Athletes can either associate (focus) or dissassociate (space out) when they race and train. World class athletes associate. By associate I mean they tune into their bodies. They are aware of the feel of movement, perception of effort and where they are in space or water. To dissassociate one would carry on a conversation, think about dinner or generally let their minds wander. Peak performances usually occur when the mind is completely still. You are at one with the activity.
Every Monday night I have my most advanced class swim between 3,500 - 4,000 yards.They warm up with a mix of straight swims and drills. We talk about technique and how it affects total performance (speed, endurance and navigational skills). We then do a focused swim where I get feedback on problems they encounter during the early phase of the workout.
Last night we did a 1,500 swim after 20 X 50s building speed into the workout. I was amazed to see the drill work and technique discussion go totally out the window. I wondered where the group went. Their minds seemed to be someplace else. Maybe it was the fact that our group does not start swimming until 7:45 P.M. and/or that many of them had raced on the weekend and were just tired. The thing is that we always swim at this time. I have to wonder whether my group is getting tired from all their training and need some lighter workouts to regain their focus.
What do you think about during those hard days? Are you in the “now” or some place else?
Mondays are always tricky. I always put some “mindless” drills and sets with long repeats in order for my swimmers to just get done with it. Also only one mainset. Tuesdays are a much better day to work. You can’t have high-focus swimming everyday, some days should be JFS.
Funny you should ask. Just last week, on my 7.4mi run course, I started to totally focus on my run cadence. No matter what, I made sure that my cadence didn’t drop. I didn’t think about maintaining speed, just cadence. I found that my speed kept up, and I broke my course PR by 1:03. Too often I find myself just plodding along when I’m tired or going up hill.
Never again. Dissociation is for losers. Practice association in training so you can do it in the race when it counts.
Karen Kurreck (former WC in the TT), once said that she concentrates on every single pedal stroke during a TT.
Controlling group dynamics is slightly different from controlling your own mindset. When I played team sports and now training with a road group you can see the groups lack of focus in a workout, but often cant put a finger on why and when it startes. Often all it needs is a strong leader to pull the group together and that is not the coach but a peer, or in team sports the on field captain. In the case of the road group the stronger cyclist who have been with the coach longest that tend to set the tone for the workout. I suspect swim teams its much the same. As the saying goes its easier to follow than lead!
In my younger days when I was a competitive swimmer, the default position was 100% concentration. I placed great focus almost all the time on my stroke, pace and effort. I would often go for long stretches in a state of semi consciousness with no coherent conscious thoughts beyond the very basics of monitoring myself and making corrections.
Now I do alot of day dreaming. Everything from winning Gold or suffering through an epic defeat to planning what I will do with my powerball winnings or reliving the day’s events.
I still can get in the Zone and I probably do enter a state of 100% concetration for at least part of most workouts but I actually kind of like letting my mind wander too. I workout now as much to relax as get in shape so I consider my day dreams and mental wanderings an integral part of my overall life fitness plan
Swimming and Running I think about technique and pacing. These are still relatively new to me.
Cycling I mostly think about pacing and effort. When I occasionally do drills I will think of pedaling form. I’ve been cycling for a long time but only recently did I start getting serious about it.
I would classify myself in the “focus” group while training, but in no way could I be considered “World Class”
“1:10 for 10, that’s 7 per, feels too hard, not training enough, but this is a tough course, deer on left, and I rode thirty this morning, why does my left nut still hurt?, my swimming still sucks after 4 years, this pace now feels good, only 5 more to go, pothole, these shoes are great but they better last more than 350 miles this time, another deer, I wonder if I should slide my seat another cm forward?, feeling much better now than at 7 miles, I think I’ll be ready for Placid this year, dang I’d like to go under 10:10, why was she such as ass to me this morning, oh yeah I know why, stay smooth and keep the cadence up, damn that hill looks bigger every time I run it, stop being such a pussy and attack it, deer, I’m going to chop that nut off myself”
.
For me, and the folks I coach, I aim for focus on the reason for that particular workout… easy recovery spin, hard intervals, climbing etc… the main thing is to understand why they are doing it and how it fits into the bigger picture on race day. For example- on Sunday I did an 8 mile run, really concentrating on easy running, just under 7:50pace and at the lower end of my aerobic zone- lots of focus on relaxed breathing and cadence… on the other hand I do really struggle to focus in the water, if I lose concntration everything goes down the toilet and I look like I am having a fit!
Is it possible to do both? I think I do… I usually try to focus on what I am doing for the first part of the session and get into a groove. From there I find it is easy to maintain the pace and focus by letting my mind drift. I still have the frame of mind to check my HR monitor when applicable, my computer when applicable, and monitor my stroke in the water. But I still like to let my mind wander, training is a release of energy for me, much like lifting weights used to be.
In a race, I think about the race, my pace, my effort, adjust as necessary, repeat.
Generally, my thought patterns mimic (more closely than I’d like to admit) those of Homer Simpson. Something along the lines of “gee my leg kind of…p-u, what’s that’s smell…rotting dead carcass…wait, there’s a pack of bacon in the fridge…mmm, bacon…”
I find when I’m tired, swim technique is the first thing to go out the window. I’ve heard “Why didn’t you swim that 400 like you just did during the drill?” a few times. When I’m not tired and I’m swimming a long set, I try to focus on one part of the stroke at a time for a few 100.
I can not remember any of my best performances (college hockey, club lacrosse, triathlon & golf). My mind pretty much is still, relaxed and comfortable. In training, my best output is usually when I have on headphones, but couldn’t tell you what song was playing…so I don’t wear them anymore.
It’s much better to be naive than smart. It’s also much better to race to your potential than someone else’s as you might have your sights set too low…
well, in general if your team is acting tired, then i would venture to say that they are tired. sometimes it just goes like that. i know it happened to us in rowing sometimes and our coach would lighten up the load a little and we would respond.
personally i don’t see how this has much to do with being the present or not. more about workload or need ing to vary up the workouts.
but to answer question, i find that i perform better when i allow my mind to get into active sleep–which is what i call it–when it is still and quite, but yet awake. it is very therapuetic. at this time thoughts are soft, and in the background and hardly present. dwelling on my form, speed, and other details never helps me. well, in a race maybe–particularlly a 5K or 10K–but not in training. so, i guess i don’t really thing about anything. it doesn’t sound possible but it’s true.
