So much of the work that we do in running happens in our mind.  A lot of it happens in training. We rely on the mental muscles we developed in training while we race.  Then there’s after the race. We might be tempted to believe all our thoughts about the race. They seem true.  It seems like we failed if we don’t meet all our goals. But what if there is more to it than that? What if we get to choose the thoughts that we nurture and hold onto?  What if we can embrace the thoughts that serve us and let go of the ones that don’t? All of those options are available before, during, and after a race. We’re all familiar with the social media posts with before and after photos of weight loss or muscle gain.  At the Marathon Mind, we believe equally dramatic results can occur through changes in our thinking. Here’s Doug’s before and after – the story of Doug choosing to fuel his training cycle with gratitude rather than vengeance. The situation didn’t change; only Doug’s thoughts did.

Here is Doug’s first pass at a race report from the Ogden, Utah Marathon:

“I woke up ready to roll, I just wanted to start running. I knew I had my game plan and was ready to execute. Worst case scenario was I would get a personal best and still qualify for Boston. I tried to push out the little bit of negativity I had going on. Not sure if it was negativity or trying to be realistic of the marathon, as anything can happen on race day.
Standing on the start line I fully expected to hit all my goals. There was no nervousness. 
The gun went off and so did I. It was hard to hold back because I was on a mission. Ran the first mile faster than I intended but it was difficult to hold back the pace. 
Things were rolling and the miles were going by quickly. By mile 11 I knew the hills were coming. By mile 13.1 I was over a minute ahead of schedule. I started to get excited and thinking I could run 2:56. I did my most prep work for miles 13-15. I did not want to lose momentum. I wanted to make sure in was ready for the canyon miles. I was about 10 seconds slower than expected but I was okay with this. At this point I was still in a good place mentally. This was to change in the next couple of miles.
I purposely waited until mile 14 to turn on my music. I wanted to be aware of my body and pay close attention to the task at hand. I turned on the music and was quickly distracted. This was the beginning of my downward spiral. I first missed taking my gel only after passing mile 17 air station. Just before this aid station there was a little headwind. Though in the moment I was pissed and could not believe it. Why was there wind on my day. It was not there for long. Soon I was crossing the dam and making the right turn to go down the canyon. I was slowing down and losing my leg turnover. I was behind on nutrition and it was starting to effect the physical and mental side of things. At about mile 21 a friend also running the race came upon me and tried to pull me with him. I wanted to go but I had a rough time. It was at this moment I went really dark. This was the start of the thoughts of that marathons are stupid and I never want to run one again. This was not what I spent 6 months training for.  Why put all the work in to have it go all to waste. I started to get angry. I worked harder than I ever have and now things were not going how I envisioned.
I was ready to get to my wife and girls, who were waiting for me at mile 22.5, in hopes that the fuel they had would help. I also was ready for a companion, as a friend was also waiting at mile 22.5 to run me in. We ran the miles in silence and there was some walking. The fuel my wife brought did not help and it was hard to take in. When my friend joined me I was still on pace for a sub 3. I lost it with the walk breaks in the last 3.5 miles.
I truly wish I could remember a lot of those last miles but I don’t. I was following my friend and letting him lead me. I was trying to keep moving as I wanted this thing over as quickly as possible.
I finished and it was done. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I put my hands on my knees and next thing I knew I was on the ground.
Sitting in the med tent I kept hearing the PR bell (to be rung by those who achieved personal bests) and it made me jealous. I wanted to ring the bell but felt I did not deserve it with my performance (I never did ring the bell). I had a 3 minute PR but felt defeated and that the race was a complete failure. I had failed in my quest for a sub 3. 
I was disappointed in my effort and execution. It is still hard to explain my feelings of this race. I had a PR, qualified for Boston with a 10.5 minute buffer and also put it all out there. I was very public with my goals and training. This did intensify the disappointment since I felt I let everyone down in not attaining my goal.
The race shook my confidence. Could I ever do enough to go sub 3, will I need to run a downhill screamer to go sub 3? Do I want to run another marathon? Do I really have any talent? Have I fooled myself into thinking I can run fast?

I was happy that Doug had been able to identify his thoughts and that we could examine them carefully in order to decide which ones were worth keeping.