The psychological side of sport can have a substantial impact on our actual performance, whether it be training or on race day. I’m curious, though: Do any of you have mantras you repeat to yourself or maybe messages you write on your bar tape to give you a psychological push?
I don’t have any actual mantras that I repeat, but I’ve said things to myself ranging from “come on you stupid bitch!” to “you’re the fucking man!”, in my case I don’t think it’s the quality of the content that does anything, but rather just setting a tone and getting into the right state of mind. In my opinion those two statements above could both accomplish the same goal, but the use of either one or anything in between would depend on the situation and what exactly I’m trying to overcome.
Shut up legs on all my bikes
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For the most I try to just space out really. Take my mind off the pain as if it’s not really there.
Look around and take it all in.
Although I have said at certain moments
What the f$@&.? One mile at time bro. You got this. Mother f$&@ you want pizza !! Now go get it.
“Why the f@ck am I doing this stupid $#it?”
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on the bike: drill it
on the run: turn yourself inside out
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On toes of my shoes for 70.3 Racine this year I wrote:
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift” - Steve Prefontaine
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No. I don’t really feel like I need reminders of why I’m doing what I’m doing. Personally, I find it a bit corny but to each their own.
For short stuff like sprints and olys, the intensity is high enough that I don’t really have the time or need to switch my focus from the task at hand. I find my surroundings and the faster pace of the day keeps my attention.
For longer stuff, I’m usually just enjoying the day. The intensity (at least on the bike) is low enough, and the training leading up was taxing enough, that I like to enjoy my day and take it all in. I think short of a crash or something going horrendously wrong, if I’m suffering so much on the bike that I need inspirational reminders, I’m doing something very, very wrong.
I think that is part of the reason why I very rarely have a ‘bad day’ while racing. I’m usually just happy to be out there and givin’er. I did have a horrible day in my first IM at Whistler due to some pretty shitty execution on my part. I didn’t put on sunscreen in T1 and got absolutely roasted by half way through the ride, and I ditched my on board nutrition for what I had stashed in special needs which was still frozen solid from the night before (another rookie mistake!) so I went a long while without hydration as the temperature climbed. By the time I reached T2 I was cooked. Started to feel better on the run, but it went downhill after around 5k when the worst cramps I’ve ever experienced set in and I essentially hobbled my way through 35k of the marathon and finished a good 2 hours slower then I was hoping for. So I was mentally struggling for a good 6 hours that day. Not once during that time did I really ever feel the need to remind myself or have some kind of cue that would suddenly give me some extra push.
For me, it’s simply a matter of choosing between giving up and going forward. No reminders necessary.
I got my mind right, boss.Sacrifice the body.You don’t have to finish the race, just finish yourself
(all these to say that I think I take it too easy when I race, having never DNF’d, I have an unusual (?) desire to see what it would take, other than a mechanical issue)
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I have a small Harley Davidson shield and bar logo on my P5 top tube … The potato potato potato I mutter to myself doesn’t really help though 
I did a HIM a couple weeks ago and was not having a good ride. I found myself repeating, “I ain’t no bitch!”. It took a while but I snapped out of that funk and managed to win the race.
“There is no spoon”
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No, because I absolutely love racing, even when getting my butt kicked. I don’t find I need anything to convince me to want to push hard.
ICC - I Can Choose
from this article: http://mentalitywod.com/7121/three-very-strong-words/
It helped a lot during my last round of military training. Definitely helps during training, but not as much for racing.
“Wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round”
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the two I wind up using for longer races are plagiarized:
“Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.”–somebody’s signature here on ST
“Pain is temporary; pride is forever”–attributed to The Man
for OLY and sprint:
“quick and light”–I picture the TdF, 2009 stage 15, when AC floated up and away from LA.
I don’t write stuff down, but in my head I have a mantra I’ve used for years.
On long and/or steep hills, I chant/sing a line from an old punk rock song. I forget the title and band, but the line I chant is:
“I really do like it when you FK me dead”
It has a good rtythm and the words work well as motivation when I’m feeling like crap on a long hill. It usually helps me pick up my cadence, reminds me to ‘feel the burn’ and dig just a little bit deeper.
When training on the bike I have NO FUN ALLOWED! on the stem. It reminds me to not let the bike become a beach cruiser ride and to keep the push hard and constant.
When swimming and I try to keep a nice cocsistant pace and the run is a time to wring it all out at the end.
PS I really like Kinle’s quote at the fininsh this year BUT i think it may be a little big to write anywhere.
“Never judge your life because of one bad day. Judge it because of the best day.”
Usually on the bike I’m chanting the rifleman’s creed but substituting bike for rifle. When I’m bored with that I just yell out “like a machine”.
On the run I’m usually telling myself either I shoulda lost more weight, or all that run training was good nothing because I still suck at running!
At each mile marker: “Done, done and onto the next one”