Good evening.
Here is a question for you. What feels right? Is it a down comforter? A warm bath? Do you feel good when you look at a forest of trees or a grassy meadow? Does certain music calm you? Better yet, how does your body know that the particular stimuli is good, bad, dangerous, funny, etc.? It knows because it is trained. Whether by deep rooted genetics, past experience, or even trauma association, we respond according to some “memory” that is put in place.
This type of response to situations can throw a real wrench into the plans when racing. Most commonly, this psychosomatic association occurs in swimming. Why? Quite simply it is the one athletic event that is about as abnormal as you can get. In most other sports oxygen as abundantly available and you can breathe as much as you want. Swimming, however, is a different beast. A lot of the time in a swim you don’t have available oxygen, rather you have to make an effort to get it. This can cause a very normal response in humans: panic. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, I would be worried about the individual that did not panic when deprived of air.
Many people ask the stronger swimmers why they look so effortless in the water while the beginners look like they need to be rescued. It is a twofold cause. One is the fact that many beginners have inefficient strokes to begin with. But the more important factor is how they handle the “panic”. I have swam since I was 9 years old, often in a competitive environment. I probably have logged enough meters to swim from here to the moon. However, I am not immune to the panic feeling. I don’t think my twenty some years of swimming is going to override the eons of human biology. Though I may panic, I am used to the panic and I welcome it. Much like the motorcycle racer who travels at 150 mph for a living, I know the panic isn’t normal, but I come to peace with it knowing there is no way for me to eliminate it. This lets me relax and get through the swim.
For the beginners, I can only suggest doing breathing drills and timing drills. One great drill is to swim sets of 200s and breath every fourth stroke. This will help time correct inhalation and exhalation. In turn it will ensure proper breathing. The other thing to do is go to the deep end and breathe out all of your air until you sink, count to twenty, and come to the surface. If you aren’t feeling the panic then, you aren’t doing it right. The benefit is it will generate the panic in a controlled environment.
In the end, we must face the hardest things for us and find ways to battle. Otherwise a simple mental hiccup could be the difference between a personal best and an average run.
Until next time-lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Breaking Down
Good evening.
What drives us mentally? Is it music? Image? Glory? Whatever it is, it most likely exists with its antithesis. My drive comes from visualization. I like to make a mental plan of what I am about to do and visualize through that picture. Obviously this creates a major problem if the mental picture suddenly isn’t what I imagined. That is my antithesis.
Recently on a bike ride I found myself in this trap. I was having a good ride, ripping up the road on a beautiful day. When the group changed directions, I suggested a route I thought to be flat and fast. They agreed and off we went. Upon one of my first turns, I was aware that I had pictured a different route in my mind than the one I was riding. The road had some substantial hills. And a headwind. No big deal, I told myself, I will just turn up the inspirational music in my mind and push through it. That was fine and we turned again to a road I was sure was flat and fast. It wasn’t. In fact it had a bigger headwind, and it was gradually uphill for 5 miles. Annoying. I gave in to my frustrations.
Something I failed on epically was my expectation level. If you are to learn anything from me, most likely you should avoid doing what I do. There is nothing wrong with having expectations or visualization, but be super flexible. Had I been super flexible and a little more stoic, I would have survived. Instead, my frustrations mounted as each turn in the road brought a horizon that showed my destination above my handlebars. I kept telling myself that “over the next hill” all would be well. It wasn’t. I broke down. Somewhere in all of this was a lesson. It taught me to either have an exact mental picture, or none at all. Therefore, I would have been a little more conservative and a lot more happy.
Notwithstanding the hilly headwind did end in a picture of debauchery…the three of us with a pitcher of margaritas, lots of laughs and a 5 mile sprint left (in 90 degree weather). However, the behavior on the bike is where I need fixing, and I will. Nothing could risk you from finishing more than frustration. Frustration takes energy and it will also remove you from your game plan, two things that you aren’t benefiting from. In long course events, this could be a nightmare.
Let’s say you are in a 70.3 race. You hop on your bike and it is instant headwind. You turn, still a headwind. Finally after battling wind for 28 miles, you hit the turnaround, only to find that the wind changed and you are still in a headwind. Homicide seems normal at this point. But are you going to let all of your training go to waste? What if this was the race you planned for, bragged about, lusted over and spent energy and time preparing for it? Are you going to let that go because of wind? It makes me wonder if I was racing Sunday and this would have happened. How would I have handled it?
