,960 That's the meningitis that is not. 61 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:18,520 For the brain, shut up. At least you'll probably get 62 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:20,640 some good information to bring back and tell us. 63 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:22,520 Are you going to run any races when you're there? 64 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,880 I am actually going to enter a cross country race and plan on 65 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,360 coming in dead last because of one. 66 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,200 I'm not Kenyan. Fast into altitude, right? 67 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,880 And we're at I think 7000 feet. So add that to it. 68 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,320 Oh, wow, yeah, 7000 feet. So you're gonna you're gonna be 69 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,480 OK up there in the high altitudes. 70 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:45,560 I don't. Know, you know, I was actually 71 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,320 thinking about talking to you about getting one of these 72 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,280 devices that you breathe in to precondition myself. 73 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:53,400 You're gonna close the racecourse down. 74 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,160 I've never done that and there's always a first for everything. 75 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:01,120 Well, given that the new watch that I have says we're at -15 76 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:06,320 feet in altitude because we live in Florida and it's flat, yeah, 77 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,320 you might be hurting. How can we live at -15 Are we 78 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:11,560 living underwater? I don't think it's accurate. 79 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,400 I think it does it by pressure or something, but. 80 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,040 Anyhow, so yeah, so that's that's the news that we have 81 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,760 also a couple other things coming up next year is we are 82 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,480 gonna be at the Boston Rancho. We've partnered with the Boston 83 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,440 Rancho which takes place March 1st and March 2nd. 84 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,160 And if you are in the area and want to attend, you can go to 85 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,760 the website Boston Rancho and get a free ticket when you use 86 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:41,800 the code MRP at checkout. Also, the LA Marathon, that's 87 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:45,040 one of our spring marathons coming up that we're super 88 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,480 excited to do. I also get 10% off because I'm 89 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,520 an ambassador for the LA Marathon, being that LA is my 90 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:53,480 favorite city and this is my favorite race and it was my 91 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,640 first race. And that is using code 2025 92 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:01,960 LETTY 10 for your 10% off. I highly encourage you to look 93 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,120 at that race. If you haven't made-up your mind 94 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,440 about string races, if you're one of the people waiting for 95 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,480 you, or you were waiting for Boston and you know London, 96 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:12,440 that's a great alternative to have. 97 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:14,960 So you want to get into the podcast? 98 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,160 Yes. So today we are talking about 99 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,320 one of my favorite topics, which is mental training for runners. 100 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,120 We don't do that a lot, but when I can get my hands on it, I'm 101 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,280 always in for it. And in this podcast, we're going 102 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:31,320 to talk about the four mental attributes that contribute to a 103 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:34,760 successful race. And I talked to running coach 104 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:38,080 Rebecca Stevenson about that. We've had her on before. 105 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,920 She's a master and her coach is a lot of masters, but also non 106 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:42,880 masters. She's super fast. 107 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,600 At her age, she still runs sub three hour marathons. 108 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,960 And so that was a really, really cool topic to explore with her. 109 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,520 Sounds cool. So without any further ado. 110 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:54,920 We're now going to play our conversation with Rebecca 111 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:02,000 Stevenson. All right, so we are back on 112 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,520 here with Rebecca Stevenson running coach. 113 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,440 Thank you so much for joining us again, Rebecca. 114 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,800 Oh, you're welcome. We're really happy to have you 115 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,320 on and explore one of my favorite type of topics, which 116 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:17,760 is the mental attributes that we're going to hop into and 117 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,480 explore because we can all train and follow training plans. 118 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,840 But you know, what's going on in the mind is always very, very 119 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,680 important as well. So maybe let me get started by 120 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:30,960 asking you what are some of the key mental attributes for 121 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,560 contribute that contribute to success in in racing? 122 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,600 Oh, yeah, yeah. I think the four most important 123 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,720 mental attributes that contributed to success, in other 124 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:53,080 words, achieving your goals for your races are confidence, drive 125 00:06:53,080 --> 00:07:00,040 and determination, mental toughness and the ability to 126 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,040 give your goals a tremendous Your racing goal is a tremendous 127 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,880 amount of priority. OK. 128 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,160 So those sound very interesting. And just just for background 129 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:14,280 purposes, maybe tell me a little bit about how you came up with 130 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,800 these 4 pillars that we're going to hop. 131 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:24,960 Into yeah, absolutely through my own training and racing as an 132 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:29,840 athlete, which I've been doing for now like actually exactly 4 133 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,840 decades. And also through coaching others 134 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,160 and hearing them talk about their training and specifically 135 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,400 their racing experiences. I mean coaching runners and and 136 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,120 triathletes for a little bit over 20 years. 137 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:48,040 OK. All right. 138 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,320 So let's talk about the first one that you mentioned, which 139 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,080 was confidence. Let's talk a little bit about 140 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,320 what confidence is and how why we need it and how we can 141 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:00,160 ultimately build it. Yeah, absolutely. 