Yes. I like the “You never quit!” line. I may go until failure when I actually physically can’t go anymore. And saying this helps me keep going harder and further than I thought I could by going off my ability rather than when brain starts telling me to stop. “If you think you need to stop, but keep going anyway, that’s where the real gains are made.”
“You can go further!” (and then argue with myself whether I should’ve said “farther” which will then buy me at least a few extra seconds)
I do that too - and then feel better during the recovery, so I can talk myself into 1 more. Especially good on those 5 minute MAP intervals.
I think about breakfast. Lots. As in, when I’m done here, I get to actually eat breakfast - but not until I’m done 
Otherwise, if I’ve already had breakfast, and I need positive self talk, I remind myself that this is me living … really, really living!
I did the GCN Aerobic Endurance workout today, like many others on the ToS Prep Plan. They made the very good point that the last minutes/seconds of a workout, the tough tough moments, is where you really get the benefit.
So I’ll remind myself next time I feel I can’t go on to the end of an interval that it’s precisely that part that forces the adaptions in training that I’m aiming at.
Yep, that last minute tho! Oh dear!
Just finished my very first FF earlier today, and here’s what got me through:
“Fast feet”
“Relentlessly positive”
“You’re good at this, and you know what to do.”
“This is raising the ceiling on your fitness.”
“It’s ok that this hurts. It means you’re doing it exactly right.”
"You have built up so much badassery and you’re showing it right now!’
The Bat was so helpful for coming up with these. It genuinely made a difference today.
Love that one!
I tend to use, you’ve got this, you’re strong, it’s only “insert minutes” to go, you can do anything for “insert minutes”
That reminds me, I must do The Bat again
Great idea for a thread.
My basic is also mentioned many times…think about the current interval and just get through that. You can quit after this one. But then it does get darker sometimes.
What I didn’t see in the list is thinking about being disembodied. As in, my mind is not going to quit before my body. Think about your mind, let the body do what the body has to do. That’s somebody else’s issue. This also helps me to relax my shoulders and hands for better form because it was my mind making them tense up.
It also helps to be even more mordant about it sometimes as if you’re a soldier accepting death. It doesn’t matter if you’re going to die, just get that machine gun nest. It’s ok to die. Go ahead and die but you need to get that machine gun nest. It’s ok to die.
I have ‘died’ and not been able to finish workouts too. I don’t regret it either. It’s because ‘I’m not yet there and this was just a day’ I’ve stuck with it over the following days and weeks and sure enough, I get there. Never, ever, ever don’t come back. You’ve got that option to pull on when your body gives out because your mind controls if you come back tomorrow. It’s just the body that didn’t get through. Not you.
Besides all that, I also keep in mind when the next recovery week is.
Love that! I kinda dig the disembodied bit too.
When it starts getting really dark I usually end up telling myself just keep going and let’s see where I die so I can build on that next time. Often I don’t die. But sometimes I do (when half monty give me redonkulously generous numbers, for example). I try to remember where exactly I gave out and see if I work through it next time that workout rolls around. There’s only a few that really fry me. AVDP, 9H, Toolshed, and Omnium for example. ISLTA sometimes causes me to take a few 10 second breather or miss a standing portion. I think kitchen sink had a few intervals that I had to take a break.
‘Enjoy the pain’
I usually start out concentrating on breathing and try to end by counting 1,2,3,4 at the end but there’s often an ‘enjoy the pain’ late middle.
I sometimes keep in mind when the recovery interval is. I can then reward myself with some water, or even standing on the pedals to stretch my legs.
What gets me going, during the Tour at least… is “we are suffering, so they don’t have to.”
The other things I do is to remember Elements of Style and The BAT and then tell myself to relax and check my form and wiggle my fingers and toes. It’s both a way to relax and also a good method of distraction.
Another one I now like comes from a GCN viddy… this is where the important adaptations occur!
Yeah, that is a really good one. Used it for the 9th hammer.
I’ve been using that lately too. A lot of the SUF vids are “manageable” until the last couple minutes and this is where the mental game needs to ratchet up! LOVE it!
Hey, I recently proposed this if anyone is interested.