As I stood on the starting line of the Isle of Mull half marathon last August, I did wonder whether I had really done enough training.
I flowed nicely over the first ten miles and felt good (if a little sweaty), but I found the last three miles much harder than I should have. Why? Because I hadn’t really been as diligent in my training as I could have been. There were days, I have to admit, when I put my social life – or even just watching TV! – before my allotted run. I did all right on the day, but I can’t say I really did myself proud.
Hypnosis and motivation
I am now back in training for another half marathon (Oban, in Scotland). I was chatting to a pal about what happened last time. He was a bit puzzled. “Look,” he says to me, “you do all this motivational stuff as creative director for hypnosisdownloads.com, don’t you? Well, have you used hypnosis for your own half marathon training motivation?”
Well…err… no. I hadn’t… (blush) But I have now.
I have been using self hypnosis to motivate me to get off my a!s* and run. I worked out a careful ‘mental training’ plan – just as careful as my physical training plan. During the hypnosis, I vividly see myself getting up in the morning to train and running well, becoming fitter and stronger as I go. I also connect to the feeling of disappointment that I feel if I didn’t run for some reason. In this way I combine positive motivation – becoming faster, fitter and feeling satisfied after the run – with negative motivation – wanting to avoid feelings of self-disgust (OK, that’s a bit strong, but you know what I mean!) for not running. It’s my own personal carrot and stick approach. So far it’s been pretty effective and I am now training better than ever. They better watch out in Oban.
The half marathon hypnosis download session
I’ve included the strategies I worked out for myself in the new half marathon training hypnosis download session. I’d really like to get feedback from other runners about it, because on my next half marathon I’m going to finish with a bang and not a whimper.
And now I’m off to relax because I’ve already done my run.
Mark
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