Solution: Plan. Meticulously if you have to. I am the type of person that rides the course 5 times before each race, if in a car or on my bike. I want to feel the course. There is nothing wrong with good preparation; that might have eliminated the unexpected that threw a monkey wrench into my otherwise enjoyable ride.
Until next time, lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
What drives us mentally? Is it music? Image? Glory? Whatever it is, it most likely exists with its antithesis. My drive comes from visualization. I like to make a mental plan of what I am about to do and visualize through that picture. Obviously this creates a major problem if the mental picture suddenly isn’t what I imagined. That is my antithesis.
Recently on a bike ride I found myself in this trap. I was having a good ride, ripping up the road on a beautiful day. When the group changed directions, I suggested a route I thought to be flat and fast. They agreed and off we went. Upon one of my first turns, I was aware that I had pictured a different route in my mind than the one I was riding. The road had some substantial hills. And a headwind. No big deal, I told myself, I will just turn up the inspirational music in my mind and push through it. That was fine and we turned again to a road I was sure was flat and fast. It wasn’t. In fact it had a bigger headwind, and it was gradually uphill for 5 miles. Annoying. I gave in to my frustrations.
Something I failed on epically was my expectation level. If you are to learn anything from me, most likely you should avoid doing what I do. There is nothing wrong with having expectations or visualization, but be super flexible. Had I been super flexible and a little more stoic, I would have survived. Instead, my frustrations mounted as each turn in the road brought a horizon that showed my destination above my handlebars. I kept telling myself that “over the next hill” all would be well. It wasn’t. I broke down. Somewhere in all of this was a lesson. It taught me to either have an exact mental picture, or none at all. Therefore, I would have been a little more conservative and a lot more happy.
Notwithstanding the hilly headwind did end in a picture of debauchery…the three of us with a pitcher of margaritas, lots of laughs and a 5 mile sprint left (in 90 degree weather). However, the behavior on the bike is where I need fixing, and I will. Nothing could risk you from finishing more than frustration. Frustration takes energy and it will also remove you from your game plan, two things that you aren’t benefiting from. In long course events, this could be a nightmare.
Let’s say you are in a 70.3 race. You hop on your bike and it is instant headwind. You turn, still a headwind. Finally after battling wind for 28 miles, you hit the turnaround, only to find that the wind changed and you are still in a headwind. Homicide seems normal at this point. But are you going to let all of your training go to waste? What if this was the race you planned for, bragged about, lusted over and spent energy and time preparing for it? Are you going to let that go because of wind? It makes me wonder if I was racing Sunday and this would have happened. How would I have handled it?
Solution: Plan. Meticulously if you have to. I am the type of person that rides the course 5 times before each race, if in a car or on my bike. I want to feel the course. There is nothing wrong with good preparation; that might have eliminated the unexpected that threw a monkey wrench into my otherwise enjoyable ride.
Until next time, lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Pushing On
Good evening.
We all are faced with the choice to quit. This can manifest itself in the most amazing ways. Whether it is a job, an addiction, a race, or even an activity as innocuous as gardening, you will be at a crossroads (not that Britney Spears movie) where you feel like you can’t move on. Any athlete who disagrees with the above statement is lying. Everybody wants to quit. Muscles, human biochemistry…they aren’t designed to go the lengths we want to push them. We must ask then, how do we convince ourselves to stay in motion?
Most of the mental dilettantes will tell you that you should just “push through”. They will say stuff like “you need to have the will to continue”. I don’t disagree. Or, to eliminate the faux pas of a double negative, I agree. However, I prefer to use the double negative because it conveys something more. Call it visceral, but I want my stance to remain slightly away from the “rub dirt on it” approach to sport. I actually don’t believe that pushing through is the best idea.
Consider this:
As a runner, are you not running four or five times per week? To really slap the cranium, isn’t that really just one continual run with some breaks in between? Yes, we can all make physiological references and metaphysical approaches to the logic-lacking statement I just made. However, do ponder what I just said. If you are able to run every day at 8:00, then I make an argument that you never stopped running, rather you just punctuated each run with a 22 hour break. The rest has its biophysical benefits, but it is also mentally cleansing when you can rest.
