Mental Toughness

I was perusing a personal blog I kept a while back and found a post which tied in to some things I've been thinking about lately. I wrote the post between Ironman Wisconsin 2006 and my impending build to Ironman Florida 2007. I had set a pretty out-there goal: finish IMFL in under 10 hours. That didn't happen for a variety of reasons...but I had some fun in the training. One of the things I was focusing on back then was defining goals and wrapping my head around suffering (in terms of racing and training). We'll revisit goal setting and the mental aspects of training often in this blog -- so, to kick it off, here we go...

"During this training downtime, I’ve been doing some reflecting. Since IMWI, I’ve really had to consider the role mental toughness plays in our sport. These are just some thoughts…thinking which will hopefully lead me somewhere positive and constructive.

Mental Toughness

If you’re going in, go all in. If you train for a year and it all comes down to one event, why wouldn’t you leave it all on the course. It’s a question I’ve been asking myself since IMWI ’06. By the time I crossed the line, I sure didn’t have much left. I ran okay for the first twelve miles (notice, I didn’t say the first loop). Then the meltdown. Cold, wet, feeling miserable.

I remember seeing the Capitol dome far off in the distance at some point on the second loop (I don’t recall the mileage) and feeling whatever resolve remained just drain from my body. I was exhausted and that visual representation of how far I had left to travel…well, I couldn’t muster the will to run another step.

But somehow, I ran the last two miles to cross the finish line. So why not the last three, four, five, or six? It wasn’t supposed to be easy or comfortable. It was a test of will, the ability to endure and overcome, and I just wasn’t able to let myself suffer (to the degree necessary to continue running).

Self Control

What amazes me is the thin sheen of control I actually have over my will to suffer. Basically, that’s what the second half of the IM marathon is all about: facing exhaustion, uncooperative muscles, and the elements, how much are you willing to suffer for the win, a personal best, or simply to cross the finish line? How do we sharpen our ability to manage and somehow exert some measure of control over our willingness to suffer?

Unfortunately, I haven’t yet fully wrapped my head around it. But I do believe this: besides ourselves, we have no real control over anything or anyone. As such, we define and create our own destinies. Obstacles, whether people or nature, may indeed be obstacles to our ultimate success – but it is the control we exercise over ourselves in formulating our responses and reactions to those obstacles which determines our success (what we define as the positive outcome)/failure (the negative outcome) in any given situation.

Perhaps our willingness to suffer correlates directly to the importance we place upon success. If success is the attainment of our goals, then the investment in a goal might be the key to our willingness to suffer.

Goals

For IMWI 2006 I didn’t really invest in a goal. I wanted to finish – and I was fairly confident of my ability to do that. But beyond finishing, I hadn’t constructed any make or break goals which would see me though the tough spots. Having a goal to finish in this case was not enough to overcome my unwillingness to suffer. By the time I reached the marathon, I knew I could walk and still make all the cutoffs.

So I need a more substantial goal. Something which requires me to dig deep – and then a little deeper – to find the best I have to offer. So many of us set our goals at the level of our current competence. Perhaps as a defense mechanism – with little chance of failure, we can meet the goal, maintain the status quo, and feel good about our “success.” But if we continually fail to address our limiters (in life and in multisport), then we simply cannot grow. That’s what behind my Road To Sub 10 Ironman Florida goal. It may not be entirely realistic, but at this point, it’s what I need stretch myself beyond my comfort zone and find out what’s really possible."

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Stay true to your zones!

Jon
Endurance Geeks