Do you really want to run <insert your goal time here> in your next <insert event/distance here> ?
​
Or a better question would be, what is at stake if you don’t?
 
Because there will be a few occasions during training and race where we need to make decisions which will impact our result.
There will be days we need to head out to complete the planned training session in the pouring rain and howling winds. Times when we will have to excuse ourselves from late nights out to get up early to train. Times when we will have to say no to those social runs and fun races we would otherwise enter (and admittedly this is probably the hardest thing). Times when during the race we will have to endure the suffering a little longer.
We can talk ourselves out of something we want… because we don’t REALLY want it that much after all.

But when there are higher stakes, we remove the choice of having a choice.
No regrets or sense of missing out from life during training, no self-pity during race.
We gain sense of direction and purpose. We feel empowered, in charge of our destiny, that with every step, we open up the path to achieving our goals. And when in the hurt locker, we can be confident we have done the work with total dedication, and that our effort counts. We often find the extra gear. The extra strength needed to keep pushing and enduring.

Generally speaking, we all perform at our best when there is something bigger at stake.  
It can be something personal like pride and self-confidence, to charity causes, to career defining performances. Anything we attribute great value to, has the power to motivate us, keep us on the right path and affect positively our performance.

I often think at extreme stakes, life/death situations or family members in trouble, and how that would make me perform and step up my game. Say I’m chased by a bear, that would certainly make me break my 5km, 10km and marathon PBs. I would just do it.
Thankfully, this doesn’t happen here in Australia, maybe we could be chased by a kangaroo or Emu which I’m sure would be equally exciting. My point being that everything else being equal, the higher stakes will get us to perform better, by a large margin, and we can try to tap into that . 

I don’t think that all the races we do, should have high stakes; it’s neither fun, nor healthy nor sustainable.
It is a fine line.
But I think if we pick a running goal which feels important and we are truly committed to achieve it, raising the stakes will help us keeping accountable. And it can be as easy as taking the time to write down why a certain race/time is important, telling a friend, or just share it in a public FB post to the world if that’s your thing!

It’s time to step up the game! 

I belong to the category of people with a “Visual" personality type. 
That’s why I’m useless with names (sorry!) and I remember people only by their faces. Maybe that’s also the reason why I can’t lose my strong Italian accent… I can’t see it!

It may not always serve me well, but for long distance running this has proved a very useful skill to have. 

If like me, you subscribe to the ever increasing scientific evidence supporting the case for the mind being the limiting factor on endurance performance, training the mind through “Visualisation” becomes crucial.  

What is Visualisation? 
A consciously crafted full sensory experience which, although entirely in our minds, it feels so real even our bodies are fooled. For all intent and purposes, at least in the moment, there is very little distinction between the mental construct and the real thing. 

“Visualisation” is not “imagination”. The most obvious example to explain the difference is in the context of a cold winter day. When you visualise it, you can feel your ears, hands and feet getting numb and you can see the fog of your heavy breathing. When you imagine it, you may be hugging the snowman who is talking to you! So in broad terms, visualisation is based on past experiences with additional details based on expectations, while imagination is a creation from scratch which may be very unrealistic.  

Why does it help?
According to research using brain imaginary, visualisation works because our neurons interpret the imagery we created as real-life action.

This has two main effects:

• it fires pathways in the brain which would be used to perform the actual physical action
• it builds our confidence and reduces our anxiety in performing that action 

In my view, the latter brings the most benefits to our endurance performance. 
It gives us the confidence that, at least in our minds, we practised the different race scenarios and conditions, many times before.
We practised achieving our goals, that being time, pace, position or just getting up that massive hill and finishing the event with a smile on our face. If we do it regularly enough, it builds the belief that the physical manifestation of what we visualised is absolutely normal. Almost inevitable.

If it is so powerful, why don’t we all do it? 
It is fair to assume that pro athletes do visualisation exercises. They may be guided by a sports psychologist or they may do it as a way to get in the zone and remain in it to perform at their best, or to practice that instinct of making the right move at the right time to get ahead a competitor.
 
What about the rest of us, recreational ultra runners and weekend warriors with little time and a great appetite for big volume weeks?
A common problem is that we fall into the trap to use up all our time, to physically prepare for our race.

We switch to thinking mode only in our taper week, which has the completely opposite effect as we start to freak out or get anxious, overwhelmed by the thoughts of all that could happen (and probably won’t)! The inclement weather, that hill, the burning quads, the nutrition, the stairs, the length of the course, bears chasing! 
That’s not visualisation, it’s simply panicking - and has no constructive effect. 

