Mo Farah - Smile

Today I thought I would share a little training trick with you along with a video.  It might seems silly, but it works for me.  Maybe it could work for you too.  When I’m at my breaking point and I’m trying to will myself to push just a little harder, further, faster.  I’ve found it helpful to repeat a mantra to myself.  Sometimes in my head, sometimes out loud depending on how deep into the pain cave I am.  The poem in the video below is long for a mantra, but it is one of my favorites.   I’ve watched it so many times I have it memorized.

I used it just this past Friday during some especially grueling intervals on the bike.  On my last set standing up and pushing hard through the pedals.  Everything hurt.  My legs were screaming to stop.  My arms were tired of holding myself up.  I started to feel myself slowing down.  So I started reciting the poem, and as if by magic it started to hurt a little less.  Pain is just electrochemical signals interpreted by the brain, so the experience of pain can be consciously altered to some extent (how cool is that).   I felt more focused and determined.

What I love about this poem is that it is about the work that nobody sees.  We see only the success, or “the smile" when we look at professional athletes on TV and in huge stadiums full of thousands of adoring fans.  It is easy to assume that that is just who they are, that they were born with it, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  No matter how talented they are, the’ve had to spend years constantly grinding to get to where they are.  There is something deeply satisfying about working hard without witness, and knowing that you don’t need people cheering and praising you to keep going.  

The man in the video is Mo Farah.  He is a highly successful distance runner from Great Britain.  Winner of the gold medal in the 5000m and 10,000m at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.  Nike put out this ad to honor his legacy (and sell stuff of course) last year.

I hope you find this clip inspiring.  Try finding a quote, poem, or story that gets you fired up.  Repeat it to yourself when the training gets tough, and let me know if it works for you.  I’m curious.  Do you have any tricks you use to get through a tough practice?  Share them in the comments.

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