Q: During a long race, how do you overcome any negative thoughts or pains in the body and find motivation to push through to the finish?
The extended nature of endurance racing means that an athlete will experience a steady stream of thoughts and emotions, both positive and negative, while out on the course. An athlete's head can act as his or her greatest strength and biggest weakness, and never is this more applicable than in Ironman racing.
When things are going well, self-talk is usually positive, putting an athlete in an ideal state to perform at his or her best. But over a race of many hours fatigue inevitably accumulates and negativity can begin to creep into the inner monologue.
We've all heard it, that little voice that says "This race is way too long, I can't do this, I'm tired, I want to quit." These are the dark zones—the bane of endurance athletes everywhere. They are the low points in a race where nothing is going right: Legs feel heavy, the headwind is relentless and motivation is running low.
Usually toward the end of the race, the dark zones are part glycogen depletion, part mental fatigue and part intangible malaise.I was first warned about the Ironman dark zone by Peter Reid before I attempted Kona a few years ago.
It was reassuring to know that even the greats experience feelings of self-doubt while racing;no athlete is immune to these thoughts. After several years I can say that the dark zones never get any easier, but they are manageable if you accept that they are part of racing and deal with them constructively.
The first thing to remember about a bad patch is that it won't last forever; often it is only 20 to 30 minutes long (although that can seem infinitely longer when you are in the midst of it). The first thing to do is to identify that all is not lost, the race is not over—it is simply a phase to be endured and managed.
It's very easy to get caught up in a downward spiral of negativity until it seems pointless to continue, so try to remove emotion from the situation and simply observe your physical state. By approaching the dark zone objectively and reminding yourself that you are simply experiencing an annoying but inevitable part of a long race, it can seem a lot less insurmountable.
It helps to sit up on the bike or slow down on the run (walk if necessary) and bring the heart rate down for a few minutes. Try to assess if it is a calorie issue; low glycogen levels can wreak havoc on your brain function, but as few as 100 calories of glucose can boost your mental state. If you take caffeine, now is a good time for a dose. It's a proven mental stimulant that can increase alertness and mood and facilitate fat oxidization, which should allow you to access more energy.
Once the physical aspects of a dark zone have been dealt with, it's just a matter of riding it out until you start to feel better. Try to distract yourself from the fatigue and monotony by focusing on some form cues. This gives your brain something to do while increasing your efficiency, which will often lapse by the end of a long race.
Many athletes use a mantra or repeat key words to themselves such as: light, fast, quick feet or turnover. I know many pros who count strides or sing songs in their heads to distract from the pain of racing for hours on end. A recent study in The New York Times determined that music can increase athletic performance because it provides a slight distraction for the brain. It stops the mind from overanalyzing every single movement so that the body can do what it has been trained for. Of course there's no music allowed on course, but the principle is the same.
Take your brain out of the equation and stop thinking about how bad you feel and simply let your body do the work. After a while you will start to come out of the dark place and realize that you don't feel quite so bad anymore.
Now is also a good time to remind yourself why you are racing. Whether it's to achieve a personal best, raise money for charity or just prove to yourself you can do it, remembering why you decided to begin the race in the first place can refresh motivation. Also remind yourself of all those early morning swim practices and long weekends spent training and you might find yourself determined to prove that the months of sacrifice were not in vain. A little anger and stubbornness can go a long way toward renewing motivation to get to the finish line.
Dark zones are funny things. When you're in one you can't imagine what it's like to feel good, and when you are out of one you cannot imagine how you could have felt so miserable. It takes some careful management as well as a little blind faith that you will come out the other side, but you will. You always do, even if it isn't until the finish line. The old saying may be cheesy but it still rings true: Pain is temporary, pride is forever.
- Samantha Mc Glone
source: Triathlete_Magazine_May2011
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