On Training and Mental Toughness

I love training. I really do! This is actually a good thing and a bad thing. I have been told (and I firmly believe) that a large component of preparation for any endurance event is mental. Sure, the physical training must be there but finishing the race is as much a mental challenge as a physical challenge. The athlete, as part of the training, must develop a level of mental toughness to go past the physical discomfort of temperature, muscle fatigue, thirst, hunger. All of which are present in any endurance event.
This brings me back to my love of training. It's hard to love what you are doing when you are too cold or too hot or hungry or thirsty or sore or... You get the idea. I have a tendency to wait until the sun is out and the day is warm (but not too warm) so I can continue to enjoy my training. But, on race day, you can't wait until conditions are right. If it's too cold or hot or raining or whatever you can't wait, you have to just go. That's where the mental toughness you have trained for really makes the difference.
So, bicycling last saturday and sunday, I didn't bail when it started drizzling at 50 degrees. I stuck it out for about 30 miles on saturday and about 10 miles on sunday (only quitting on sunday when my rear tire went flat).