Intentionality

Chances are if you race regularly you don’t always set up a full game plan (as you should). Just know (be conscious) that there is always an intent & a level of self-belief regarding that intent, whether it is conscious or unconscious. Trick is to at least formalize a little discussion with yourself so that this is out in the open, somewhat considered & kept as objective as possible. By doing this you allow your logic to hear what you have come up with & to determine if there is any self-sabotage going on or not. Sometimes you might be unrealistic; sometimes you may unconsciously be trying to let yourself off the hook by aiming too low. Like I said you have some kind of intent anyhow, you may as well get transparent with yourself (& preferably someone else also) & frame the upcoming race in a clearer light, rather than having to deal with the disappointment (& possible long term effects) of a “failed” race because you set yourself up for a fall & may not even have known you were doing so. Losing a Boston qualifier by 45sec, or an IM slot by one place 8sec ahead of you because you didn’t know is inexcusable, why would you race with a gremlin in the machine if you knew it could derail your efforts & you knew it was there?
Get clear of your intentions, you’ll race better & feel better afterwards.

For more on this see my book, Magical Running, available on www.BobbyMcGee.com