As a fellow Minnesota gal, it is hard not to be a fan of Kara’s! I’ve been a fan for several years; dating back to my Runner’s World subscription days early in my marathon training where I read about Kara on multiple occasions in the magazine (before social media :)). I follow her on social media now and was excited to read her book, “Strong”.
A (tiny) peek inside the book!
The tagline on the cover book, “A runner’s guide to boosting confidence and becoming the the best version of you” provides a great snapshot of what you’ll find inside. It starts with an explanation of a Confidence Journal and then dives into its three sections; Confidence Techniques, Confidence Essays, and Your Confidence Journal.
Favorite Parts
Kara goes into detail on eight Confidence Techniques and, while I enjoyed reading all of them, two stuck out after reading the book – Mantra and Power Words. I took some time to reflect and think about my own for the upcoming training season and for the entire 2019.
Mantra
Kara describes a mantra as your mission statement and that resonated with me. I’ve never thought creating a mission statement around my year, big goal or season – and enjoyed taking the time to think about it. The first step was to write down three worries that hold you back. (Mine came quickly.)
- “I’m not fast enough” or “I wish I was faster” or “I was I could run as fast as her”
- “When will I have to slow down?” or “I know I won’t be able to keep up this pace forever”
- “What if I get a flat tire?”
Next, she instructs you to write three phrases that are the opposite of the “worry phrases” written above. (These were harder to formulate.)
- “I am thankful for a body which lets me do this” or “I choose to do this” or “I will conquer this mountain”
- “Don’t stop” or “Keep going”
- “Focus on what you can control”
Power Words
Kara describes power words as words that can help reduce the negative self talk so you can you focus on what you are doing right now. She explain that the words should be unique to you and your training situation. The importance of it is summed up by Kara herself, “Remember the body follows the mind, and it’s more like to respond if given specific instructions.” I love that statement. I need much of that in my mind. Here are my top 5 power words:
- Strength
- Determination
- Resilient
- Fight
- Endure
Reflection & Takeaways
The fact that I chose two techniques tied to mindset and mental strength does not surprise me. They say mindset is the fifth discipline of triathlon behind swim, bike, run, and nutrition and 2019 is the year to give deep and explore this discipline in greater detail.
Where has my mindset been? I think a little of everywhere over the past 13 years as an endurance athlete. I remember my first, and following ~5-7, marathons wondering how so many people around me could finish without stopping. I had put in the necessary training, I was prepared but I always had to stop and walk a few times during those last few miles. Why? My mental game wasn’t ready to run the entire marathon. I remember the first time I did finish a marathon without walking (it must have been a big deal to remember this in the midst of 10 years and 18 marathons!) and I was stoked! I cut off about 30 minutes from my first marathon and never stopped again. I had passed that mental hurdle. The next hurdle was a sub 4 hour marathon. My fastest finishing time to date is 4:02 set in 2012. I finished 2 minutes short of my goal and it crushed me. Interestingly enough – I trained and ran with a friend that entire season and race – he pulled away and got his sub 4 hour marathon but I couldn’t keep it up those last few minutes. Why? My mental game wasn’t ready to run a sub 4 hour marathon.
Fast forward to 2019 and my sessions at solidcoremsp are helping me develop my mental strength. Like 10 times each and every sessions. Each set (or series) I am mental challenged to keep stay on my toes or not take that break and it has been my favorite part of my solidcoremsp journey 4 of 6 months in. I can’t wait to use my mantra and power words in 2019 and help me power through to PRs!
Have you read “Strong”? What are your favorite takeaways?
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