Stockholm Marathon 2012

I knew the minute after I crossed the finish line in 2010 that this was something that I must experience again! Wasn´t sure when it would be but now I know.  It´s official, I´ve signed up for the Stockholm Marathon 2012!!! Hope I have the same awesome experience that I had last time, that the running gods are on my side from start to finish! 


I´ll definitely be following Anders Szalkai´s training program. That´s a no brainer. For those of you who don´t know him, he´s the Swedish marathon training expert and Stockholm Marathon winner a few years ago. He´s awesome with his easy to follow advice and programs that helped me to complete my first marathon. No I don´t know him personally, but with his awesome advice, personal tips and training programs that work, I sometimes feel like I do. 


I´ll be blogging about my training and how it´s going from time to time. With that in mind, I´ll leave you with some of Anders Szalkai´s mental tips for race day.  I love these tips because they are not only mental tricks to get you through a marathon but tips you can apply to everyday challenges or work situations. 


Anders Szalkais´s tips after the race has started: (I´ll write his original words in Swedish and then give a translation and my added comment on how it can be applied to everyday situations.)


1. Tänk INTE på hur långt du har kvar...... Don´t think about how far you have left. 
-This is also an excellent tip for any long task, project or challenge that you are facing.


2. Ta hjälp av publiken..... Ett litet leende till någon vid sidan av banan kan ge mycket energi tillbaks... Get energy from the crowd...A little smile to someone on the side can give a lot of energy back to you. 
- This is a great tip for work or just living life. We feel energized and positive vibes when we smile.


3. Det är lätt att säga att man ska tänka positiv när det tar emot. Men försök tänk på någon tuff träning du genomfört just för loppet...alla passen du har gjort är värda att inte ge upp nu!
- It´s easy to say you should think positive when it seems all uphill. Try to think about a tough run that you´ve completed. All your training and hardwork is worth something....don´t give up now! This one can be applied to more that just running and race day!


4. Alla är trötta, och du är INTE tröttast. Everyone is tired and you are not the most tired! Love this one and  this one is probably the one that I thought about the most and the one that got me through the whole race. 
-No matter how bad you think you have it, someone has it worse.


These are just a few of his tips for race day that I now use everyday! And just another reason why I´m a big Szalkai fan! :)