Hello All,

While we are all still talking about Boston, let's look at two take aways from Desiree Linden's victory. 

"It was such a miserable day, and when things go awry, they can kind of ding you up for a while and also take time out of your career," she says. "I'm on the back half of my career, so I have to be super careful at this point. And early on, I was freezing and my muscles were tight, and I was like 'This isn't – this is not my day.' So I did kind of toy around with the idea of stepping off." (Chang, 2018).

Controllables. Think about what you can and cannot control when you want to perform or practice. Did you say terrain? Weather? Traffic? Hopefully not. You cannot control this. You can decide where to go. You can decide what time to go there to avoid car and foot traffic; but you cannot control who is there at what time. So look at the quote above by Desiree herself. "It was such a miserable day, and when things go awry, they can kind of ding you up for a while and also take time out of your career." She cannot control the weather, but can control her thoughts and decisions.

You cannot control what the weather is. I am willing to bet that she, her partners, her coaches, and her staff all watched the weather like a hawk. I am willing to bet that they all discussed not running. I do not know that they did the mentioned, but I am willing to bet they did. When it comes to it, you cannot control the weather. You cannot control the crowd. You cannot control the running surface. All you can do is control your thoughts, emotions, decisions, and reactions to the situation. 

They all made the decision to stay and run. This is controllable; my decision. For the things that you cannot control like the weather, you can prepare for them. While the coaching staff was weather watching, they probably talked about pace and strategy. Desiree's time was slower than normal. This is not her fault, she cannot control the weather. She adjusted her game plan and ran. She chose to stop and wait for her mate to use to toilet. Her plan for this setback was to push forward and get the two back in the pack. 

Controllables are important to focus on. You cannot control everything. You can only prepare for what might be ahead. When you train for uncontrollables, you are prepared and focused on your task. In school, college or high school, you do not just study on a slither of the test, you studied several topics to be prepared. You must do the same thing for competition and practice. In the winter you wear cold running gear. In the summer, you wear much less clothing. 

Focus on yourself and prepare for yourself. 

The second take-away; her mantra to finish. A mantra is probably the most under used tool in your bag. Desiree's mantra was "Just show up for one more mile. Show up for one more minute." (Chang, 2018). Mantra's are used to keep the brain engaged with your success. Many people use some sort of dissociation technique to keep their brain busy as to not focus on what is in front of them. The music is a good tool, but what happens when the body is tired? The brain and the cardio system begs for you to stop. When you think about a goal, you realize that you are talented enough to get to this, you will reach this goal. Reaching this goal feeds the adrenaline and confidence. I have no doubt that Desiree knows that she is talented. But she needed an extra boost to get her goal reached.

Do not compare yourself to her. Do not think, 'well, she is a professional runner and I am training'. This is not fair to yourself. Create your mantra to motivate you just like you created your goals to get you to a landmark. Your mantra must be demanding and goal oriented. Focus on your goals and yourself and do not look back!

Chang, A. (2018). Runner Tells Herself 'Just Show Up For One More Mile' — And Wins The Boston Marathon. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/17/603189901/runner-tells-herself-just-show-up-for-one-more-mile-and-wins-the-boston-marathon