Just weeks after racing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Australian Olympic 3000m steeplechase runner Victoria Mitchell is aiming to secure her third straight victory in the 9km Blackmores Bridge Run, one of Sydneys most popular running events. She divulged to espnW some of her best racing tips ahead of the event that takes in some of the Harbour Citys most amazing sights; and they all come back to preparation.Its all about self-belief and mental gamesMentally preparing for a race like this, you just have to have good focus. The main key is the belief; thats what I learned from the Olympics, that you just have to have belief no matter what your preparation has been like and no matter what the odds are.I face any race or challenge pretty much the same. There will be a point in any race when youll find it hard and youll have these little voices of self-doubt kick in, but youve got to squash them out as fast as they start and just think nope, and put positive thoughts in there like no, I feel strong. Break the race down, see how far youve come. Theres all different tricks to racing; all the mental games you play.You can distract yourself, or go the other way and go with the feeling and actually focus on your technique and your strengths: how you fit with other runners, the course ahead, or thoughts of just get over this hill, its downhill from there; those types of things keep you focused. There are plenty of different ways to distract yourself or just keep your head in the game, but its about what works for you.Plan your pre-raceIn the lead up to the race youll need to start tapering off in your training. So youll start to decrease the volume and intensity of your training sessions about one to two weeks ahead of your race. Everything starts to wind down, but you do still keep some short, high-intensity sessions in there. You can do it simply; its really individual. Some people dont need to back off too much -- theyll have a short taper of about five days -- while others will need a few more days to taper; youve got to kind of experiment with what works best for you.Youll also have to be aware that different race times definitely affect your preparations. At the Olympics, I got up and was completing my training runs around the same time I was running. For people who are really targeting this event, they could get up and start practising that, get their routine prepared. That includes getting up at the time they need to so their body is prepared, and finding out the best things to eat before -- and when to eat in the lead up.I like to eat my last meal about four hours before [a race]; so if I want breakfast Ill get up at least four hours before.Plan your raceThe first stage of the race takes care of itself. You get out there, you get your start, you get going, and you dont go out too hard before you settle in. Then theres always a part in the middle when it will get tough, so youve just got to have little things to focus on there; even if it is just little mental cues. Know the course if you can; if the course is hilly or has different turns, I will keep track of where I am and whats coming next.Dont underestimate the short distance runThis is what I tell everyone; with a nine-kilometre race you have to run a lot faster. You cant run at your marathon pace, you have to step it up. The challenge is do it as fast as you can but not to exhaust yourself too early. You can exhaust yourself in two minutes or one minute if you race out in the first 400 metres, so the challenge is getting the pace right; going fast enough not to blow up, and going fast and finishing well. So the challenge there is to pace yourself.Beware if you havent trained for that distance, youre going to hurt afterwards.Like youve always heard, sleep and nutrition are keyYou want to be getting the right nutrition, you want to be fuelling your body right, you want to be sleeping right; its all those little things. You dont want to overtrain; get excited for the race and do too much. Or think that you need to keep doing a lot beforehand. Some people dont taper because theyre scared theyll lose their fitness, but its OK to taper and really back off if you need to.Dont negate sleep to practise your early runs. Dont start your early runs a few days before because youll get to the event tired. Two nights before the event is a really important sleep; you should aim to get a really good sleep in that night because the night before the event youre always going to have a terrible sleep but it doesnt seem to impact you as much; youve got adrenaline and excitement that morning to get you energised. But if you have a bad sleep two nights before the race, it will affect you later. So make sure your training doesnt interrupt your rest.Make sure youre doing the right thing to recover. Its almost become human nature to use my IsoWhey post workout; theres always another race, and youre always preparing for something, so to get your optimal nutrition you should be using something like that. It should be part of your lifestyle, in how to recover and your nutrition.Its not something special for race day. If youre training then you should use things to help to recover. So even an everyday person can benefit from recovery drinks; if youre training hard you need to replace everything that you lost.Always be patientWhen youre just starting or coming back from an injury it can be hard. You have to be patient and do little by little, know that youre getting somewhere with every session you do. You cant expect everything to happen at once; its a process, but youll see every day how far youve come. Ive had all different injuries -- bones, stress fractures, plantar surgery and a facia relief - and its really frustrating when youre used to moving. With goals, you have to be so patient, and its not in an athletes mindset to be patient. Thats the biggest hurdle to overcome. You have to do all the little things and gradually get fit again.Victoria Mitchell is an ambassador for IsoWhey Sports Air Max 270 Discount . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. 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NEW YORK -- Nearly 500 baseball artifacts including a Shoeless Joe Jackson game bat and material from the Negro Leagues will be auctioned off by Christies this fall in New York.The items come from the National Pastime Museum, an online museum based on a private collection of baseball artifacts, photographs and memorabilia.Shoeless Joes Black Betsy bat is one of only two known to survive from his career, and the only one with his full signature in script stamped into the barrel, according to Christies. It has the scars of game use, including ball and cleat marks and a handle crack. Christies experts think it might sell for $500,000 to $700,000.Jackson was accused with other Chicago White Sox teammates of accepting payments for throwing the 1919 World Series. The Major League great was acquitted but banned from the sport.Hes a legendary figure and to have an actual object that he touched and used in a game, its a very special piece, said Simeon Lipman, Christies pop culture specialist.The auction record for a game-used baseball bat is a 1923 Babe Ruth bat that sold for $1.2 million in 2004.The sale also has a game bat used by Negro Leagues slugger Josh Gibson when he played for the Pittsburghh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936 and a Jackie Robinson bat that could sell for $300,000 to $400,000.ddddddddddddRobinson, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956, gave the bat to a collector and signed it for him at a 1955 game at Philadelphias Connie Mack Stadium.Steve Costello, a baseball historian and former executive vice president of Steiner Sports collectibles, said collecting of vintage items is at an all-time high, because theres a scarcity of items and an increase in the number of collectors.The Christies sale also includes other items and photography related to the Negro Leagues, including a 1907 book that chronicles the history of black baseball from 1885 through 1907. The History of Colored Base Ball was written by Sol White, captain of the Philadelphia Giants and future Hall of Famer. The auction house thinks it might sell for between $15,000 and $20,000.Christies says the total value of the auction items could top $5 million. The sale is scheduled for Oct. 19 and 20.The museum selling the items did not return an email request for comment. ' ' '