142 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,360 Get confidence. Well, we, when we're pushing 143 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,440 ourselves, you know, when we're at our limit, doubts are going 144 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:13,360 to come because it feels, it feels really hard to push, to 145 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,400 push ourselves. And so confidence doesn't mean 146 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,120 not having doubts. It's how you handle the doubts. 147 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:27,320 It's what you do with those. I can't or I'm not going to be 148 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:31,600 able to do this that matter. And so there's, there's certain 149 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,880 strategies you can use to, to, to increase your confidence to 150 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:40,200 be able to handle those, those thoughts that come when you're 151 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,120 when you're pushing at your limits. 152 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:50,440 And one of them is working on your strengths that that 153 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:54,960 increases confidence that whether speed endurance hills 154 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:02,440 elite move and my dog is here. And remind yourself also before 155 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,800 training sessions, which will be practicing doing this for races, 156 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:11,720 that it's OK to worry about how you're going to feel and how 157 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,400 strongly you're going to to be able to run. 158 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:19,160 So turn this worry, this nervousness into confidence that 159 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,600 you will be able to physically and mentally be strong during 160 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,520 the challenge. And excitement that you're going 161 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,440 to feel so happy after for having made a strong effort and 162 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:33,160 for having and for having clocked a fast time for the 163 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:37,120 intervals that a training session or a fast average pace 164 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:42,240 for another type of quality run and hopefully have a having 165 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,040 achieving your goal time in the race as a result. 166 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,960 You practice that during, you practice telling yourself those 167 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:56,560 things before a training session so that you're going to those 168 00:09:56,560 --> 00:10:00,000 thoughts will come to you during your, your, your quality runs, 169 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,320 the ones that you're pushing yourself. 170 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:05,280 And you practice telling yourself that before your races 171 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,920 so that those thoughts will come to you like during the races. 172 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,520 At those key points when those doubts are starting to come, 173 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,480 which is when it's starting, the effort is starting to feel 174 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:19,480 harder. OK, perfect. 175 00:10:19,480 --> 00:10:22,760 And I guess my next question would be, you know, now that we 176 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,440 are aware of that is something that we can implement in our 177 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:27,480 training. Is that something that you tell 178 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,040 your athletes to do? Do you tell them, hey, set some 179 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:34,720 time apart to think about things or is that just something that 180 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,480 we that you have them kind of do on their own? 181 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,280 I, I tell them before, yeah, that before their training 182 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,960 sessions, they should spend some time, it doesn't have to be 183 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,760 immediately before thinking about how they're going to 184 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:57,000 switch their thinking when they're, when those doubts start 185 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,800 to come. So that it's easier for them to 186 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:02,480 do it. Like, you know, during the times 187 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:06,680 in, in their quality runs that they're trying to run fast. 188 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,760 And so then they're practicing doing that the the beforehand 189 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,240 thinking, but also the switching, right, those those 190 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,800 replacing those thoughts during races too, because those, those 191 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:21,560 doubts are going to come. It it comes with the territory 192 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:26,120 of, like I said, push, pushing yourself at your limits because 193 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:32,800 it in a in a race, letty if you're truly, if you're truly 194 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,760 pushing, pushing your limits, putting in the most strength you 195 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,320 can put in into the effort instead of running push offs, 196 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,840 those doubts about whether you can keep up that pace are going 197 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:44,920 to come. That's normal. 198 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,480 But it's what it's whether you're able to switch into 199 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,080 thoughts that increase your your confidence, your drive, your, 200 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:56,680 your, your determination and, and, and remind yourself that 201 00:11:56,680 --> 00:11:58,520 remind you of the importance of your goals. 202 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,400 That's, you know, that ability is is what's key. 203 00:12:02,680 --> 00:12:04,240 OK, perfect. And then I guess one more 204 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:05,880 question that aligns with that a little bit. 205 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,200 The week before race week or the two weeks leading up, do you 206 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:14,080 have your athletes do specific things that they are good at in 207 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,360 order to boost that confidence? Because you know how taper 208 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,840 creeps in and everything just kind of goes away? 209 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:25,800 Yeah, I, I definitely have them visualize, you know, the the 210 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:30,760 race and, and visualize the parts of the race that are going 211 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,440 to be the hardest. Maybe they know, maybe there are 212 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,160 some hills on the race. Maybe they've seen in the 213 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:40,360 forecast that's going to be a headwind or, or the parts of the 214 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,040 hardest because suddenly they've lost like the group that they're 215 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:48,480 staying with. And, and also visualize what 216 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,920 the, those thoughts really think about the thoughts that are 217 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:55,200 going to come to mind when it's starting to feel the toughest, 218 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,840 when, when the, the effort level feels like it's going up because 219 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:01,240 you're starting to feel more tired. 