Focus – Feeling – Patience

My Sunday Marathon Mantra

Yesterday would have been a perfect day to run a marathon. Right, yesterday, not Sunday.

On the schedule was the last threshold session of the marathon preparation, 2 x 3000m and 2x 400m. Not much of a thrill after having done dozens of these workouts in the last few weeks. But what was noticeable was my very high level of marathon readiness:

• Legs were super fresh

• Mind was calm and focused

• Heart rate was extremely low

• Intuition was strong

• Senses were sharpened

• Super fierce in the 400s

Too bad it wasn't Sunday.

(Home turf training in the Olympic Park, Photo by Stephan Wieser)

But what was nice was that I really enjoyed the workout. Last week's training was a bit rocky, but yesterday was clearly one of those "micro-successes" that I appreciate so much about a consistent marathon preparation.

But there was another gift on top! During the second rep, I came up with a mantra for Sunday. I've written a few times about mantras and how they only work for me when they get me emotionally involved. When they do something to me. I had a very strong impression of that with what came to me yesterday:

Focus

By focus, I mean concentration. Like in a math test or driving a 9-seater Sprinter van through rush hour in downtown Rome, Italy. A marathon is long and forgives very few mistakes. The longer you can "focus," the greater the chance of a good outcome. "Focus" is meant to remind me to stay with myself and not get flustered, even when the body starts to tire and the desire to stop increases.

Feeling

One of the most powerful skills I've learned over the past year and a half is to trust my instincts when running. For this reason, I will turn my watch inward in Hannover, just as I have in my last few races, including Rodgau, and manage my effort by feeling. I know exactly what a marathon should feel like. At the start for the first few kilometers, in the first half, between KM 21 and KM 30, from there on to KM 40, and for the last 2 kilometers. "Feeling" is my reminder to keep listening to my gut to see if my effort is still where it should be.

Patience

Patience is probably the biggest challenge for me in the marathon. Once you've found your rhythm, it's all about staying the course and not getting rattled. Unfortunately, it's those moments when I don't have anything to do that quickly fill my head with negative thoughts. To prevent this, the third part of my mantra will hopefully ground me.

I'll have to see if this mantra has the effect I’m hoping for on Sunday, but I'll definitely carry it with me and pull it out when the race is on.

I'm on my way to Hannover now. See you on the other side.

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Everything Not Running

Another "Running" topic in the "Not Running" section. Take it from me.

Just in time for my upcoming return to the trails, a new trailrunning website has gone online in Germany: Alles-Laufbar.de.

I think everyone has figured out that trailrunning is booming. The media attention is also increasing, but unfortunately not as fast in Germany. Until now there was no website dedicated to this sport with love, fun and hard professional work. Alles-Laufbar.de started last Wednesday to fill this gap.

Alles-Laufbar.de is run by two super lovely people, Benni Bublak and Christian Bruneß. Both are no strangers to the running community. Benni is a professional ultratrail runner who competes in international races and has a good insight into the competitive scene. Most recently he worked as an editor for Trail Magazine. Christian is known to most as the former editor-in-chief of Laufzeit Magazin and host of the podcast "Vom Laufen", which now became part of Alles-Laufbar.de. Both love this sport and you can feel it in every corner of their joint project.

I also have the pleasure of writing articles for Alles-Laufbar.de from time to time, which makes me very happy. The first article entitled "Ab wann ist man eigentlich Trailrunner?" ("When are you actually a trailrunner?") is already online.

(One of my articles for alles-laufbar.de - German language only)

Some content on Alles-Laufbar.de is behind a paywall. This is a good idea. It creates a direct connection between the reader and the medium and supports free journalism. So if you like what you discover on Alles-Laufbar.de, please consider a subscription. Especially now in the start-up phase, this is invaluable for the creators of the website.

Enjoy surfing Alles-Laufbar.de!