MENTAL PEAKS AND VALLEYS

A few months back, as I was gearing up for the Mighty Hamptons Triathlon, I was on the hunt for some new mental training techniques. You see, I know my body will perform at the level in which I prepare and train...and sometimes in those special moments my body will exceed or excel... but it is my mind (oh that nasty little doubtful mind) that can so easily and quickly halt my beautiful momentum. So off I went to my local REI to hear Arno Ilgner talk about his book The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training for Climbers. Rock climbing is a magnificent sport where when done well, the climber looks as graceful as a professional dancer while scaling a 500 foot vertical wall. Although I am not a rock climber, I derive a lot of value from learning tips and techniques from other sports. I find when I only read Triathlon-related materials, I don't get that a-ha moment I need in order for something to stick.

"We have nothing to fear but....donuts?"

1. "Poor use of attention creates fear, which can manifest itself as anything from performance anxiety to sheer terror". For me, this lesson applies to the swim portion of any race. How many of you, while you are actually swimming think "Oh I can't wait for this to be over, I hate this part, I am a terrible swimmer, sh** i just got kicked in the head and lost my goggles"?

Arno says by wishing/hoping/praying you were somewhere else (I wish I were home in bed, I hope I don't see any sharks, please God just get me through this swim) that you are actually creating a gap in your attention that lets big bad FEAR in to take over. "By using attention more purposefully we can understand how fear is created, deal with it effectively, and free ourselves to get back in touch with a far more powerful motivating force: our love of (triathlon)". We can then create the kind of unbending intention that leads to outstanding performance. Isn't that what we all want anyway??

2. Think of your world as a donut: the inner circle as your "comfort zone" (races that you know you can do) and the outer circle as your "risk zone" (races that you don't know you can do). The idea is to expand the inner circle by gradually taking on training sessions and races that are challenging and unknown to you. That way you are freeing your mind from the fear of the unknown and being able to focus more on the task at hand.

The happy ending to all this mental examination is that in utilizing Arno's tools , I had the best swim of my season at the Mighty Hamptons (a race I had never done before). I was relaxed, strong and focused. What a great feeling to come out of the swim feeling like I crushed it instead of just being thankful is was over.

Thank you Arno!!!