I count my pedal strokes. I am one of those weird riders with no computers unless I wear my watch which i use more for Heart Rate. So I count my cadence for 20 seconds. Then I multiply it times 3. Its stupid, but I do it all the time to ‘see’ where I am. Sometimes I count for the whole minute. I seem to not notice my legs and only focus on counting. I also sometimes count to 10, then back down, with the 4th pedal stroke on my right leg. 
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I identify with this 100%. My last threshold intervals, I was able to say “Wow, this is exactly what the final climb of the road race felt like. Legs on fire, lungs exploding. If I can hold on, surely I am making progress…”
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Yeah I didn’t really do any inner talking.
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a few things that i find help:
• remembering that i am doing this for fun … not a pro! the suffering is why we train
• going towards and inside the pain not away … ie not trying to distract myself but actually getting more involved with the pain
• smile (i thank marathon GOAT Eliud Kipchoge for this!)
• when it gets really really bad, just try another 10s of holding on … amazing what this can change
everyone is different i guess but these help me and i have them written down on my wall
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A few years ago I watched A Christmas Story the night before a CX race. At the start line an image of Ralphie raging, beating up the bullies popped into my head. I did really well. Strangely enough, it’s become tradition, maybe ritualistic to revisit that image/thought before races or when I need some grit to finish a hard interval.
Wow. You guys are really nice to yourselves. All this positive self talk and such. I started adult life in the military, so if you want to know what goes on in my mind, picture Coach Chad as the gunnery sergeant in “Full Metal Jacket”: “WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION, NUMBNUTS??? I SAID ANCHOR YOUR SIT BONES AND SOFTEN YOUR ELBOWS!! YOU ARE A FAILURE AT THIS STATION. DROP AND GIVE ME 20, MAGGOT!!!” Yeah, that gets me through VO2max intervals pretty well. But in a weird, sadomasochistic way…I kind of like VO2max intervals. I may need therapy. Or an intervention. Or maybe just another bike…
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Naw, you’re fine. According to How Bad Do You Want It book, “constructive form of anger is a useful coping skill that is available to all endurance athletes”, expecially those that experience repeated failure. So be mad and feel free to belittle and bully your inner “chimp” brain (The Brave Athlete).
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If you get a chance, listen to the Audible version of Brave Athlete. The authors (husband/wife) take turns narrating the chapters. She’s a pro (or former pro) triathlete w/ a beautiful Scottish brogue. It’s hilarious to hear her drop f-bombs every other sentence.
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My self-talk is like my sex talk. I only do it when I’m a panting sweaty mess, and what I actually say seems hideously embarrassing once it’s over, so I’m not going to tell you what it is.
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the “extra 10 seconds” really does wonders for me too. For whatever reason, it works better if I count up, not down. Something in my brain wants to relax when I hit 0, and that’s not allowed quite yet…
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Thanks for this! Always looking for next months Audible book!
lol. this is hilarious, but awesome also. I’m not prepping for a race so I don’t really have competition to think about at the moment, but I do tend to think about my wife sometimes. I think about all the money and time I have invested in it an the sacrifices she puts up with. I ride before she wakes up usually so don’t want to meet her in the bathroom after and have to tell her I failed. She wouldn’t care, but it helps me get it going.
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I frequently fall back on “It’s one minute. You can do anything for one minute.” That’s been helpful on VO2max interval 7 of 7, wrapping up Kaweah, etc. I also use “HTFU” frequently when the first one doesn’t (yet) apply.
Counting pedal strokes is a good (short) distraction I just started using recently. I can also go into really dark places where I don’t see anything but my cadence. And finally, breaking down intervals into more manageable (30 - 15 - 10, whatever) segments does help me. “Ten more seconds…” and now “ten more seconds.”
Whatever it takes, but I always try to keep it positive. Some guys like to cuss themselves out; that doesn’t seem to work for me, unless, “COME THE F&^% ON” counts.
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If i’m watching netflix and i wanna quit, i switch to music, right away i pick up cadence and pain goes away easier. Then when i’m in some pain and wanna quit again, i assess my body and what i really feel.
‘HR is 175? I can reach 190 on a ramp test so i can take more than that.
Legs are burning? I’ve done worst when i was doing tough mudder i can keep going.
Why should i stop, just keep going until you can’t.’
And then losing myself into a more aggressive tune works oh so well
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my best self-talk is a suggestion to myself that I can never give up and fight to the last) It helps to overcome obstacles and set new records))))
I tell myself to never pray for easy. Pray for the hardest intervals, the most suffering, as that’s how you become strong. This makes me weirdly enjoy the burn 
I just tell myself “I can’t do anymore”, until it’s over. At some point you will wake up to your new FTP result showing on screen… not bad! - my ramp test last night
When it gets really difficult and I am having to go deep, I look at the decimal point in the speed section on my Garmin and I repeat, “Be the dot! Be the dot! Be the dot!” Somehow this mantra makes me forget everything else and turn myself inside out. Sort of a Lamaze technique 
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When things gets really hard: “You are as good as your last interval”
It helped me complete a few workouts
My mantra is a secret. No one knows it, which for whatever reason makes me believe in it.
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