As I get closer to my A race (a marathon) I am finding it’s my mental toughness that is my weak link. I have a big goal and my confidence is lacking which is almost certainly setting me for failure out of the gate. What are some recommendations for reading materials to help me do some mental work? I’d even appreciate recommendations for biographies on inspiring athletes (i.e., I found Apolo Ohno’s biography a good and inspiring read - I’ve read all the triathletes books as well but found them less inspiring - interesting but not necessarily inspiring).
check out *The Way of the Seal *by Mark Divine. i had the pleasure of meeting him last year and he is an incredibly impressive person to listen to and a lot of his training and programs he runs have a heavy emphasis on mental toughness
As I get closer to my A race (a marathon) I am finding it’s my mental toughness that is my weak link. I have a big goal and my confidence is lacking which is almost certainly setting me for failure out of the gate…
Generally, mental toughness and confidence is the result of realistic goals, preparation, and experience. In this light, I would recommend two books: Flow in Sports by Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi; and, *Flow *by Csikszentmihalyi.
I think these could be helpful for you:
In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick
Developing Resilience by Michael Neenan
Some others that could help but less directly:
Nonfiction: Endurance by Alfred Lansing and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Fiction: Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
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I’m a fan of VeloPress author Matt Fitzgerald. He recently wrote *How Bad Do You Want it?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind over Muscle. *
I like the book for two reasons:
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It’s an engaging read. There are anecdotes from great performances that are fun and inspiring to read. It isn’t all clinical or dry. It’s readable.
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There are clinical/empirical insights. So, there is some “science” to back up the insights and this gives them merit.
Fitzgerald is a good writer. He wrote *Iron Wars *which is really a great book. It’s worth a look. You can get it on Amazon and at book stores.
Netflix. Watch “4 Minute Mile”.
Half joking - but half not.
Netflix. Watch “4 Minute Mile”.
Half joking - but half not.
That movie is so fucking bad
Couldn’t finish it.
As I get closer to my A race (a marathon) I am finding it’s my mental toughness that is my weak link. I have a big goal and my confidence is lacking which is almost certainly setting me for failure out of the gate. What are some recommendations for reading materials to help me do some mental work? I’d even appreciate recommendations for biographies on inspiring athletes (i.e., I found Apolo Ohno’s biography a good and inspiring read - I’ve read all the triathletes books as well but found them less inspiring - interesting but not necessarily inspiring).
Obviously this one
https://www.bookdepository.com/How-Lance-Does-it-Brad-Kearns/9781933309705
Can you really get mental toughness from a book?
Trust yourself and your training… if you have done the work day in and day out you should have the confidence to succeed. You have already proven that you are mentally and physically tough in your preparation and discipline. Know that at the start line and don’t allow self doubt to creep into your pre-race.
However, if you haven’t done the work or took the easy way, then you are right— your mental toughness and will to prepare has already let you down.
Can you really get mental toughness from a book?
Trust yourself and your training… if you have done the work day in and day out you should have the confidence to succeed. You have already proven that you are mentally and physically tough in your preparation and discipline. Know that at the start line and don’t allow self doubt to creep into your pre-race.
However, if you haven’t done the work or took the easy way, then you are right— your mental toughness and will to prepare has already let you down.
You are right to point out that he can learn a lot from things he has already done, but maybe he’s not very self-reflective? Maybe he has some bad habits or poor inner behavior? People learn differently and what difference does it make if he begins to learn a skill from a book and then implements it into his life. It’s never a “Okay I’ve read the book or done this training and now I’m tough, I never have to work on it again”. It’s a process of learning and growing and making good decisions.
As I get closer to my A race (a marathon) I am finding it’s my mental toughness that is my weak link. I have a big goal and my confidence is lacking which is almost certainly setting me for failure out of the gate. What are some recommendations for reading materials to help me do some mental work? I’d even appreciate recommendations for biographies on inspiring athletes (i.e., I found Apolo Ohno’s biography a good and inspiring read - I’ve read all the triathletes books as well but found them less inspiring - interesting but not necessarily inspiring).
