A few years ago I was at a triathlon coach's seminar in San Diego and the instructor asked us, in our opinion, when it comes to racing, what percent is mental and what percent is physical? What ensued was a 45 min discussion with coaches shouting out, "50% mental, 50% physical!" ..."60% physical, 40% mental" .... "17% physical .....". Anyway, there is no correct, scientific answer to this question. On any given day, I might change my answer, but when it comes to competitive success, for me the answer is always mostly mental.

Have you ever seen an athlete FILLED with talent who has the wrong attitude and just can't seem to ‘bring it’ on race day? Plenty of times. Have you ever seen an athlete with loads of physical limitations but a winning attitude who does the impossible during a race? Plenty of times. So if the right attitude is so important on race day, how do you ensure that you have it after all the months of training for the competition? And how do you stay motivated from the moment you decide to enter the race until you get to the finish line?

Remember this and make it your mantra: The discipline needed to finish the race (marathon, triathlon - whatever) starts with and is reinforced on a regular basis with the discipline needed to stick with your training plan.

Chances are, if you are reading this start to finish, you've hit a training slump and need to know how to get out of it. The first thing you need to ask yourself is why did you decide to do this race in the first place. Did you do it because you needed a new challange? Did you do it because you thought everyone else was doing it and you didn't want to be left out? Has this always been on your list of things to accomplish in your life? No matter how cautiously or impulisvely you registered for the marathon, is it in your nature to quit when the going gets tough?

Probably not, so let’s see where you are stuck and see what you can do to get through it.

You've had a training injury and are "behind schedule"

I put this one first, because it happens to everyone. Even the most motivated athlete. In fact, probably more often to the most motivated athletes, because they never miss a training day! Sooner or later you get an overuse injury (we are only human) and you have to shut it down in order to heal. Here are some do's and don'ts regarding training setbacks"

Do

• Learn to distinguish between an ache and an injury. You are probably going to be sore a lot. Tight, achy muscles become a way of life for an athlete. But if the pain is joint related, or doesn't feel better after a day or two of rest, you should get it checked out and follow your coach's and if necessary, physician's advice.
  
  
• Take your recovery as seriously as you take your training. If ice, elevation, PT and/or massage are recommended, do it! How you handle your recovery will have everything to do with you well you will race and train in the future.
  
  
• Cross train if it's allowed. I prescribe water running very often for my athletes. At the first sign of an overuse injury I send them to the pool so that they can keep going with the training without making the injury worse. About 10% of my athletes actually do it. Why? Because it can be boring. Top U.S. marathoner Kim Jones ran her PR, 2:26:40 (at Boston), after her first winter of treadmill training. Frustrated by the harsh weather at her then home in Spokane, Washington, Jones bought a treadmill and began doing up to 70 miles a week on it. How boring do you think that was?

Don't

• Ignore the injury because you are afraid it will set you back from your training. Nothing will set you back worse than an injury that prevents you from getting to the starting line. Respect your body and take the time to heal.
  
  
• Pick up where you left off if you've had to take off more than a week due to an injury. Allowing a day or two for rest if you catch the injury early on should enable you to get back into training right away and without adjustment to the schedule. But if you've let the injury go and a week or more off is required for healing, you will need to ease back into the training to prevent an immediate relapse.
  
  
• Panic! Most plans factor in training set backs. Consult your coach right away at the first sign of a lingering pain. If the pain is caught quickly enough and the schedule is retrofitted, there is almost always a way to salvage the plan.

You hadn’t realized how much time training would take – or your schedule has changed and you don’t have as much time as you used to.

Eric Harr has written a book called Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week.  Although I don’t recommend you cut it that close – for either triathlon or marathon – the point is if you maximize your time, almost everyone should be able to train for a marathon. But NOT if you expect your life as it was before to remain exactly the same and not without some real planning. Most days your run time will be an hour to an hour and a half at most. If the average person cut out TV, or changed their commute, or lunch activity or got up earlier – an hour a day should be easy to find. Really.

Your long run will take a little more adjusting, so you need to really plan that out. Every athlete should look at their schedule for the week and compare it with their family/work calendar and figure out how to get it done, rather than leave it to chance. Make all the arrangements necessary (carpools, babysitting arrangements, multi-tasking) to get it done.

I know an Ironman athlete who does a 5 hour bike ride every Saturday. He is on his bike at 5 a.m., and is home by 10 a.m.  Of course that means he is in bed pretty early Friday night. He plans his route in advance and has everything laid out the night before. He makes two stops before coming home: the post office to bring home the mail, and the bakery to bring home muffins for the family.

