Spence Smith

After a few years of weekend training behind me, I’ve come to realize that a big weekend of training is just as much a mental challenge as it is a physical challenge.

If you are training for a half marathon or a full marathon, each and every weekend, your long runs continue to increase in mileage. To the point that you know… these miles are going to take a while so I better be prepared.

As I got ready for Ironman, my Saturdays and Sundays were consumed with training. A 100 mile ride on a Saturday could take 6-7 hours for me then a 15 mile run the next day followed by an hour and half swim. Easily another 4-5 hours gone from my Sunday.

That’s a lot in anyone’s book for one weekend not to mention having to do this for weeks on end and if you aren’t prepared mentally, it’s going to be even harder than it sounds.

This weekend I’m headed into some heavy training to kick off my 2012 triathlon season and just like learning to pace myself on a run or on a bike ride, mentally pacing myself is just as important.

Here are a few things I do mentally to get ready.

1. I prepare my gear ahead of time. I get together every piece of clothing or gadget I’m going to need for my training ready. I clean my bike, check the tires, lube the chain, charge up the bike computer and get my on-the-bike nutrition ready to go. I also get my running clothes, shoes and swim gear laid out. The less I have to think about my gear being ready, the more I focus on the training ahead of me.

2. I plan out my weekend of time spent with friends or family so that I can get in bed at a decent hour. Training for most of us takes place at an early hour and we need all the sleep we can get. I’ve been guilty of over doing it to the point that you would think I wasn’t training for anything and find myself worn out from a late night out.

3. Before I go out for dinner I get an idea of what i want to eat before I get there. What I eat today, fuels my body for tomorrow. It’s hard eating healthy when you aren’t eating at home. I usually look at the soups and a salad first then see if there is anything on the menu with fish and veggies. That’s my go-to. Yours might be different.

4. Plan Your Training Routes. Whether it’s running or cycling. Know where you are going and if at all possible plan some stops along the way in case you run out of liquids of food or need to go to the bathroom. There’s nothing more frustrating than running out of nutrition or needing to go have a little alone time in a clean bathroom.

5. Take your phone and a little extra cash. If you get stranded from exhaustion (hopefully not) or you get a flat and forgot your spare tube. It never hurts to be able to call someone to come pick you up. I’ve had to do it and it’s no fun. But sometimes it’s needed. Also… you never know when you need to buy an extra bottle of go juice or a snack. Take some cash. When I’m on my bike, I put my phone and cash in a zip-lock bag in case it rains or I spill liquid on it.

6. I think through the mileage I’m about to do. The miles might seem overwhelming but the more I break them down in my head to smaller chunks of miles, the easier it is for me mentally. Remember, training is a process.

When I think about this process, I find myself applying this to basic parts of my life. Traveling, Focused time with my wife, A weekend with the family.

In short, I think it pays to be prepared and ready and it’s honestly more of a load off my brain when I know I’m going into something more prepared.

Knowing what’s ahead of you and knowing how you will get there is half the battle.

The other half is just doing it.

If you aren’t new to this, how do you prepare for a weekend of training? Anything to add?

For the past few weeks I’ve been dealing with a knee problem as a result of running. It pretty much sucks. I’ve been training for a marathon and had been logging in some big miles when one knee really started to hurt. As I was getting over that small knee injury, the other knee started to hurt. It’s like one pain uncovered another pain. But usually when an injury happens like this, you can almost count on another injury to pop up because your body is trying to overcompensate for the original injury.

As I have been take steps to heal my knee without damaging myself, I’m reminded how tough it is to get through emotional pain and hurt. I’ve been thinking back to different times in my life when I have been hurt emotionally and felt the pain of having something broken in my life.

Sometimes life is really tough. For me, going through and getting through my divorce was probably the single biggest emotional hurt and pain I have ever dealt with. It taught me a few lessons that I’m actually able to see that go hand in hand with healing my hurt knee.

You see, most times when people are hurt, doing nothing and letting time do the healing feels like the right thing to do. But in my case and in the case with my knee, taking proactive preventative steps have made and are making the difference.

With my knee there are certain stretches and some icing that I do. Each passing day, these exercises bring me a little closer to healing. Everyday I can feel the progress. Then like yesterday, I can go out and try a few miles and see how things feel. Yesterday, it still hurt some, but not as much and as I ran I babied it till it was time to quit. Once we stopped running, I took some time to stretch and ice it.

Dealing with emotional pain and hurt has been the same way for me over the years. I have a hard time just sitting and waiting for time to pass. I don’t exactly buy the phrase, Time Heals All Wounds…I think if this phrase were to be correct then what you would find is Mental Stretches and Exercise Over Time Heal All Wounds.

If you sit around feeling hurt and do nothing about it, then you could find yourself a few years down the road never having made any progress in getting over the hurt you had experienced. But…if you stretch your heart and ice the pain a little along the way, then eventually you will be stronger. Dealing with your heart as the hurt and pain happen give you the confidence to be able to go the a better place emotionally. Granted for some, I know this process is huge. But in principle, it’s still the same. I know for me, it sometimes takes a little for me to deal with my heart, but once I do, things are a little better each time.

When you rebuild muscle or tendons, you are making them stronger to handle more the next time around. When I think of what my heart has been through, I think of rebuilding my heart so that I’m strong the next time around. A stronger body when you exercise gives you more confidence as you exercise and train more. A stronger heart and mind gives you more confidence as you go out and take on a new relationship or even when you are trying to just face the world.

A little bit of preventive exercise both physically and mental go a long way. The thing is, sometimes it doesn’t take much. Sometimes it’s as easy as a little bit of focus and determination to make it to the next part.

When I first started to run, I had a running coach who would say, When you are tired and want to quit, look ahead a find the next point you want to run to and let that be your goal to help you finish well. Then walk a little for a rest, look ahead and set the next goal. Eventually you will get there and you will have done it on your terms.

As you think about the hurt and pain in your own lives, think about those little steps you can take to get through. It’s a good thing to find a therapist to coach you through the hard stuff and give you a little direction and focus. For others, it might be calling on a close friend who might be able to help. And for some…it might just take a good run or some time alone to clear your head and help you focus on that next step.

But no matter what, doing nothing only prolongs the healing…now…time to stretch and ice my knee.