What does visualisation look like? 
Say you are visualising the "35km mark" of a 3 hours marathon attempt. 
You may be visualising yourself a couple of steps behind the pace-maker, who is pulling a green helium balloon with a 03:00 and a smiley face written on it. You are bang on the time and you are matching its stride by stride. In your peripheral vision, there are others close-by running strong and purposeful. You are focused on remaining glued to the pace-maker. Your mind is relaxed, your posture is composed, every breath is deep and fills your lungs with energy. Your heart rate is 155 bpm. The temperature is a perfect 17 degrees, the sun is up by now and you are happy you are wearing your orange sunglasses which fit you perfectly and don’t bounce; they make you feel fast.
At 35km mark, you feel a million times better than last time. Of course, you know you trained better, and you had a better nutrition plan. You took a gel 30 minutes ago and for the last stretch, you have a caffeine strip ready, partly open so you don’t have to mess around with it. The pace-maker announces in a loud voice that the next water station is 30 meters away; he will stay only for 5 seconds. There is a large number of people gathering at the start of the table, so you aim to the end of the table, drink a cup of electrolyte and throw a cup of water on your head to cool you down. You overtake the pace-maker by a few steps and execute your plan to perfection. You remain ahead of the pacemaker who is waiting for the group. Water dripping down your back, your quads burn and the feet hurt. But overall, you feel strong and you know that now is the time to get it done. You know you can continue on your own; 7km is your normal commute to work, so it’s in familiar territory.
You re-open your eyes.

Throughout the visualisation process, you see yourself from different angles, in first person and third person, in vivid details.
You can see, feel, smell, hear. You can rehearse your thoughts and actions to reach your goal, in a positive and constructive way

“Getting started”.
While what works for some may not work for others, these four elements are common starting points for anyone. 

1. Learn to relax. 
   Not quite that easy. The goal is to learn to get our attention back to the moment, so we can direct our focus to something specific or nothing at all. Relaxation techniques are very subjective, so anything goes here: guided meditation, total silence, music, the sound of the birds or waves... My personal go to is this music by Christos Dorje Walker. It really takes me places. Because I have listened to it almost daily for two years now, just the thought of putting it on relaxes me. It leaves me with a clear state of mind so I can direct my full attention to anything I want. 
2. Make visualisation part of a constructive workouts.
   For visualisation to be effective, we must bring it with purpose into the workout. It can be done the morning of, just before or during the workout or as a post-reflection.
   Say we want to practice the night section of a 100 miles race with an actual night run. We may decide to simulate this by running after a long day at work, on tired legs from a big volume week, trying to start the run in a depleted state. We can incorporate a visualisation by looking everything from the viewpoint of being 18 hours into the race. So that every decision we take, whether we should run a hill or walk it, if we can run a downhill all-out or hold off on the pace, is a good representation of what it would be like during the real thing. What self-talk or external aids would we use? What strategies could we adopt to move forward? Can we create new strategies which would be more effective?
3. Practice makes us perfect.
   Visualisation is a daily practice. Even 10 minutes a day, visualising ourselves achieving our goals, will make our desired reality feel more and more inevitable. The more we practice, the easier and more effective it will become. The big leap comes when we can write down actions we could take in real life to match the visualisation experience.
4. Start small, go big.
   Start with very simple visualisation then progress to more complex tasks and richer scenery. For example, we can start with lacing up the shoes before a race, rehearsing the emotional states we want to be in that moment. Then add details. Where are we? In a hotel, at home, overseas, in the countryside? How are we going to race? With friends, by car, running? What’s the weather like? What did we have for breakfast? And so on..

To reiterate the importance of practice, I find I can now create compelling visualisations and immerse myself in them pretty quickly. Sometimes all I need is to close my eyes for a minute. Other times, especially if I am running on a treadmill, I can just let my mind go. 

While I don’t expect that just by visualising something, it will become real, I am certain that this helps me mentally and physically prepare for and deal with the real thing. And I find it entertaining too! What’s wrong with visualising the perfect race? 
And of course, this is a skill that can transfer well to many other aspects of our lives.

I am working on visualising things not going to plan, so I can be prepared for that possibility too.
What’s your next step?

In distance running, like any other sport, our professional careers and anything else worthwhile in our lives, success in reaching ones goal, highly depends on dedication and ability to focus. And turning up of course. 

