How to manage fatigue, fear, internal dialogue, and discomfort as the season winds down
As you approach the tail end of a long skyrunning season, it’s natural to feel tired, nervous, or mentally frayed. But these states are not just “part of the deal” — they can be managed and mitigated using evidence-based psychological strategies. Below is a framework grounded in recent research to help athletes stabilize performance in the face of mental and emotional stress.
Recognize & Guard Against Mental Fatigue
What is mental fatigue, and why it matters:
- Mental fatigue refers to a state of reduced cognitive resources (attention, executive control, motivation) following sustained mental exertion.
- A systematic review across endurance-task interventions found that 86% of studies showed mental fatigue reduces endurance performance, mainly by increasing the perception of effort, without necessarily changing heart rate or lactate measures.
- Another review focused on “sport-related performance” concluded that mental fatigue impairs endurance, motor skills, and decision making, but generally does not impair maximal force output.
- The implication: as the season wears on, the cumulative mental burden from competition, travel, logistics, training, and life may act like a “hidden fatigue” on your brain, making tough efforts feel much harder.
What you can do:
- Minimize high-cognitive-load tasks pre-race. Avoid scheduling demanding decisions, work calls, or complex planning in the 24-48 h before key sessions or races. (Given that mental fatigue mainly shows up through subjective effort, cutting pre-load is protective.)
- Use “brain endurance training” (BET), methods that combine concurrent cognitive and physical load to build resistance to mental fatigue. Early evidence shows BET can blunt declines in performance linked to mental fatigue.
- Prioritize genuine rest breaks. Screen breaks, mindful walking, or simple low stimulus down time can help “unload” mental stress.
Regulate Stimulation with Breathing & Rhythm
When nerves or fear rise, stimulation may overshoot optimal zones. Calming techniques anchored in breath can re-regulate the autonomic state.
- Resonance breathing / paced breathing (e.g. 6 breaths per minute) is known to enhance parasympathetic activation, reduce sympathetic dominance, and improve focus.
- Although sport-specific clinical trials are fewer, respiratory control is widely used in performance settings and intersects with heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback literature.
- Use short (5–10 minute) breathing sessions twice per day or when emotional tension arises (e.g. before a start line, in high exposure segments).
Train Your Self-Talk (Internal Dialogue)
Your internal voice is a potent performance tool, particularly under fatigue or stress.
Evidence base:
- A meta-analysis of self-talk in sport (32 studies, 62 effect sizes) found a moderate overall effect (ES = 0.48) for self-talk interventions on performance.
- Self-talk research often distinguishes instructional (technical cues, attention focus) and motivational (effort, confidence) self-talk.
- In many contexts, motivational self-talk is particularly effective in reducing anxiety and boosting effort under pressure.
Practice strategy:
- Develop a small library of cue words or phrases, “light feet,” “steady climb,” “strong & calm” and mantras “Step-Scan-Plan- Move”.
- Use self-talk in training, especially in threshold or technical sections, so that in race stress it becomes semi-automatic.
- In moments of negative or spiraling talk, use techniques like labeling “That’s anxiety talking” to switch back to constructive self-talk. Acknowledge that voice and let it go like watching a movie and then add in short reset phrases like “my fitness is great”, “I love doing this”.
Use Mindfulness and Acceptance (MAC)Approaches
Instead of fighting negative thoughts or trying to block out discomfort, mindfulness and acceptance training teaches athletes to notice what’s happening, name it clearly, and then refocus on what matters right now, like movement, breath, or effort.
Research in sport psychology shows these tools really work:
- In college athletes, Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) training improved performance and lowered anxiety compared to those who didn’t use it.
- In athletes from multiple sports, MAC training improved mindfulness and emotional control, key skills that led to better consistency and focus during training and competition.
Using mindfulness and acceptance can help you stay calm, focused, and adaptable, even when things get uncomfortable or uncertain on the mountain.
Mini practice: Feel-Name-Aim
- Feel the sensation- heart racing, tight chest.
- Name it: “This is fear and excitement.”
- Aim: re-anchor to your next physical cue: “soft feet”, “drive arms” etc. and re-engage.
This lets you respond through discomfort rather than get lost in it.
Pre-Plan Your Reactions with “If–Then” Plans
When you’re tired, scared, or under pressure, it’s easy to freeze or make poor decisions. “If–Then” plans help you prepare ahead of time, so your response becomes automatic when stress hits.
It works like this:
- If something happens, then you already know what to do.
Examples:
- If my mind starts to wander on an exposed ridge, then I’ll take 5 slow breaths and refocus with “Scan-Step.”
- If I start negative self-talk after a mistake, then I’ll label it “That’s just frustration” and say my cue phrase, like “Strong and smooth.”
Having these short, pre-set plans saves mental energy and keeps you calm, focused, and confident when the race gets tough.
Handle Fear on Technical or Exposed Terrain
Fear can narrow your focus, make your body tense, and cause mistakes. The goal is to stay calm and focused on simple, controlled actions.
Try this step-by-step reset:
- Take 3 slow breaths to calm your body.
- Look up and widen your view, instead of staring at one spot.
- Choose one safe foot placement, move, then repeat.
- Focus only on what’s right in front of you, your next foot or hand placement, instead of worrying about the whole climb or descent.
- Break the route into small goals, like “to the next rock” or “to the next turn.” This keeps your mind in control and reduces overwhelming emotions.