Now, unlike what your super-shorts wearing PE teacher might have said, I say don’t push through. Take a break. If, by break, you slow your pace, okay. If you sit on the side of the road for ten minutes, okay. Either way, you are “resting” your body to build and do more. Slowly over time, these breaks will get shorter and you will get faster. Though reality might not be a dinner guest with this idea, I must tell you that since you are an athlete you understand reality isn’t usually present. You push yourself beyond feasibility, going into the illogical stages more than you would admit.
The most important takeaway from this is the fact that simple breaks can extend your workout and eventually extend your performance. These subtle little differences are solely directed by your mind, and through a clean mind you can make the drug of endurance racing seem that much more potent. It is the sugar with the medicine, the Novocain before the drill. However, it doesn’t make it lose value. Every potential choice can be the slightest difference between a personal best and a complete failure. We like to err on the side of personal best.
Until next time, lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
We all are faced with the choice to quit. This can manifest itself in the most amazing ways. Whether it is a job, an addiction, a race, or even an activity as innocuous as gardening, you will be at a crossroads (not that Britney Spears movie) where you feel like you can’t move on. Any athlete who disagrees with the above statement is lying. Everybody wants to quit. Muscles, human biochemistry…they aren’t designed to go the lengths we want to push them. We must ask then, how do we convince ourselves to stay in motion?
Most of the mental dilettantes will tell you that you should just “push through”. They will say stuff like “you need to have the will to continue”. I don’t disagree. Or, to eliminate the faux pas of a double negative, I agree. However, I prefer to use the double negative because it conveys something more. Call it visceral, but I want my stance to remain slightly away from the “rub dirt on it” approach to sport. I actually don’t believe that pushing through is the best idea.
Consider this:
As a runner, are you not running four or five times per week? To really slap the cranium, isn’t that really just one continual run with some breaks in between? Yes, we can all make physiological references and metaphysical approaches to the logic-lacking statement I just made. However, do ponder what I just said. If you are able to run every day at 8:00, then I make an argument that you never stopped running, rather you just punctuated each run with a 22 hour break. The rest has its biophysical benefits, but it is also mentally cleansing when you can rest.
Now, unlike what your super-shorts wearing PE teacher might have said, I say don’t push through. Take a break. If, by break, you slow your pace, okay. If you sit on the side of the road for ten minutes, okay. Either way, you are “resting” your body to build and do more. Slowly over time, these breaks will get shorter and you will get faster. Though reality might not be a dinner guest with this idea, I must tell you that since you are an athlete you understand reality isn’t usually present. You push yourself beyond feasibility, going into the illogical stages more than you would admit.
The most important takeaway from this is the fact that simple breaks can extend your workout and eventually extend your performance. These subtle little differences are solely directed by your mind, and through a clean mind you can make the drug of endurance racing seem that much more potent. It is the sugar with the medicine, the Novocain before the drill. However, it doesn’t make it lose value. Every potential choice can be the slightest difference between a personal best and a complete failure. We like to err on the side of personal best.
Until next time, lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
Monday, April 20, 2009
Getting Through (my first blog)
Good evening.
Long are the times when I said I would never do this. Wait, blog that is. You and your dirty mind. However, a rebirth has occurred in me, and I want to share like a kid in time out. Currently I have 5 converts to the church of Triathlon, and I aim to convert as much as legally allowable while still maintaining "peaceful assembly" status. Sort of like Mormons, but I praise the bike, not the book.
You have probably (if you are following search criteria correctly) read your share of advice, thoughts and rantings of the insane about endurance racing. Most of them carry invaluable advice and all share a common thread. This blog is different (I have heard that before...namely on some first "blind" dates). Every post will attempt to dissect the race experience from a purely mental state and will hopefully clue you, others, random prisoners, and many more to adjust your racing, adjust your performance, and adjust your view.
This first subject is the approach. You have to crawl before you walk (or ride) and many times that takes some purging. Your mind is similar. Many of the filters you approach life with are combinations of learned experiences and advice, all wrapped up to give you the eyes and understanding that are unique. Unfortunately this can be the proverbial double-edged sword. If those filters get too strong, or too stubborn, you can have the makings of a racist, a sexist, or even worse, a cartoonist. Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be animators. Anyway, those filters need cleaning from time to time, and this first exercise does exactly that.
