First IM - Mental Strength.

lazy2pro - 2010-12-28 8:41 AM I know there must be a lot of questions over specific training plans etc and nutrition but with this being my first IM im wondering more about mentality and motivation.

How do people find that something inside them to keep training every day - sometimes twice?

Im intrigued about the pyschological aspect of the training and the event.

I have only just started my training and I am on week 3 of my plan through the Ironman Dominator. Im excited but worried i may throw in the towel if it gets too hard.

Do you have think mental toughness is in particular people from birth or do you think its gained over time?

any comments would be appreciated.

brown_dog_us - 2010-12-28 8:50 AM

For my first IM the biggest motivator was fear.  Fear of epic pain on race day and fear of failure. 

brown_dog_us - 2010-12-28 7:50 AM

For my first IM the biggest motivator was fear.  Fear of epic pain on race day and fear of failure. 

Experior - 2010-12-28 10:33 AM I'm not sure what everybody is afraid of.  I can say that if fear were the primary motivator for me, I'd find something else to do.  Self-induced fear is not my idea of a hobby.

Whizzzzz - 2010-12-28 11:38 AM

I'm honestly a little worried about my motivation as I set out for my second IM. I don't have that "fear" anymore. This year I'm going to have to get myself motivated by... something else. Maybe an improvement on my first race time.  

Experior - 2010-12-28 10:54 AM

How about put a positive spin on things and think in terms of 'desire' rather than 'fear'? 

(I'm not being confrontational here at all -- I understand what you're saying.  I just wonder whether 'desire' might be a more productive mental attitude than 'fear'.)

Do you have think mental toughness is in particular people from birth or do you think its gained over time?

Experior - 2010-12-28 10:33 AM I'm not sure what everybody is afraid of.  I can say that if fear were the primary motivator for me, I'd find something else to do.  Self-induced fear is not my idea of a hobby.

IMO, race-day mental toughness is the natural consequence of mental toughness throughout one's training.  Take care of the latter, and the former will largely take care of itself.

'Mental toughness' encompasses a variety of things.  One of those is getting yourself out the door (or onto the bike, or into the pool, etc.) on those days when you are less motivated to do it.  Now, if getting out the door is a mental struggle more often than not, then you need to re-evaluate.  Most days, you should (IMO) be getting out the door because you want to.  On the few days when I don't want to go, I remind myself that at some point, I am almost always glad that I forced myself out the door.  Usually, it is within a few minutes of training that I thank myself for pushing my lazy rear end out the door.  I try to remember that.

The exception to the above, for me, was when I first started.  Actually, I 'started' running several times, and each time (except the last!) it lasted about one week.  I did not enjoy any of those runs.  And when I started and it stuck, it took probably a month of forcing myself to go before I began to notice that I wanted to go.  My desire to get fit is what got me out the door at that time.  Eventually, that desire gave way to just loving to run.

Another aspect of mental toughness is pushing yourself to go hard when it hurts.  And then to go harder (or longer).  What enables a person to do this varies, I suspect, from person to person.  I've seen a lot of people at races and in training who just don't do it, and that's fine.  I think it is very possible to enjoy the sport without putting that kind of hurt on yourself.  For me, the desire to perform to the absolute best of my ability, and the prospect of having done so, outweighs the (temporary!) pain of going hard.

Experior - 2010-12-28 11:33 AM I'm not sure what everybody is afraid of.  I can say that if fear were the primary motivator for me, I'd find something else to do.  Self-induced fear is not my idea of a hobby.

spudone - 2010-12-28 12:30 PM


I truly believe it is gained over time.  Success brings confidence with it, and if you establish a pattern of success in your life, you can build up mental toughness just like physical toughness.

I know when I'm up against something challenging I draw on past experiences as a comparison.  "Well ok this seems unbearable right now, but remember that time when... [whatever]"