It's all in the mind..

Great run today with a friend round Kentmere Horseshoe with the dogs leading the way, this particular friend is called Andy Mouncey and he has done a great deal of ultra challenges such as marathon de sables and the incredible arch to arc event. Andy is an expert in motivation and mind state for ultra distance competitors and our discussion turned to 'fatigue' and what causes it. There has been much debate in recent years relating to the control of fatigue and whether it is dictated by 'peripheral factors' such as muscle fuel running low and high lactate levels or whether the brain controls all fatigue via the nervous system and simply switches off the muscles! Our 'buzz' word during the run was 'perception'.. how you expect something to be and how that compares to actual reality.

Let me give you an example.. athlete 'A' starts a marathon and expects to run the whole way and not have to walk, athlete 'B' start the same marathon and believes that he will probably have to walk in the last 6 miles at some point. Both athletes are the same level of fitness and both athletes indeed do need to walk at the 22 mile point. As a result, athlete 'A' completely loses the plot and loses 45 minutes, athlete 'B' (who is physically in the same state) remains composed and loses 10 minutes overall.

Both were the same with regards to peripheral fatigue (their legs were in the sane condition), it's just that one didn't expect to walk.. his perception of how the event would unfold just didn't match up to reality. What can you learn from this..? 'Coping strategies' are important tools, it may never happen but what if it does, how will you deal with it and what will be the outcome?

There are lots of situations which may require a coping strategy... You feel awful for the first 15 minutes of a half marathon and you are already 60 seconds down on your expected target time!! In a triathlon you exit the water 3 minutes slower and 75 places further down the field that expected and this is your most important race!! In a cycle time trial you are riding for a personal best and at half way you are a full 2 minutes behind your expected schedule!! Your state of mind at this point will directly influence how your legs feel.. How would you respond?

Here endeth theenduranceblog..