Another one of my athletes is able to do his long run as part of his commute. He runs 13 miles to work every Monday and showers and changes into his suit when he gets there. If he needs to do a longer run, he runs home as well or runs part-way home. (He relies on public transportation for the remainder of the commute).

Yet another athlete travels one week a month. She uses that week to find a road race to do or a running club to hook up with. She has been able to do some very interesting races and finds that instead of feeling that her work is getting in the way of her training, she looks forward to the change in training routine.

The real answer here is that you have to make the mental shift from being a wife/mom/employee who is training for a marathon, to that of a marathoner who is serious about her training and also balances a spouse/family/job. If this is important to you, you will find a way to stay with the schedule.

You are bored, tired or for some other reason have lost your “MoJo”

Sometimes you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you just can’t make yourself get out the door for another run. The first thing you have to ask yourself is if you are tired and since you are training for a marathon, the answer is quite possibly “yes!” If it’s just because you had a busy weekend combined with your first really long run, getting to bed early tonight and having a day off from training might do the trick.

If that’s not it, or if you still are having trouble motivating yourself, you probably need to change the routine.  If you usually run the same route, change it up a bit. I live in a beautiful part of the country with lots of pretty routes to run along the ocean and rolling tree-lined streets. But sometimes I get sick of the same old routes and running in a different town or even doing some urban running where there is plenty to see makes the run go by faster.

Sometimes the weather just won’t cooperate: too hot, too cold, too dreary.  Take it indoors on the treadmill and crank the tunes or throw in a movie. I’m not big on relying on these types of distractions, but if it helps you get through the slump, give it a try.

If you do most of your training by yourself, it can be easy to talk yourself into skipping a workout. Find a running group or running partner to meet you for at least one of your weekly runs. Knowing that someone else is waiting for you will get you out the door even when you feel like pulling the covers back up and hitting the “snooze”.  Conversely, if you always run with a group, try going out for a solo run. This can work really nicely on a long run, as you can just get lost in your thoughts and you will feel great when you are finished! Pick a route that you will enjoy as much for its sights as its terrain. If you can workout a point-to-point run that can be fun. Make sure you have a way to carry water or have it stashed along the route, and head out for your adventure!

You need an intermediate goal

If you have set as your big goal this year the New York Marathon, you might spend 12-16 weeks (or longer!) training for this one event. If you don’t have some smaller goals along the way, it can become easy to blow off the workouts when the race is still a couple of months away. But if you have some short term goals along the way – maybe one race a month or every six weeks – you will have a reason to do today’s 3 mile track workout. Although you usually only have one or two “A: races per season, make the other races at least a “B” so that they are nearly as important as the marathon. For instance, if you have a 5K tempo run on your schedule, maybe you find a 5k road race that you’d like to do well in and focus on that. It’s a good way to break up the weeks-on-end of marathon training and also a way to test yourself to see how you are doing along the way.

The most important thing to remember when training for an endurance event is that it’s not supposed to be easy. All the challenges that you meet along the way will make you stronger on race day. If you learn to handle illness and injury correctly, you will eventually get stronger. If you ignore the injury or give up, you’ll never get past this point. If you get creative when there are time constraints or less than ideal race conditions, you will get creative when there are stresses during the race. But if you give up when the race conditions are not to your liking – it’s too hot, it’s too cold, the hills are too high - you’ll never make it through the marathon, and by skipping your workouts or cutting them short, you are teaching yourself that it’s ok not to finish.   

However, every time you get out of bed and do the workout as it’s laid out, regardless of the weather or the hills or your mood, you are training yourself to have the mental toughness to get through whatever marathon day gives you.

Remember this and make it your mantra: The discipline needed to finish the race (marathon, triathlon - whatever) starts with and is reinforced on a regular basis with the discipline needed to stick with your training plan.

ABOUT BETH KENNEY

Coach Beth Kenney is a USA Triathlon Level II coach, a United States Cycling Federation coach and a member of American Swim Coaches Association. In addition to coaching Team Pegasus, Coach Kenney is the assistant director of the Team Vortex (formerly www.JuniorTri.com) and is a race director with several triathlons and duathlons to her credit. She is the co-director of the Marshfield Youth Biathlon which for eight years has been providing talented young athletes with a safe and challenging course to hone their skills. Additionally, she coaches US swimming and is the cross country and track coach for the Duxbury Girl's High School.

In 2002, Beth finished 10th in her age group at Ironman USA and 2nd in her age group at the Great Floridian Half Ironman. She has had numerous podium finishes, including 1st age group at Monster Triathlon, Boston. Beth has completed 9 marathons, including 7 Boston and is the mother of Caitlin Shea-Kenney, a professional triathlete, winner of the National Under-23 series and the 2004 NCAA Triathlon Champion.Beth has attended 5 Triathlon World Championships.