220 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:08,160 And, and practice switching your thoughts into the positive 221 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,920 thoughts that are going to increase your, your, your mental 222 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:12,880 toughness, your ability to keep pushing. 223 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,200 So, so, so that is key is, is practice doing that beforehand. 224 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:19,800 Know that those thoughts are normal. 225 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,280 That means you're racing like you should. 226 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:25,360 You're you're pushing your limit so that you can achieve like the 227 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,560 your goal time and the fastest time you can given your 228 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:31,000 training. OK, perfect. 229 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,560 I really like that. So let's hop into pillar #2. 230 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:37,520 You said the drive and determination is another 231 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,800 attribute, a key aspect of mental attributes. 232 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:45,040 So let's talk about that and how these are essential for setting 233 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,360 and achieving race goals. How do how do runners cultivate 234 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,360 those drives and determinations and qualities in their daily 235 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:57,320 routine? OK, yeah. 236 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:02,760 Well, kind of as a bridge from what we are saying, no doubt, 237 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:08,400 you know, with those doubts that we have will come that come, you 238 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:12,560 know, come to us during races will come excuses for why it 239 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:16,280 would be OK to settle for less than your goal or your best 240 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:18,880 efforts. But you don't want to regret 241 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,120 have having settled instead of having been mentally and 242 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:27,000 physically strong to keep up the challenging pace or to speed up 243 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,040 when you need it. So that's one thing that you 244 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,920 want to think about before your races and before your, your, 245 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,520 your quality runs that you don't want to be disappointed. 246 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,960 And also in your training have a challenging or have a 247 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,840 challenging, but realistic goal times or paces that you want to 248 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:51,760 try to hit that that increases your drive, your motivation to 249 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:56,600 be able to run it, run it that well, pushing like you need to 250 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:01,880 achieve those goal times. And another thing that really, 251 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:08,120 really increases our, our driving and determination is 252 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,520 remembering everything you've gone through in your athletic 253 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:17,120 journey to get to where to where you are right, right then in 254 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:22,680 your training cycle, whether you're still like in training. 255 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:26,200 And then on race day, every, all the sacrifices you made, all the 256 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,600 really strong efforts that felt really tough. 257 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:35,200 And you know, that will increase your ability to not let yourself 258 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:42,320 slow down during race day. And sometimes what also really 259 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:47,480 helps is having a, a mantra that you, you tell yourself in, in 260 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:48,840 training when you're pushing hard. 261 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,960 And then you'll tell it to yourself during races too, that 262 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,200 that reminds you of something that gives you a lot of drive. 263 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,320 Because when we're like, really, really tired, sometimes we can't 264 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,680 think coherently through lying thoughts. 265 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,840 But you know, one of them, you know, that ties to what I just 266 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:12,160 said is you haven't come this far to only come this far. 267 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:15,600 You know, because there's definitely a point in in the 268 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:21,600 race that the mental becomes more important than the 269 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:26,240 physical, you know, so being really determined is going to is 270 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,960 going to help you, is going to enable you to not slow down. 271 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,360 I like that and I want to kind of backtrack a little bit 272 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,560 because we haven't really talked about, you know, how you define 273 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,960 drive and determination. But for those of us, and I find 274 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:47,760 myself in the small pool of people that my drive and 275 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,560 determination isn't quite there yet. 276 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,040 I feel like, you know, I've hit 40, I'm getting older and in my 277 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:55,680 mind, I can't really expect new PR's. 278 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,960 Not that it was such a great PR, but you know what I mean? 279 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:05,520 So how can you kind of reignite that drive and continue striving 280 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:09,800 for your own best rather than just kind of thinking OK at this 281 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,240 point I should just fun run all the races and then be semi 282 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,359 disappointed by both training and results obviously. 283 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:22,839 Yeah, well, I think it really, really helps to decide I want to 284 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:28,000 be the best athlete I can be during this stage in my life 285 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:31,320 with within the time constraints that we all have. 286 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:37,760 And think of the the stumbling blocks you've you've had letty 287 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,440 that we've all had to becoming the best athlete we could have 288 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:45,080 been in any stage of our life. Maybe we started late, you know, 289 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:49,200 maybe we yeah, we just didn't know enough about how to improve 290 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:54,160 as a runner and be determined to now become the best athlete you 291 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,560 can be. It doesn't have to be your very, 292 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:01,320 very best time that you've ever achieved for that distance. 