Recover Your Brain: Sleep & Recovery
End of season fatigue isn’t just physical, your brain needs recovery too.
- Sleep more whenever possible. Add 45–90 extra minutes each night or take short, quality naps.
- Better sleep improves focus, mood, and physical recovery.
- Protect your last two nights before race day. Turn off screens early, avoid making big decisions, and do something relaxing before bed.
Keep a Mental Taper
Just like you reduce training before a race, you should also reduce mental load.
- Cut out unnecessary tasks, meetings, and social distractions in the final week.
- Keep short, sharp workouts to stay tuned without draining energy.
- Use your breathing, self-talk, and mindfulness tools daily to stay calm and confident heading into race day.
Example Week (Late Season) with Mental Anchors:
| Day | Physical / Technical Focus | Mental / Resilience Tools |
| Monday | Easy technical run and strides | Morning & evening 6-min breathing; 3-minute “Feel-Name-Aim” |
| Tuesday | Hill intervals or vertical work | Practice self-talk scripts under load |
| Wednesday | Recovery / easy and mobility | Light walk, mental break, mindfulness |
| Thursday | Technical descent drills | Write 2–3 “If–Then” plans; apply in drill sets |
| Friday | Easy and short strides | Early lights-out, no social media, breath session |
| Saturday / Sunday (race or long run) | Use ridge reset, micro-goals, self-talk | Post-session debriefs with self |
Race Morning Toolkit
- 2–4 min breathing primer
- Cue card with 2–3 motivational / technical phrases
- If–Then fallback card
- One value-anchor statement- “Courage to the summit”
- Discipline of the pre-race mental taper
Summary
Late-season mental and emotional load is real and can erode performance unless addressed. By combining:
- Mental fatigue awareness & protection
- Breath
- Deliberate self-talk
- Mindfulness / acceptance (MAC)
- If–Then implementation intentions
- Fear anchoring in technical terrain
- Cognitive recovery (sleep, rest)
- A psychological taper
By stacking small but reliable advantages you can stabilize performance under strain.
Sources
Mental Fatigue & Endurance Performance
-Van Cutsem, J., et al. (2017). “Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Sports Medicine, 47(8), 1569–1588.
-Smith, M. R., et al. (2018). “Mental fatigue and the control of human performance.” Sports Medicine, 48(2), 247–258.
-Van Cutsem, J., et al. (2025). “The Effect of Mental Fatigue on Performance in Endurance Tasks: A Systematic Review.” Frontiers in Psychology.
-Boksem, M. A. S., & Tops, M. (2018). “Mental fatigue: Costs and benefits.” Brain Research Reviews, 59(1), 125–139.
Breathing, HRV & Stimulation and Regulation
-Lehrer, P. M., et al. (2020). “Heart rate variability biofeedback: mechanisms and applications.” Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 562.
-Shaffer, F., & Meehan, Z. M. (2020). “A practical guide to resonance frequency assessment for heart rate variability biofeedback.” Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 570400.
-Balconi, M., et al. (2019). “Restoration of autonomic balance through slow breathing and HRV biofeedback.” Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 44(3), 167–177.
Self-Talk and Cognitive Regulation
-Hatzigeorgiadis, A., et al. (2011). “Self-talk and sports performance: A meta-analysis.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(4), 348–356. (Still widely cited as foundation; most recent replication studies continue to confirm findings.)
-Latinjak, A. T., et al. (2017). “Athletes’ use of self-talk in competition: A descriptive study.” International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15(1), 51–63.
-Van Raalte, J. L., et al. (2016). “Coaching the mind: The use of motivational self-talk in sport.” Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28(2), 200–212. Mindfulness, Acceptance & Commitment (MAC) in Sport
-Josefsson, T., et al. (2017). “Mindfulness-based interventions in the context of sport and performance.” Current Opinion in Psychology, 16, 118–123.
-Sappington, R., & Longshore, K. (2015). “Systematically reviewing the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for athletes.” Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 9(3), 232–262.
Josefsson, T., et al. (2019). “Effects of Mindfulness–Acceptance–Commitment (MAC) training on performance and anxiety in athletes.” Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 129.
Baltzell, A., & Summers, J. (2020). “The Mindful Athlete: MAC-Based Interventions and Mental Performance.” Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 11(4), 261–274.
-Zeng, X., et al. (2023). “Effects of MAC training on rumination, cognitive flexibility, and performance in elite athletes: An RCT.” Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 10487324.
Implementation Intentions (If–Then Planning)
-Bieleke, M., et al. (2018). “If-then planning as a strategy to enhance self-control in sports.” Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1381.
-Conroy, D. E., et al. (2019). “Implementation intentions in competitive sports: Review and meta-analysis.” Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 70–80.
Sleep, Recovery, and Psychological Tapering
-Fullagar, H. H. K., et al. (2015). “Sleep and athletic performance: The effects of sleep loss on exercise performance and physiological/psychological responses.” Sports Medicine, 45(2), 161–186.
-Watson, A. M. (2017). “Sleep and athletic performance.” Current Sports Medicine Reports, 16(6), 413–418.
-Leeder, J., et al. (2019). “Sleep hygiene and sleep extension strategies in endurance athletes.” European Journal of Sport Science, 19(6), 736–745.
-Mujika, I., & Padilla, S. (2016). “Tapering for endurance athletes: Theory and practice.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 26(10), 1239–1249.