Dedication is the most obvious attribute. Ultra marathon running requires consistency with hours of training, body nurturing and maintenance over a long period time. The impact on work-life balance, sleep, family, finances and general social life is not neglect able. It is quite a big ask. Without total dedication, it is easy to slip off the training and lifestyle regime and this normally results in poor performances, disappointments or, worst of all, injuries. 

While the dedication is taken for granted, the element of constant focus, may be less obvious to those new to the sport and to external observers.
I am talking focus in terms of the full depth of field, not the laser pointer attention and concentration during specific sessions.

I am sure I am not the only one, whose mental switch is always ON.
My “A” race or challenge is at the forefront of my awareness for most of my waking hours. 
I am constantly assessing how I feel physically, emotionally and mentally in respect to it. Am I stiff or sore from the last workout? How are my quads and feet? Do I feel strong and engaged? Has my breakfast left me feeling full and light? What are my energy level like today? Am I lethargic or ready for action? Was the effort in the session how I expected it to be? Harder or easier? Was I faster or slower than what I had in mind? What was the feeling when I went up the hill? Am I progressing or lacking? What am I fearful of? I am training enough? I could go on forever…

Unlike million of other transient thoughts coming into my mind throughout the day, these thoughts register and are hard to ignore. They are in focus.
I may be in the middle of a conversation and then my full attention can suddenly switch to the twitching of a muscle and a subtle voluntary effort to stretch it, or a reflection on my morning run. 

So if we can't turn OFF the mental focus switch, what we do with that focus and what we focus on becomes extremely important because it shapes the reality we experience. And, in my opinion, we focus on what we believe. 
I believe that I am in constant improvement and that everything I do during the day contributes and influences my chance to achieving my running goals. 

So, simple things like standing up at my desk, correct my posture is a way to actively engage my gluten and build strength. Taking the stairs two at the time instead of the lift, helps me practice my (pathetic) stair climbing skills. Doing a few push ups in the shower, strengthen my core. Eating healthier food affects my general mood and energy, my training and sleeping. Carrying a positive attitude into the day, shapes the results of that day’s running session. Opening up to the advise and ideas of others, allow me to design my own strategies. 
Very trivial things of course with very little physiological benefit. For me the value is the intention, conviction, meaning I attribute to them and acknowledging they are part of my training. So I am always in training. 

Others may not give importance to theses little nuisances while I do. Everything else being equal, I believe this gives me an advantage. 

Maybe I am being too serious about it all and I should chill out! : ) 

What I am trying to get to here is that there is much more going on behind the scenes, than what meets the eye. 
I often say that the actual running session, is the reward for all the mental focus I spend on it.

What do you focus on?

Prior every important event in my life, I consciously step into my alter-ego who has superpowers.
Like all respectable superheroes, I take off my normal clothes, put on a cape and fly. Or run forever. 

It’s not just about wearing the outfit of the superhero; It’s a full transformation. I think, talk, act like him. And I can do what he can do. This gives me an enormous physical & psychological power and freedom to conquer and fail.
After all, this alter ego is not really me; I am only partially responsible of his words and actions. And achievements if any. I am still in the driving seat but removed enough so that the strong limiting opinions and beliefs I hold about myself, do not to interfere with his magic.

I do that before important training sessions, races, speeches and business meetings. 
This is nothing new. We used to do it as kids when playing fantasy characters, as teenagers to impress someone, we do it every day to conduct business. 

The important keyword here is “consciously”; it’s not just part of the motions. It’s an intentional set of actions to become the person I need to be in that circumstance.

While the context changes depending on the situation, the drill is typically the same.
Taking running a race as the pertinent example, this would be:

1. Build a crystal clear profile of the alter ego. Over the course of weeks/months before the race I imagine and write down the traits of my alter ego. "He is a strong and powerful runner, who can run for days on end. He is light on his feet, and running comes easily with little effort. He is physically and mentally prepared to the top of his abilities; he can climb mountains with decision, he runs the flat with raw speed and goes downhill with style. He has always something in reserve for the final sprint. He has a solid nutritional and race plan and he is flexible to adapt when shit goes wrong. He is emotionally intelligent and confident, respects the challenge and all other participants.” I write down the specifics of his running too for the particular challenge. “He runs the first six hours at 5 min pace, and that feels totally fine. His heart rate is in low 130s and he talks the whole way with other runners..” 
2. Dress like the alter ego. Like Batman, the alter ego wears special garments and uses special equipment. Similarly, before the challenge, I carefully select and put aside the kit my alter ego wears, from the underwear to the race shorts and all the way to the sunglasses. I carefully clean and freshen up my running shoes. I have - or shall I say my alter ego has - a sport massage, a haircut, I shave and trim my nail. The meals, bedtimes and day activities are planned and enforced.
3. Get out my skin. This is a habit I borrowed from Agassi’s biography book. The morning of race day, I’ll finish my shower with a minute or so under burning hot water; I get out when I can’t tolerate it anymore and my skin is red hot. It’s easy to think you can endure pain, another thing is actually enduring it. This helps me put things in perspective (I never experienced any physical pain remotely close to the burning sensation of this shower), and frees me. It is like the hot water on my head and body peeled off the layer of my usual self, to expose the body of my alter ego. I then dress carefully, wearing my alter ego clothes and shoes.
4. Complete the transformation with my special token. To consciously complete my transformation, I take this last step of my ritual seriously. I breathe deeply, close my eyes and put on my special token: my Guinness World Record green band. It is a five dollars rubber band I got when I broke the GWR for 24 hours on treadmill, and to me it represents the courage of pursuing great dreams. I pause to acknowledge the action while my mind state transitions to that of my alter ego. From that moment on, I am the runner I want to be, first and foremost. Everything else is secondary. ​

This is my ritual and I give it a great importance. I found it very effective for my mental preparation and to narrow my focus.

Others have their own other rituals and habits, it is certainly not that uncommon. I see this all the time, in fellow runners carrying small tokens in their running packs, motivational quotes or tattoos on their bodies. I see it in the day to day work-life with people wearing their best suits and dresses. You portrait an image outwards to potential customers, colleagues, the world but also inwards. 

I decide to step into my alter ego who is a phenomenal ultra runner who has trained hard and has no fear. This is extremely effective to get the best out of me during races, especially when my normal self is scared to fail. It helps me disassociate a little from whatever happens during the race, most notably the pain, the fears, the successes and failures. It doesn’t make it necessarily easier or less painful, but I know my second self, my alter ego, has all the potentials to pull it off. 

What if everyone strived to be more like their best alter egos, every day, in all aspects of our lives? 

The inaugural 5in5 challenge couldn’t have gone any better. Colin succeeded in running 5 marathons in 5 days, in very difficult weather conditions, inspiring friends and fellow runners,  stepping up the game and setting the bar high for anyone coming after him.
And it did it all by himself. 

In an ironic turn of events, five days before the start of the #5in5, I turned the corner in my kitchen and my little toe got caught up with the kitchen bench, snapping in two. While I have to laugh for my first fracture coming from something stupid like turning a corner, rather than from a legendary fall from a mountain peak, it was soul destroying at the time. After 18 weeks coaching Colin, I was looking forward to finally celebrate by running the 5 marathons alongside him and keep my end of the deal - to support him no matter what.

It took me three days and the advice of 4 different physiotherapists, to decide to cycle next to Colin instead of running. When I finally summed up the courage to tell him, his reaction was a shock and a realisation that, maybe, it was meant to be like that.
 
“It is ok” - Colin replied - “I can do this. You have trained me to do this. Since the beginning, you insisted I should be able to turn up any day of the week, anywhere, in any condition and run a marathon.. or five in five days! I now know I can”.  

Pretty powerful statement. He took full ownership of the challenge and my work was done.

​
I am sure Colin will put together the chronicles of the 5 days; as his coach and partner in this journey, what stood up and inspired me, was the confidence, clarity of mind and total commitment. He embraced the #5in5 challenge and was 100% invested in the vision and in his own WHY it was important to do.
There was no space for second thoughts, double guessing or self pity.

It is fair to say the personality traits propelling him forward during those 5 days were very different from when he started the training 18 weeks prior.
Colin and I discussed about this at length. During the 18 weeks, there were few key moments when he either realised his resilience and strength or made the conscious decision to trust the #5in5 process, to brake through his mental barriers and change his perspective. 

For me as his coach, this inaugural 5in5 was a great learning experience. Everyone is motivated by different things and triggers by different events. What works for me, doesn’t work for others so I had to understand, adapt and find the right way to work together while getting the message through. I am proud I could provide the guidance and structure for the training, nutrition, logistics and most importantly, on the mindset. The 18 weeks were not without some dramas and confrontations but it was all part, and possibly, the best part of it. We both grew and became very good friends as result of the experience. 

I am extremely proud of Colin’s achievement and I was certainly the second most excited person in Canberra when he crossed the finish line of his last marathon. 

I can’t wait to start the new #5in5 intake for another amazing journey and meeting more amazing people.