293 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:05,560 You know, I'm thrilled, for example, that I very recently 294 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:11,520 for a 10 mile race, achieved my second best performance ever. 295 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,480 And, and how do I, and this is like in 40 years of training 296 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:19,720 and, and racing and how do I know that I know, like according 297 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:24,000 to the age graded performance charts that give you a score for 298 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,680 every, every race, every distance that you, that you 299 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:34,040 race, excuse me? And, and it's, and it gives you 300 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,040 a score for whatever age you, you raise. 301 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,520 So actually my very, very best performance was a 5000 I ran at 302 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:45,200 17, but this like at age 52 was my second best performance. 303 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:50,520 And so we can keep aiming at becoming the best athlete we can 304 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,800 be. And because of these age graded 305 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,360 performance charts that score you. 306 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,120 And so yeah, you use the stumbling blocks that you've had 307 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:03,680 in your life, the stumbling blocks you have right now, and 308 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:10,000 even decide this is something you want to you want to be be 309 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,280 victorious. And every, every time you 310 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:14,160 achieve a goal, that's a victory. 311 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:19,440 And it's something that we just gives us a lot of joy there. 312 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,360 You know, there are things in our life that we like fail at or 313 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:24,720 don't work out. But this, if we work really hard 314 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:28,600 at we, you know, it's going to get those victories are going to 315 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,360 give us a lot of joy. OK, perfect. 316 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,280 All right. So anything else that you have 317 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:40,640 in mind that can help a person with this drive or determination 318 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:42,560 before we move on to the next pillar? 319 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,400 Yeah, I think knowing it's a privilege to have the health and 320 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:50,240 and opportunity to challenge ourselves towards our goals. 321 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:57,960 And another one is, is fostering resiliency in yourself, Letty, 322 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,560 for example. If you haven't slept, for 323 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,600 example, they'll decide, OK, I'm not going to run today. 324 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,560 I'm not going to do my my quality run. 325 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:10,200 I'm going to do an easy run a lot of that time. 326 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,400 This I know I am going to do, go and do my speed workout, my long 327 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:18,360 run that that is fosters mental toughness. 328 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:25,120 But it helps increase, you know, your drive for other training 329 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:27,640 sessions and particularly in race day when you remember, 330 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,680 like, you push through those kind of tougher, tougher runs. 331 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:33,920 I mean, we're going to touch on mental toughness, but it's also 332 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:35,840 part of increasing your determination. 333 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,000 Yeah. But learning how to be more 334 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,640 determined when it's really, really tough too. 335 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,800 Yeah, right, that's very true. And I guess they all kind of 336 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:45,720 intertwine, but I'm glad that we've kind of been able to 337 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:47,280 dissect them into four different pillars. 338 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,680 So let's talk about pillar #3 mental toughness, pushing 339 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,560 through pain and comfort, which is a hallmark of, you know, 340 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,840 mental toughness. So what are some practical ways 341 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:58,800 to train? And before that, maybe talk 342 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,360 about mental toughness in general and what that means for 343 00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:10,320 athletes. Yeah, So what comes under mental 344 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,840 toughness? A big, big part of it is 345 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:18,680 practicing not paying attention to the discomforts that come, 346 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:23,280 like I said, when you're pushing your limits, but focusing 347 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,480 instead on the strong movements that you need to make with 348 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:30,640 running, pushing the ground quickly and strongly, driving 349 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:37,160 your your knees and your arms, running relaxed, running, 350 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:45,120 running confidently. And with that also, Letty is not 351 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:51,880 letting yourself think, Oh, this feels hard. 352 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:57,160 The segment of the, the, the, the challenging part of the run 353 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:01,920 that you're in where there's a training, training run or race 354 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,800 or don't like yourself, think, oh, this feels hard or this is 355 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,520 hard or this is, it's going to feel hard, you know, later or 356 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,040 even harder later on when I'm more tired. 357 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:18,200 You, you have to, again, like I was saying before, practice 358 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,240 switching those self defeating thoughts into positive thoughts 359 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,520 that increase, you know, each of these, you know, mental 360 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,760 attributes. So like I said, the way we, we 361 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:31,640 develop each of these four mental attributes, the, the, the 362 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:36,880 confidence, the drive, the the mental toughness and, and the, 363 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:39,640 the giving your goals. A lot of importance is by the 364 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:46,480 things you tell yourself and and one one thing that really helps 365 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,640 it's it's going to it's going to hurt. 366 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:52,680 It's going to feel uncomfortable when we're pushing ourselves is 367 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,840 to as part of not paying attention to how it feels. 368 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:03,600 But the but focus on running strongly is to envision like 369 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,160 you're running like through a tunnel. 