@Canva.com: Michelangelo

Whether facing a six-month training plan, the 30th kilometer of a marathon, or a run in the rain, every athlete has already felt that discouragement even before starting.

The goal seems so distant, so challenging, so boring, that it can paralyze the mind long before the body says stop. How do you tackle these challenges without getting overwhelmed? The solution is something you’ve probably already encountered in a pizzeria. It’s a mental strategy of striking simplicity: the pizza technique.

The real limit is not muscular, it’s psychological

Our brain is extraordinarily efficient at managing short, well-defined tasks. Faced with a massive and distant goal, it can trigger signals of stress, uncertainty, and discouragement. It’s a protective reaction: the task seems "indigestible." The trick is to "trick" the brain by presenting the effort differently.

The great advantage of this mental technique is that it’s a real Swiss army knife for your training: it applies just as well to planning your goal over several months, managing your effort in real-time on race day, and to your determination during training sessions.

Your action plan: The pizza in 4 steps

1. Identify the whole pizza: This is your goal in its entirety. 

• For your preparation: it’s your final, clear, and precise goal. "Finish my first 10k," "complete the Lausanne marathon in under 4 hours," "successfully complete my first triathlon."

• For your race: it’s the total distance of the day. The 42.195 km marathon, the 10k, the Sierre/Zinal race, etc.

• For a tough training session (in the rain, lacking motivation): the goal can be more concrete and essential. "Complete my planned session," "finish my 7 interval blocks."

2. Slice the race into logical pieces: This is where the strategy really makes sense, adapting to the time scale.

• Preparation slices (months, weeks): your slices are the logical steps of your plan. A slice can be the first month of training, the crucial long run next week, a preparatory race, or even registering for your race.

• Race or training slices (minutes, kilometers): your slices are segments of the course. The most effective method is to define them from one aid station to another, or from one specific point to another. They can also be blocks of kilometers (running in 5 km sections, or even 1 km if that feels better) or visual markers (the next bridge, the turn over there, the top of the hill).

3. Focus on one slice at a time: This is the golden rule, the secret to success

Once the race or training starts, you must deliberately forget the entire pizza.

• In preparation: forget the marathon in 6 months. Your one and only goal is tomorrow’s interval session.
• In the race: forget the remaining 25 kilometers. Your sole mission is to finish the slice you’re currently running, for example, reach the next aid station. You transform an effort lasting several hours into a series of “missions” lasting 15-20 minutes or less.

4. Validate and "reset" at each slice: Each achieved sub-goal is a victory that must be acknowledged to create positive momentum.

• In preparation: when you finish a month of training, acknowledge the work done. This validates your progress and feeds your confidence moving forward.

• In the race or training: each time you finish a slice (arriving at an aid station, for example), perform a quick mental ritual. Validate the success ("Okay, that one’s done!"), hydrate, and immediately refocus on the start of the next slice. This process prevents your brain from being overwhelmed by reducing mental load and focusing your attention on achieving intermediate goals.

Choose your toppings

The pizza technique transforms you: you no longer endure the distance, you manage it. Its greatest strength is its flexibility. It’s not a rigid formula but a mental approach that you should adopt at your own pace, according to your needs.

Think of it like a restaurant menu: it’s up to you to choose the “pizza” that suits you best by defining your slices:

• By time or distance? (e.g., every 20 minutes or every 5 km)
• By landscape? (e.g., from one aid station to the next, or up to the next streetlight)$
• By feeling? (e.g., one slice for warm-up, one for the tough part, one for the end)

You’re the chef: find the recipe that delights you. The next time you face a challenge, don’t see it as a mountain. See it as a pizza to savor, one slice at a time.