I run for...mental toughness.

Race day is 6 days away and pre-race anxiety is definitely setting in. I can't really run a whole lot since I'm tapering for my race and since running is what usually helps with my anxiety, I've had to focus more on my mental toughness training.

Of course, there is quite a bit of mental toughness training that goes on throughout the training months but I've come to realize that in the last week, mental toughness training is of utmost importance. The primary reason being what I've already mentioned; it helps ease pre-race anxiety.

For me, mental toughness training the last week before the race started last night with my Ultra Prep Plan. I laid out my step by step plan for all 7 days leading up to the race. I will keep track of things like fitness, visualization/meditations, stretching, nutrition, hydration, sleep, supplies, etc. Just writing everything out on paper helped me sort through the mental barrage of anxiety-provoking thoughts I've been experiencing lately.

My Ultra Prep Plan & Race Day Plan

I woke up this morning with the same jitters as the previous day. Today I focused on following my plan. I had a healthy breakfast and drank plenty of water. This morning I spent 15 minutes stretching and going through a series of strengthening yoga poses. Mental training today consisted of watching ultra marathon movies. The first was Running on the Sun, a movie about the Badwater 135. Truly inspiring. Runners start in Death Valley basin and run to Mt. Whitney, a total of 135 miles. The next movie I watched was Unbreakable: Western States 100.  Again, absolutely incredible footage of 4 elite ultra runners vying to break the Western States 100 record. After watching my movies, I was ready to run. I had an easy 90 minute run scheduled for today. It's really the last "long" run before race day. I managed to get in about 7.5 miles with a combination of walking/running. For the first 2 miles or so, I simply could not shake the butterflies in my stomach! I kept thinking about race day and what it will be like, going through a mini-rehearsal of the race itself. All good mental toughness training. Now that I've completed it, my nerves are settled (for now!) and I'm ready to check the next thing off my prep plan.

From today's 7.5 mile run

Tonight I do the last little bit of shopping that I need to do to get all of my supplies for race day. For the most part, I just have to pick up my food - what I'm eating for my pre-race dinner and the morning of the race. During my race, I will be taking in mostly gels and candy and some "safe" foods offered at the aid stations. I should already have everything else I need. If not, I have another small shopping trip worked into my daily plan for Wednesday this week.

Tonight I also plan to find a guided visualization/meditation specifically for athletic performance or else create my own guided meditation to listen to the rest of this week. This is somewhat new for me. Usually I just create a written summary of the way I want the race to go and review it the night before and the morning of the race. Being that this year's race is a little more intense, I felt like visualization/meditation every day would be more helpful.

Before I get my full 8 hours of sleep tonight (hopefully this goes as planned), I will spend another 15 minutes stretching. Then tomorrow I just follow my prep plan again with all the same important elements - fitness, visualization/meditations, stretching, nutrition, hydration, sleep, supplies, etc.

This will also be my last blog post until race day. I hope to give my full race report either Saturday night or Sunday. After my race, my husband and I plan on spending a couple days in the Charlotte, NC area where my main priority is going to be eating pizza and drinking beer. Haha. So if you don't hear from me, you can always take a peek at the race results at www.tablerockultras.com. Then, it's back to the real world next Tuesday and time to think of a whole new set of goals for the rest of the year and for next!

Happy running!
Amanda