370 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,640 So there's a tunnel of like the pain and discomfort, but you're 371 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,600 running through it so you don't let it cave in on you. 372 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:17,600 That's something I've I've taught my athletes and in fact, 373 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,840 I listened to something recently that talked about Frank Shorter 374 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:25,240 and he used to call it like riding the pain, but basically 375 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:29,120 push, right, Make your strong efforts above the the 376 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:33,480 discomforts, right? Know that you can be stronger 377 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:39,280 mentally than how much it hurts physically or how it feels 378 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:42,840 physically. And even know that like for a 379 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,880 marathon, especially, the good thing about a marathon, Letty is 380 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,400 that because of the length of it, there are parts that are 381 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,760 going to feel, you know, this less hard than others. 382 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,360 So so tell yourself that they're going to that you're going to 383 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:58,680 feel stronger during other parts of it if you're going through a 384 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:03,880 tough patch, you know, and that the quote UN quote bad thing is 385 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,480 that a marathon from how long you're out there allows for more 386 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,400 doubts to come in. But that's when we, you know, we 387 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,560 work on replacing your negative thoughts, right? 388 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,280 Not letting yourself go down that negative spiral, which 389 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,720 happens when you're starting to feel tired, when the effort 390 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:23,320 level intensifies. Not that's when you're going to 391 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:28,480 start feeling discouraged, but not letting those discouraging 392 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,120 thoughts lead to other ones. And, and because that is going 393 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,560 to make you slow down, right? And make you, you know, because 394 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,520 you'll pay more attention to how you feel, but instead quickly 395 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,440 switching those thoughts to the positive ones. 396 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,280 That is so interesting and I just learned how untouched I am 397 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,280 because I dread workouts. Literally any speed workout to 398 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:50,760 where I procrastinate and sometimes don't even do that. 399 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,040 But besides that, I appreciate you giving me the visual of a 400 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,400 tunnel. I think that's something that 401 00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:00,680 personally I can work with, but what are some other visually 402 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:06,360 visualizations like that that we can work with or even exercises 403 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:10,000 that help us learn how to mentally push through that, you 404 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,040 know, just techniques that you've implemented. 405 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,600 And then also, do you tell your runners to do them during 406 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,120 training as well, or how does that work with you? 407 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:20,320 Oh. OK. 408 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:24,440 Yeah. I mean, definitely before like 409 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,640 any training session especially that's going to be a harder one 410 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:29,280 for you. And I'm with you on the speed 411 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,400 work. I mean, just just yesterday I 412 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,520 had to, I hop onto the treadmill, it snowed here to do 413 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,800 a speed workout session. And if there's anything even 414 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,280 harder for me than a speed workout session is doing it on 415 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,040 the treadmill. And so I was, I think y'all 416 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,520 these, you know, I can't, I'm not going to push strongly. 417 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,080 I'm not going to be able to move my legs, you know, quickly 418 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:51,520 enough. I'm going to my legs are going 419 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,160 to feel like, you know, really are going to be really hurting. 420 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,520 I'm feeling, I, I, I'm feeling tired and I reminded myself that 421 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,880 I've had those doubts before other speed workout sessions. 422 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:09,560 And So what I tell my athletes is to, is to tell, tell yourself 423 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,120 the things you're going to, you're going to think during 424 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,640 the, the, that's tough, you know, training session that are 425 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,920 going to help you tell yourself those things beforehand. 426 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,760 So you practice telling yourself that and remember you've had 427 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:26,920 those doubts beforehand, before the training sessions and then 428 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,960 you were able to do it and, and do it strongly and you felt so 429 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:35,360 happy afterwards. But the other thing related to 430 00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:37,560 what I'm saying, because I had to go on the trend was, I mean, 431 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,320 yesterday it was, it was, I couldn't do it because it was 432 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,360 going to be slippery. But other than that, other than 433 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:50,120 the safety concern, do train in all kinds of, of every possible 434 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:53,600 kind of weather condition. I, I, I had an athlete who I was 435 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:57,280 training for the coaching towards the Iron Man once and 436 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,880 she would hop on the treadmill simply because of the 437 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:04,120 temperature if it was like colder than 40 or warmer than 438 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:08,360 60°. And then what happened race day, 439 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,840 it was like almost 80 and she actually had to, she had to, 440 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:15,240 this was years ago. She had to like she DNF. 441 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,280 She couldn't run in 80° weather. I remember when I trained for 442 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,560 like Boston 2018, there was one run. 443 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,760 I actually called my son and I said, can you pick me up? 444 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,240 Because so I was, I literally, literally after it's had like 445 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,920 frost nip on my ears, it was the, I ran against this very, 446 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,880 very cold headwind. It was like -15 or so that the 447 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,160 feels like. But then afterwards, I was so 448 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,000 glad I did that because I was one of the, what was it like 449 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,680 only 60% of the field that finished in Boston that, that 450 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:45,320 year. That was the epic year. 451 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:49,760 So train in those in those tough weather conditions. 