Anywhere in here follow a set regimen for mental conditioning? Things like visualization, etc.
Yes, absolutely. And it is one of the best “bang for the buck” investments in training time.
I love stories about athletes like Ayrton Senna (Formula 1 Driving World Champion) who would frequently acheive a trance-like state to race and was extremely particular about his mental preparation.
Very interesting. Here’s a editorial I wrote on the topic:
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/editorials/0000013.shtml
There are also many fine books on the topic.
On race day, yep. Regardless of the type of race (running, swim, tri, etc.) I will always visualize my finish, with my time showing. I have found that once I set my mind to a time, and really believed it I was able to achieve it. Example: 10k road race. I said to myself, and a few friends nearby, “I think I will run XX today”, and low and behold I did (a few seconds shy even).
For tri’s specifically, I visualize my transitions too. I even stand at my bike and close my eyes and imagine all the things I will do once I hit T1/T2, and the specific order in which I will complete them. I also visualize entering and exiting the transition zones. Since starting this my transition times have become very fast.
Absolutely, couldn’t train without visualization.
I am an especially poor swimmer and i get stared at quite often when I stand on the pool edge staring at the other end of my lane for 2-3 minutes. All I am doing is visaulizing my stroke in my mind, reaching for the wall, rolling my hips, not lifting my head out of the water too far while breathing.
I do the same thing at races while waiting for the start. I see myself coming out of the water, going through tranistion, handling any technical aspects of the bike and finishing the race in my desired time.
I know it helps me stay focused on what i need to do in training and racing.
Excellent article, Tom, I don’t know why I haven’t found it before.
Good point about associative and disassociative athletes. I guess I’m the former- I don’t understand the need to workout to music, for example, and I’m amazed at the number of people in here that do. I find it a distraction.
Can you recommend some of those good books on the topic?
I’ve read these and found them worthwhile:
Any others Tom? Those are all great but a little one dimensional with the whole “toughness” theme…
Check out “Body Mind Mastery” by Dan Millman…
or
“Total Mind Body Training” by Jacob Jordan…
I like the subtleties of the eastern thought that books like these explore…
Vitus…
the article is right on w/ the different types of thinking, but just so you know, an athlete who listens to music while training doesn’t nesessarily disassociate the pain. Lance Armstrong, for example, listens to his Ipod on most rides. He’s definitely not a disassociative mental athlete. Sometimes it keeps people internal, instead of having conversations or looking at scenery, etc… sometimes it helps set pace/rythym, but it doesn’t mean it is a disassociative trick. Likewise, not listening to music doesn’t necessarily translate to a great associative thinker.
I don’t train much w/ music, just letting you know that’s not really a great indicator.