Mental toughness comes from within NOT books.
Mental toughness comes from long hard workouts/short high intensity workouts, these workouts are hard then hard then you have a breakthrough one day, at that breakthrough you feel that you are “tough” or “hard”, so when you are racing and it gets really hard you have this place in your mind that you go to that you can breakthrough the tough times of a race.
agreed on mental toughness - it doesnt come from a book - but i liked ‘once a runner’ - an old school quasi fictional running a super fast mile book.
my experience - find a role model who is working really hard and when she/he does something you might choose to avoid decide whether you want it as bad as she/he does. training partners in the early days/years are helpful with this. good luck.
Books about war. Or anything that makes you realize there is nothing “tough” about our goofy little country club sport 
I KQ’d this past weekend in M30-34 not because I am mentally tough but because I enjoy swimming, biking, and running a lot. I don’t know any tough triathletes. I DO know a lot of immature triathletes who care too much about seeming outwardly tough and that is what holds them back from enjoying the sport.
The Worst Journey in the World
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“On Top of Your Game: Mental Skills to Maximize Your Athletic Performance” - I got a lot out of for mental training. Includes exercises which can assist in with development.
the mental part is the hardest. it’s kind of a positive-feedback loop in either direction…if you successfully push through a hard workout or race, you have more confidence the next time, but if you give up once, you’re more likely to quit the next time, too. for me, it’s mostly a combination of cumulative training and learning to break the hard stuff down into manageable chunks / smaller intermediate goals.
if you’re looking for good reads, though:
The Mindful Athlete (George Mumford): i didn’t think this was anything earth-shattering, but it was interesting. more informative than inspiring.
Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend (Tom Jordan)
Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand)
God on the Starting Line (Marc Bloom): less well known than the others here, but i really enjoyed it
and, because i was a rower…
The Amateurs (David Halberstam)
Assault on Lake Casitas (Brad Alan Lewis)
I’m also in the “not-sure-you-get-it-from-books” camp.
However, a couple of suggestions for engaging reads that give some perspective to the travails of triathlon; Lynn Cox Swimming to Antarctica and Joe Simpson Touching the Void.
Books about war. Or anything that makes you realize there is nothing “tough” about our goofy little country club sport
I KQ’d this past weekend in M30-34 not because I am mentally tough but because I enjoy swimming, biking, and running a lot. I don’t know any tough triathletes. I DO know a lot of immature triathletes who care too much about seeming outwardly tough and that is what holds them back from enjoying the sport.
Impressive use of the front door brag while simultaneously taking a dump on the rest of us. Triathlon does require some sort of toughness or people would quit when it got too cold, too painful, or too time consuming. There are plenty out there that work through a ton of challenges and succeed with toughness. It’s like the whole courage argument. There are different types. A soldier could be courageous in battle while the first openly gay professional MLB player would also be courageous but in different ways. Your own personal definition of the word doesn’t apply universally.
Books about war. Or anything that makes you realize there is nothing “tough” about our goofy little country club sport
I KQ’d this past weekend in M30-34 not because I am mentally tough but because I enjoy swimming, biking, and running a lot. I don’t know any tough triathletes. I DO know a lot of immature triathletes who care too much about seeming outwardly tough and that is what holds them back from enjoying the sport.
Impressive use of the front door brag while simultaneously taking a dump on the rest of us. Triathlon does require some sort of toughness or people would quit when it got too cold, too painful, or too time consuming. There are plenty out there that work through a ton of challenges and succeed with toughness. It’s like the whole courage argument. There are different types. A soldier could be courageous in battle while the first openly gay professional MLB player would also be courageous but in different ways. Your own personal definition of the word doesn’t apply universally.
Glad you picked up he/she was referring to you rather than me. I read the “immature triathletes who care too much…” and thought, whew, i hardly care at all, so not me.
The Marine Corps Sniper book about Hathcock in Vietnam. And Chickenhawk is good, too.