452 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:52,960 Yes. So I guess there's no way around 453 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:54,200 it. You got to go through it in 454 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,760 order to to do it. And I guess we live down in 455 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:02,240 Florida and we have the summer heat and that makes us, I guess 456 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,920 a little bit more mentally strong. 457 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:08,960 Are there any other advice, pieces of advice or exercises 458 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,640 that you have for your athletes to for for this part of the 459 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:17,080 pillars? For the mental toughness, yeah. 460 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,440 From some mental toughness. Well, yeah, I said your go out 461 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,800 and conditions that aren't good in terms of like how you know 462 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:33,600 how tired you are and let me let me think what else I wanted to 463 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:37,720 say. Yeah, foster that resiliency in 464 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,280 yourself and, and yeah, be, be willing to tell yourself that 465 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:45,160 you're willing to do whatever it takes. 466 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,360 And, and, and this ties into confidence too, that you know, 467 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,360 you're willing to do whatever it takes to improve. 468 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,880 I mean, that's why you're putting in the, the time. 469 00:28:55,160 --> 00:29:00,160 And, and, and so it remind yourself of of other training 470 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,800 sessions that were really hard and yet you were able to push 471 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,880 through it. That will both increase your 472 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:09,680 confidence, but increase your ability to be mentally tough for 473 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:15,440 that next training session. That's going to be hard also. 474 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:18,560 OK, perfect. Now, I guess along those lines, 475 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:22,040 we're going to talk about pulling #4 which is prioritizing 476 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:24,840 your racing goals. And we do that in background of, 477 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:26,920 you know, we're in a very busy world. 478 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:30,280 We all work, we all have children, we all have all sorts 479 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:35,160 of things going on in our lives. We have, especially as moms, I 480 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:39,280 would say, the idea that obviously being a mom is the 481 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:44,560 number one priority, but how can we justify our running and our 482 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,400 things that have to do with our racing goal and the marathon in 483 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:53,360 this day and age? Yeah, that's, that's a really 484 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,880 good question, you know, and actually you're starting with, 485 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,320 with how can we justify it? I I, I like that way you put it, 486 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:06,200 You know, one of the big reasons I push myself, you know, so hard 487 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:11,040 in races and then in training for them with my racing goals is 488 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:14,960 because I feel that I'm doing it for others. 489 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:19,680 And I think that, you know, we each should in the sense that we 490 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,200 each inspire other athletes, right? 491 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:26,960 Whether it be our friends. In my case, I'm doing it because 492 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:30,760 I want to inspire my kids who are also athletes. 493 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,760 I want to inspire the athletes I coach by showing them that hard 494 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:41,440 work does yield exciting results, does lead to results to 495 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,160 us achieving our goals, which brings us, which gives us a 496 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:49,360 tremendous amount of joy. So you're doing it for others in 497 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:54,440 that sense. And that that gives us a lot of 498 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:59,160 motivation to keep pushing hard during our training, during our 499 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:05,520 races, particularly. And goals can can be really 500 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:07,080 powerful. I mean, they definitely make, 501 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,680 you know, give us the the help, give us the disciplines, keep 502 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,600 going out there consistently, but also help us push harder 503 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,080 than we would because we really want to achieve our goal. 504 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:23,560 And probably my biggest philosophy as a coach, Letty, is 505 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,240 that no goal is more important than any other goal. 506 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,080 I mean, whether it's qualifying for the Olympic Games or 507 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:36,120 finishing a 5K without having to walk any part of it. 508 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:39,080 You know, I've helped like, you know, a few athletes over, over 509 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:42,640 the years. If it challenges you, if it's 510 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,720 something you wonder, I wonder if I can achieve that. 511 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:50,160 I don't, I don't know if I can, but I'll be so excited if I do 512 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,440 achieve that. It it's an important goal. 513 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,840 It's, it's, it's a really important goal and, and worth 514 00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,400 working hard towards work worth fighting, you know, towards, in 515 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,640 your, you know, in staying consistent in your training and 516 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,200 pushing hard in your training and, and, and, and, and staying, 517 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:10,640 you know, on the pace that you want to in your, in your race. 518 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:15,480 And so sharing, writing down your goals, you're giving them 519 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,520 importance that way. That is very powerful. 520 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:24,000 I have my goals written like on my steering wheel, my car, on 521 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:28,080 my, on my fridge, on my, my treadmill for when I have to go 522 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,240 on it, which is mainly in the winter. 523 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:36,560 And, and, and then what's also very effective is sharing your 524 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:40,120 goal or goals with, with important people in your life. 525 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:42,680 And that way you're also developing that relationship. 