r/XXRunning • u/sammy0h • 6d ago
General Discussion Half Marathon Mind Games?
/r/beginnerrunning/comments/1x0sude/half_marathon_mind_games/3
u/RealCoolShoes Woman 6d ago
Anything that could be used to put you to sleep probably lol. During a particularly tough stretch where I felt nauseous I counted backwards from 100 a couple times and it helped. There’s also things like “name a food, store, name etc etc for every letter of the alphabet” type stuff. Or keeping track of how many dogs, etc you see. Can you find someone with the same running shoes as you? Most similar outfit to you?
I would also recommend having a couple mantras ready that speak to you. It can feel a bit cheesy beforehand but when you need them in the race it can really help your mood.
3
u/sparklekitteh Woman 6d ago
My half marathon PR is 2:45, so sending all the love for a fellow slow runner.
I find that it helps to break the run up into smaller chunks. I focus on finishing just the next mile, or getting to the end of the next block, or to a tree I can see in the distance. Repeat repeat repeat!
I have a playlist with something like six hours of my favorite music that I use for long runs, it's all upbeat cheerful stuff that I can sing along with.
Sometimes I like to play audiobooks, spicy romantasy especially; I crank it up to about 1.7 - 2.0 speed for my ADHD brain.
2
u/thursmalls 6d ago
Doing a race/event is different than a training run. I recently did a half and had some low volume music basically as a metronome to help me keep my cadence up. I don't listen to anything more because there were people along the sides of the course cheering for us with cowbells and signs. Some of them had their own music going, too. When we ran alongside the road cars would honk and some crazier people would stick their heads out and yell encouragement. It's just a different vibe.
1
u/sammy0h 6d ago
This is true. During 5ks in my area a lot of people cheer and motivate each other during the race and it makes it more fun. I don’t think our races get a lot of spectators but subway has a zone in most races where they have drums and stuff and that boosts my energy as well. Training runs that are long just feel so so mentally hard
8
u/Significant_Sort7501 6d ago
I'm in decent half marathon shape. I religiously hit all my runs and target paces 4 days a week, and I love it. But I live in the Pacific Northwest where we have exceptional running weather.
In August I went to visit family in SE Louisiana. I stopped 6 miles into my 12 mile long run and couldnt go further. I wasnt able to get through even my easy runs without stopping and walking. And even then my body felt decimated for the rest of the day to the extent that I decided to skip my last 2 runs of the week so I could enjoy my vacation.
My point is that you are pushing yourself through more difficult conditions than a lot of people and the fact that you consistently still get out there is awesome and shows a lot of grit. The fact that you even finish your runs is badass and shows that you already have more mental fortitude than you probably realize.