I call it fact checking. This is what the silly news-corps do when so-and-so politician argues a point in a debate. They fact check. On a side note, I find it hilarious that someone would think that a politician would be completely truthful anyway. You should fact check your approach to your race, your workout, your transition, etc. Within this simple exercise you will clear up fears, melt away anxiety, and further your healthy approach that in turn maximizes your experience each time you tempt that evasive little strumpet known as adventure.
Fact checking is real simple. First, list your fears. We all have them, we all are somewhat driven by them. Whether it is a fear of tripping into transition, cramping in the first mile of a 5k, or showing up naked to the start line, all fears are justifiable at the time. We dream about them, we prepare against them, and furthermore we let them consume too much of our precious time. So fact check them. What is your fear? A stuck wetsuit zipper? If so, then practice your swim to bike transition and pay close attention to the zipper. How many times out of 5 does it stick? Read reviews about your brand. Out of 10 reviews...any stuck zippers? Better yet, any reviews at all about zippers? Call 10 triathletes and ask, any of them have stuck zippers before? Then look at it statistically. If it isn't likely, then you shouldn't fear it. Otherwise, there are other things to fear that you are forgetting, like getting hit by an anvil that falls from the sky, or a flesh-eating bacteria infection from the water.
In the end, you cannot eliminate all of your fears. Performance brings that out in the best of the best. But you can eliminate quite a few of the sillier ones by simply going through the exercise of fact checking each one. Sure, it seems simple and trite. But only by stepping the steps will you allay your fears. If it were as easy as talking your way through it, then horror movies wouldn't be so profitable.
Until next post...lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
Long are the times when I said I would never do this. Wait, blog that is. You and your dirty mind. However, a rebirth has occurred in me, and I want to share like a kid in time out. Currently I have 5 converts to the church of Triathlon, and I aim to convert as much as legally allowable while still maintaining "peaceful assembly" status. Sort of like Mormons, but I praise the bike, not the book.
You have probably (if you are following search criteria correctly) read your share of advice, thoughts and rantings of the insane about endurance racing. Most of them carry invaluable advice and all share a common thread. This blog is different (I have heard that before...namely on some first "blind" dates). Every post will attempt to dissect the race experience from a purely mental state and will hopefully clue you, others, random prisoners, and many more to adjust your racing, adjust your performance, and adjust your view.
This first subject is the approach. You have to crawl before you walk (or ride) and many times that takes some purging. Your mind is similar. Many of the filters you approach life with are combinations of learned experiences and advice, all wrapped up to give you the eyes and understanding that are unique. Unfortunately this can be the proverbial double-edged sword. If those filters get too strong, or too stubborn, you can have the makings of a racist, a sexist, or even worse, a cartoonist. Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be animators. Anyway, those filters need cleaning from time to time, and this first exercise does exactly that.
I call it fact checking. This is what the silly news-corps do when so-and-so politician argues a point in a debate. They fact check. On a side note, I find it hilarious that someone would think that a politician would be completely truthful anyway. You should fact check your approach to your race, your workout, your transition, etc. Within this simple exercise you will clear up fears, melt away anxiety, and further your healthy approach that in turn maximizes your experience each time you tempt that evasive little strumpet known as adventure.
Fact checking is real simple. First, list your fears. We all have them, we all are somewhat driven by them. Whether it is a fear of tripping into transition, cramping in the first mile of a 5k, or showing up naked to the start line, all fears are justifiable at the time. We dream about them, we prepare against them, and furthermore we let them consume too much of our precious time. So fact check them. What is your fear? A stuck wetsuit zipper? If so, then practice your swim to bike transition and pay close attention to the zipper. How many times out of 5 does it stick? Read reviews about your brand. Out of 10 reviews...any stuck zippers? Better yet, any reviews at all about zippers? Call 10 triathletes and ask, any of them have stuck zippers before? Then look at it statistically. If it isn't likely, then you shouldn't fear it. Otherwise, there are other things to fear that you are forgetting, like getting hit by an anvil that falls from the sky, or a flesh-eating bacteria infection from the water.
In the end, you cannot eliminate all of your fears. Performance brings that out in the best of the best. But you can eliminate quite a few of the sillier ones by simply going through the exercise of fact checking each one. Sure, it seems simple and trite. But only by stepping the steps will you allay your fears. If it were as easy as talking your way through it, then horror movies wouldn't be so profitable.
Until next post...lux aeterna.
Race smart.
-The Mental-ist
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