Mental Training

Well, I couldn't find the article about training on Triathlete Magazine, but I did find a pretty good article about Mental Training--that's mostly what I did today. I did an hour of strength training this morning, but something came up and I didn't quite get the cardio in that I would've liked. (I have gotten two really good days of spin in this week so far, though, so I don't feel too bad.) I started talking to a friend in my class on Monday night who is also participating in a sprint tri in June...she gave me some tips on the swim that she'd heard from her "trainer". But, then she told me that she's heard that in an open water race, once you get in the water, you forget all your training anyway...haha! Perf! Does that mean I can stop torturing myself over that part of my training? I mean, I don't want to waste my valuable training time on something that I am going to throw away as soon as I get in the water, right?

Here are a couple of snip-its that I found very appropriate:

"Thinking negatively causes failure. Thinking positively causes success. The power of positive words and thoughts can improve our experience in a race situation by increasing our self-confidence as an athlete."

"Experiment with positive self-talk during training and then apply it to racing. For example, if you don’t enjoy hills, wind or swimming, try repeating over and over that you “love” hills, wind and swimming. You will notice a difference in your strength and energy. The result is a more natural and powerful performance." (I love swimming, I love swimming, I love swimming...I'll let you know when this starts working.)

"We all experience nervousness before big events. It’s a perfectly natural feeling. This is the time to be strong, avoid self-doubt, have confidence in yourself, and know you are prepared. It’s important when you get to the start line to remember – your body did the work! Racing is the reward for all the hard training."

"Whichever strategies you chose, practice them consistently. If we put a fraction of the time into our mental training skills as we did our physical training, one could only imagine how far we could go. One of the best feelings you'll have is when your mind is empty and you are totally immersed in the moment."

That's it--I'm going to devote a lot more energy to my mental training! You heard it here...one could only imagine how far we could go!