Running a marathon can be an extremely frustrating experience. Frustration occurs during this great race when there is a gap between actual performance on race day and expected performance.   One “solution” could be to eliminate expectations and simply focus on the actual effort during the race. A key problem with this is that expectations can be great motivators during pre-marathon training. In addition, having a goal pace for the marathon (an expectation) improves the qua...

The spring marathon season is kicking into full-swing, which reminds me that this race depends on mental strategizing (for success) more than any other popular race distance. You can burn a 5K without thinking, but in the marathon pensiveness is always going to come to the fore at some point, and it can hurt you or help you as you negotiate those 26.2 miles. The right mental mind-set for the marathon revolves around what I like to call FFRR & DSD – Focus, Fatigue-Relief, Relaxation...