526 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:47,200 So it's not like you're giving your athletic goal like the most 527 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:49,360 importance of anything else in your life, but you're giving it 528 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,400 a lot of importance. Yeah. 529 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,640 That that is going to, you know, that's going to keep you like, 530 00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:00,880 you know, pumped towards, yeah, towards your your athletic goal 531 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,120 or goals. I love that you say that no 532 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,680 more, No goal is more important than another because I fall into 533 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,240 that category where, you know, I'm around a lot of really fast 534 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,400 athletes that have really big goals and I'm not one of them. 535 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,080 I'm not, you know, ever going to qualify for any of those races 536 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,680 that they do. So I tend to never talk about my 537 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,520 own goals because I feel like, OK, they're just really small. 538 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,720 They're kind of insignificant. And I like that you kind of 539 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,720 shine light on that. We all have different goals in 540 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:34,280 life. Absolutely. 541 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:35,320 Yeah. Let it go. 542 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:37,560 That challenges you. Yeah, it's very important. 543 00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:40,120 Yeah, I'll as well encourage you towards them. 544 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:42,040 Like you, you know, like we encourage others. 545 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,320 Exactly. So then let's talk about, you 546 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,480 know, the role that goal setting actually has and how that plays 547 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,440 into your mind. So when race day comes, how does 548 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:57,600 that all pan out and intertwine and make sure that everything 549 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,080 works out at the end? Yeah. 550 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:04,120 So our goals are something that we need to think about not only 551 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:08,960 when you're out there training, especially if it's one of the 552 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,760 quality runs, when you're trying to run fast. 553 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:16,400 So the more challenging trainings, it's not something to 554 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:19,040 think about only then and definitely not only during 555 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:21,840 races, but it's something that you should think about at other 556 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:24,600 times. Two, I remember when I wanted 557 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:30,320 to, when I wanted to break 3 hours in the marathon, I think 558 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,880 for about 3 months before I think every night when I'd, when 559 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:37,199 I'd go to bed, I would visualize myself like crossing that finish 560 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,360 line. And like, you know, 258 or 259, 561 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:45,440 it ended up being 258. And, and you know, so 562 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:49,280 visualizing yourself crossing your finish line in, in your 563 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:51,600 goal time, I mean that that is huge. 564 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:56,440 And, and your goals should be like that should be performance 565 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,520 goals, right? Something you can, something you 566 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:02,560 can control. And it also is is very helpful 567 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,400 and motivating to include like some process goals about how you 568 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:11,400 want to run the race in terms of them being mentally strong in 569 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:18,280 these ways and may maybe like negative splitting your race. 570 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,480 OK. And yeah, I like that. 571 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:25,040 And then also maybe talk a little bit about how important 572 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,680 it is to have realistic goals, because if you don't have 573 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,720 realistic goals, then that kind of sucks. 574 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:36,560 And then also about resetting goals or kind of tweaking them 575 00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:39,680 during your training to make sure that you All in all, you 576 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,200 want to have a positive experience that is aggressive 577 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,200 but not crazy aggressive. So you bonk. 578 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:52,640 Yes, that, that's a yeah, that's a, that a, a good point. 579 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,960 Goals have to be realistic. I mean, yes, we have to be 580 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,680 excited and wonder if we can achieve them, but it has to be 581 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:04,960 something that's based on, based on your training, how your 582 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:10,720 training is going. It it, it helps tremendously to 583 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:17,000 like before a marathon to do like a time trial or like 1/2 584 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,400 marathon race, for example, like about 3 weeks before to like see 585 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,640 where you're at. And so you can, you know, tweak 586 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:27,760 your, your goal marathon, you know, doing that tired, it 587 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:30,840 should give you a fairly good idea of your, of what your 588 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:37,520 marathon pace can be. And, and, and let me, let, let 589 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:41,480 me actually also say that a, a key training session that that 590 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,000 that this goes with ties in with this. 591 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:48,040 And I could have mentioned then the confidence is doing what I 592 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:52,960 call like the fast finish long run where you speed up for like 593 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:57,280 the last four or five miles of your long run, that that 594 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,040 increases confidence, as does right when you're feeling tired, 595 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:02,680 being able to speed up like that. 596 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,160 So that's the increase of the confidence that you can do that 597 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:09,440 during, during your marathon. And so your, your goal has to be 598 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:13,320 something based on how, how, what your pace is or during 599 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:16,640 training, especially your average pace during long runs to 600 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:22,720 some extent your, your times for like shorter distances and, and 601 00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:26,680 also your, your, your splits for, for intervals and speed 602 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:30,840 workouts. But also I should say that a 603 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:35,880 goal shouldn't be, you should have a, a goal and say like a 604 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:37,880 goal, you know, time for your marathon. 