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"Yesterday was the ING New York City Marathon, and thousands of people decided to challenge themselves with the 26.2-mile run&amp;amp;#8212;including Pamela Anderson, who tweeted her post-run recovery pic: Ouch! pic.twitter.com/jM2kpkzWXW&amp;amp;mdash; Pamela Anderson (@PamelaDAnderson) November 3, 2013 That&amp;#x27;s a lot of ice! Pamela wasn&amp;#x27;t the only celeb who ran, either&amp;amp;#8212;Bill Rancic, Christy Turlington, Patrick Wilson, and Paul Scheer all hoofed it to the finish line too, as well as our own Cindi Leive! Obviously, the physical component of running 26.2 miles is a big deal&amp;amp;#8212;people spend months training for it. But the mental aspect is too&amp;amp;#8212;you have to know how to negotiate the possible self-doubt and anxiety surrounding the event. Dr. Joe Taravella is a New York City psychologist who also participated in the race&amp;amp;#8212;and he has these good tips for anyone thinking of lacing up her shoes and training: 1: How to mentally prepare the night before or the morning of the race &amp;quot;You&amp;#x27;ve already put in the time and committed to the race, so give it your best shot. A little anxiety is motivating, but don&amp;#x27;t let it take control of you and your thoughts. Reflect on some of your great training moments and get to bed with happy thoughts of a job well done. Getting a good night&amp;#x27;s sleep before the race builds out confidence and focus on your breathing and stretching the morning of the race to keep your mind and body in sync with each other.&amp;quot; 2: What to do when you feel like giving up during a race &amp;quot;Tell yourself that giving up is just not an option for you. Put your mind back in the zone, and tell yourself you&amp;#x27;re a winner and you can and will do it. Be confident in yourself and your abilities and focus on your skill and drive. It&amp;#x27;s not about who can run the fastest but who has got the most guts to endure it all!&amp;quot; 3: How to stay motivated during the race &amp;quot;Use your mind to visualize yourself at the finish line with a great time. It will keep you focused on positive thoughts and have less room for negative ones to creep in. Give yourself a mantra to hold on to and constantly repeat to yourself to help pass the time and motivate yourself. One of my favorites is, &amp;#x27;When the going get tough, the tough get going!&amp;#x27; Think of a post-race reward for yourself&amp;amp;#8212;you&amp;#x27;ve earned it, and soon enough it will be time to reward yourself. 4: To run with music or not? &amp;quot;Running with or without music is a very personal decision, and I suggest trying it both ways to see what works for you. Studies indicate that running with music can actually block fatigue and reduce your perception of how hard you are running by 10 percent. Some enjoy running and thinking about planning their day ahead, while others enjoy running to those songs that pump them up, make them feel good, and motivate them to have a great run. I personally love the oldies but goodies that bring me back into my youth of when I was a club kid.&amp;quot; 5: How to mentally wind down after a race &amp;quot;First, you need to take care of the physical body and symptoms. Immediately after a race, replace fluids, electrolytes, and glucose, as research indicates your body is designed to absorb what you feed it at a much faster rate than normal. During this time of rest take a cool bath, as heat can increase soft tissue inflammation. During your post-race resting period, fill up your time stretching and focusing on your deep breathing relaxation techniques, taking a yoga class, meditating, et cetera. The more you rest your mind and body, the more you&amp;#x27;ll be ready for your next challenge.&amp;quot; Have you ever run a marathon&amp;amp;#8212;or is it one of your goals?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2013/11/5-ways-to-mentally-prepare-for>