An interesting and informative read. I fully endorse building your 'mental shield'. Several years ago my husband required a hernia operation. He insisted he did not want a general anaesthetic and was happy to go ahead without. We discussed his choice, following a conversation with the surgeon. My husband decided he would rather put up with some pain rather than be anaesthetised. During the procedure, he had chatted with the surgeon, discovering several topics that were of interest to them both. My husband had taken a view, prior to the operation, to see it as an 'experience' not as some awful thing to 'overcome'. Adaptation to circumstances, both expected and unexpected, is an excellent tool in our mental armoury.
Fully agree! Your own training, or a coaching approach, is better for including this. I also really liked Stuart Rimmer's article (linked in this post) on mental approaches.
I love the term ‘mental shield.’ This topic reminds me of the concept of anti-fragility. It’s so important to train and care for our minds and emotions, not just our bodies!
Exactly. There's so much more to doing a sport than just the physical side. For long distance running, especially in the mountains, how much and when to run are just one part; there's also the mental side to train and lots of knowledge to acquire.
An interesting and informative read. I fully endorse building your 'mental shield'. Several years ago my husband required a hernia operation. He insisted he did not want a general anaesthetic and was happy to go ahead without. We discussed his choice, following a conversation with the surgeon. My husband decided he would rather put up with some pain rather than be anaesthetised. During the procedure, he had chatted with the surgeon, discovering several topics that were of interest to them both. My husband had taken a view, prior to the operation, to see it as an 'experience' not as some awful thing to 'overcome'. Adaptation to circumstances, both expected and unexpected, is an excellent tool in our mental armoury.
Love this, good on Paddy for embracing the pain!
Oh wow that is a great story! Sounds like his mental shield is in good working order!
Really like the idea of building a mental shield. If you train your body for events why wouldn't you train your mind as well?
Exactly!
Fully agree! Your own training, or a coaching approach, is better for including this. I also really liked Stuart Rimmer's article (linked in this post) on mental approaches.
I love the term ‘mental shield.’ This topic reminds me of the concept of anti-fragility. It’s so important to train and care for our minds and emotions, not just our bodies!
Couldn't agree more. So many of the things we do can be helped or hindered by mental performance so it seems mad to not train it as well as physical.
Exactly. There's so much more to doing a sport than just the physical side. For long distance running, especially in the mountains, how much and when to run are just one part; there's also the mental side to train and lots of knowledge to acquire.