Mental Skills Tip for Boston Marathoners

What you need to know with just 74 days left to train for the Boston Marathon.

Keep your “Want” thinking in check:  Many athletes  let their “want” thinking run their training.  I just “want” to finish this run; I “want” a qualifying time; I don’t “want” to let my financial supporters down.  We are tricked by the sport ethic which tells us that “overcoming pain and fatigue” for our goal is being strong.  

In marathon training, especially for first-timers and those running for charities— balancing awareness about how your body is feeling and adjusting goals along the way, is the strategy for successful, injury free completed marathons.  I have many injured runners show up in my office who justify having run against medical advice  with statements like “I kept running because I was raising money for lymphoma and my brother died of lymphoma a year ago, and I could not let him down.”  Some of these injuries can lead to months of frustrating rehabilitation as well as having to forego finishing the marathon itself.

Dr. Sharon Chirban, Clinical Sport Psychologist

Founder of Amplifying Performance Consulting, LLC