605 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:41,400 You should have like a goal that's realistic, but still 606 00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,880 challenging. And then like a stretch goal and 607 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:49,880 then like a reach, reach goal. And, and I basically, you know, 608 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,200 said the other way around is probably better so that you'll 609 00:37:52,200 --> 00:37:55,320 be really happy if you achieve your goal, You'll be even 610 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:57,920 happier if you, if you achieve your, you know, your reach or 611 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,440 your reach reach goal. And so goals, yeah, should also, 612 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:04,640 yeah, should be like not all or nothing. 613 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,760 And if for some reason during the race, you know, things are 614 00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:11,440 not going well for, you know, you know, for whatever reason 615 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:15,680 you had to like stop, I don't know, for a pit stop or there's 616 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:20,000 a really strong headwind as part of like reframing your thinking 617 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,440 and, and, and every time you're starting to think something 618 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:29,040 thought of discouragement, switching it quickly, replacing 619 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:31,920 it with a positive thought that will, that will allow you to 620 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:35,120 give you continue to give you drive and, and motivation and, 621 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:38,400 and confidence. You reframe it to a goal, to 622 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:41,560 another goal during the race. I've done that before where I 623 00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,280 realized, OK, my goal is not going to happen today, but I'll 624 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:47,760 still be excited given these conditions if I achieve this 625 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:51,680 other good time instead of thinking Letty, Oh my goodness, 626 00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:54,760 I, I, there's no way I can achieve this and then just 627 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:57,920 giving up completely and not having another goal keep pushing 628 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,480 hard towards. I love everything that you're 629 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:03,920 saying and I wish I could put you in my pocket during race day 630 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:07,320 so I could, you know, at least have you on a headphone to to 631 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,640 work with my mind because, you know, we go to really dark 632 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,000 places. But you have so much knowledge 633 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:16,400 and you know, obviously we can tell your athletes are in good 634 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:18,880 hands. So let's get your information so 635 00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:21,760 that way we can give them give that information to our 636 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,040 listeners in case they're interested in coaching or if 637 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:27,240 they want to learn more. And because mental training is 638 00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:30,440 so huge and we barely ever see it by any coaches. 639 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:32,920 Yeah, no. Oh, oh, it's so true. 640 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:33,800 Yeah. There's so much more. 641 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:36,000 Yeah, I could say. Yeah. 642 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,680 So I'd, I'd love to like chat with any of your, you know, your 643 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:42,520 listeners, you know, answer their questions about this and, 644 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:45,840 you know, hear about their goals and see if I can help them in 645 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:49,480 any way. Because I, I coach mainly 646 00:39:49,480 --> 00:39:53,280 online. In other words, you know, I, I 647 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:56,840 ride out like a weekly training plan and then I stay in touch 648 00:39:56,840 --> 00:40:00,240 daily with my, my athletes just to the extent that, you know, 649 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,960 they, you know, they have time for, it's usually something 650 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,880 quick to see how their training is going. 651 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:08,120 So I can ride out the next week's plan and help them 652 00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:10,880 progress, you know, towards their, their goals. 653 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:13,560 I also, you know, do for the ones who are in here in 654 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:15,480 Connecticut. I do someone on one sessions. 655 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:21,360 So your listeners can reach me, they can go to my website which 656 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:29,080 is www.conqueringchallenges.com or they can e-mail me. 657 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:36,240 My e-mail is also on there at coachrebecca16@gmail.com. 658 00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:41,000 I have an Instagram page too which is Conquering Challenges. 659 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:44,320 OK, perfect. Rebecca, thank you so much for 660 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:47,240 speaking with us. Oh, you're welcome, lady. 661 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:50,280 Yeah, thank you for yeah, for yeah, the interview. 662 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:57,400 I enjoyed it very much. Thank you, Rebecca, so much for 663 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,120 speaking with us and all this amazing insight. 664 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:02,640 I'm going to take everything that you said to heart because 665 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:08,200 as you know and as I obviously let you know, I struggle 666 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:12,320 mentally and hopefully that can help me in my future races as 667 00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:17,040 I'm going to try to be the best version that I can be for 2025. 668 00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:19,960 Train your mental game. Train your mental game. 669 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:23,080 Exactly. And yeah, I think that's it for 670 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:27,000 this week's episode. I'm not sure which topics we'll 671 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,560 have on for the next few weeks. Hopefully we'll have some sort 672 00:41:29,560 --> 00:41:33,240 of New Year's resolution, etcetera, and some other fun 673 00:41:33,240 --> 00:41:36,040 things. Also, I know that I promised a 674 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:40,000 YouTube video on products and the reason I have not done that 675 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:42,280 yet is because we're still receiving a lot of shipments 676 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:45,440 because I want to make this YouTube video about Christmas 677 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:47,240 gifts runners as visual as possible. 678 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,680 So stay tuned and in the meantime, I invite you to enjoy 679 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:55,400 all of our shorter videos from our recordings at Tre the 680 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:58,080 Running event in Austin, where we talked to several brands 681 00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:01,800 about their shoe lineups and what is coming for 2025. 682 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:04,280 South Like and subscribe. Exactly. 683 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,400 And with that. Have a great week of running. 684 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:14,840 Thanks for tuning in. For more information and 685 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:16,800 marathon running news, please head to 686 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:22,120 www.marathonrunningpodcast.com and we'll be back next week.