Mentally Tough

Last night someone said to me "How do you keep going after it gets tough? How do you not give up? I have trouble with the negative thoughts in my head." I thought this was a wonderful question. There have been many times when I've had to deal with negative thoughts
1. When the pace becomes difficult.
2. When the fatigue is beginning to set into my legs.
3. When I have a girl beside me who is pushing the pace and I'm wondering if I can keep going.
These thoughts enter my mind during training runs and in races. These thoughts are normal. I don't know anyone who hasn't dealt with negative thoughts in their head. I can remember having them back in high school. I can remember a high school race (I believe it was the state cross-country championship race) where I was 5th and we were coming up on mile 1 and thinking I'm already hurting...I'm in 5th place....I really want to stop........maybe I should fake an injury. These thoughts actually crossed my mind!! Now I didn't fake an injury and I kept going. I finished 6th overall (damnit) and it was a great race in the end. The point is....we have to face these negative thoughts. You have to change your mindset. Focus on something else.
When I have these negative thoughts I refocus on my race and I push through it. I think one of my strengths is my mental capabilities. Mentally I'm strong. I refocus on my body, on my pace, doing what I know I can do and pushing my body. That's what I tell people. Once you are concerned on what other people are doing or you are thinking about how much further it is until the end you have lost focus on the race (or training run). Also, you can think about the entire run or workout b/c that can be overwhelming. When I go out for a 20 mile run I'm not thinking I have 20 miles to run. Instead I break it up...I think about the first 5 miles or maybe I think about getting to the visitors center, 64th street, 1st street-great now I'm heading back home to 64th street-and now it's only 5 miles back (this only works if you live in Va Beach and you know what I'm talking about). The point is you have to find mental strength and that takes practice. Practice mental strength on your workouts. Track, tempo runs, and your long runs are great for this type of training.
Jerry Frostick (owner of J & A Racing-director of Shamrock Marathon) told me that he believes running ,especially marathons, are 90% mental. I believe he is correct. Once you lose focus, and if you don't regain it quickly, the race is already over and you have lost.
So practice being mentally tough. I know you can do it.