I have been called 'mental', and after doing some events I have had people question my 'mental fitness'. ;-)

Actually, my mental fitness is probably better than my physical fitness.
I was born stubborn and never liked to give up on things.
When I went to USMC Boot Camp it tested this quality, and then honed it.
I learned to "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome" as a Marine.
This unofficial mantra of the Marine Corps based on the fact that the Corps generally received Army hand-me-downs and leftovers, leaving the troops poorly equipped. Despite this, the Marine Corps has been successful mostly because of the creativity of its people and their success-based attitude.
Now, when I do a marathon, an ultra, or IM or anything that pushes my limits, I do what it takes to get it done. "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome".
After all, there is, 'nothing to it, but to do it'

Thanks for the kind words. I haven't read the first book, but I like the second one very much, too.

More related articles here in case you're interested:

http://www.marvinz.com/sportpsychology/articles.html

Best,
Marvin

One of my favorite books along these lines is Kay Porter's The Mental Athlete. Kay is an inspiring author who works with many athletes here in Eugene (where many Olympians train). I agree with many of the quotes in this article, I think up to a certain point, your body can carry you, but after that it's all in your head. Whether it's training or racing, mental preparation makes a big difference in your ultimate performance. I used to be a childbirth coach and used many of these same techniques for that as well, and I could see a real difference in how women handle labor if they are facing it unprepared vs. having some tools in their mental toolbag to cope with the stress, fatigue, and pain. There are many analogies between that and endurance racing once you've been through both (and I realize that many of you, specifically the males, will never need to do that!)

I wrote a blog post awhile ago about the various mental techniques I use in racing. In a nutshell, I draw on Positive Visualizations, Drawing on past challenges, Energy visualizations, Affirmations and mantras, and distractive visualizations - some combo of the above in every race and in key training sessions.