Addressing the mental part of triathlon:

[KSH]

Tim Noakes, famous sports physiologist, is fond of saying that 80 percent of endurance success is physical, while the other 60 percent is mental! However humorous that may sound, the truth is that once we’ve lost the weight and cleared the lungs, the physical advantages to be gained from training, in the domains of progressive overload and super-compensation, are rather small—about 12 percent in some cases. After this stage, physical training mostly provides us with opportunities to confront our mental barriers.

My own formula for overcoming these barriers is a structure I call The Essential Five Components of Mental Training. This is very useful advice you can draw on while you’re out there being a road warrior, and can help you determine a language and strategy that ensures that you access as much of your physical potential as possible.

Human beings are thinkers. We have a constant flow of chatter going on in our minds. This incessant internal dialogue determines wholly how we act. We are not our thoughts, but we think we are, and act accordingly. When we get ready to train or race, we have a pretty fixed set of thoughts around these occurrences; “I’m not really a very good hill runner.” For the most part, we are unaware of these thoughts and how they absolutely determine how our training and racing.

1. Strategy

Positive affirmations, based on realistic, but high standards, written down and repeated (often and out loud) are one of the more successful techniques used by winning sportsmen and women; rivaled only by visualization as the most effective tool to access potential.


2. Focus

Elite racers focus inwards. They do not attempt to take their minds off their running or the race.


3. Anxiety and Relaxation

Most elite sportsmen and women have a specific pre-event relaxation routine, which they repeat exactly before each competition.


4. Visualization/Mental Imagery

Create your own movie, with yourself as the hero. The more realistically you create the picture, the more accurate the outcome. Visualization is self-fulfilling.


5. Dealing with the sensations of endurance sport effort

Australian coach Percy Cerruty said: “Embrace pain like a lover.” He thought it should be interpreted as something to enjoy, something that will bring fulfillment.

Found on: www.beginnertriathlete.com.


I know for me, the mental portion of triathlons is the most challenging part.

It wasn't until recently... I started training my mind. And it's something I am still working on.

Take yesterday's ride for example... the route was hard. Hills and wind (am I broken record or what?)... and I was HUFFING and PUFFING... barely able to catch my breathe. I was beaten down. My mind was ready to give up.

Then, I told myself... "You will be fine"... and I started singing aloud, "I love wind, I love wind". After that... I started singing 80's song aloud. I have figured out that singing 80's songs (they are the only songs I can remember the words to) really perks me up and gets my mind refocused. I was able to go on and changed my attitude... and the ride was 100 times better.

So, singing 80's songs aloud is my "secret mental weapon".

What is yours? How do you fight the negative mental chatter in your head, when it gets really hard and you feel like giving up?

[Nanci]

Hills (or wind) make me stronger! I should be happy I am provided this additional training opportunity!

If I train on rough roads, I am at an advantage when I find a rough road at a race, because it will upset my competitors, but will be routine for me!

Those are the three things I hate the most, that I have learned to view as beneficial...(in training!)

Nanci

[bluedress]

I find myself focusing on technique when the going gets rough because I find that it can usually be improved--especially at that moment ("smooth, light pedaling"). And anything thats gets me through the sticky point more efficiently--hey--I'll take it!

If you're going through hell, keep going.
~Winston Churchill

[Lise]

Singing also helps me. Amazing Grace, Amarillo By Morning, songs I make up to the tune of Frere Jacques. Also, reminding myself that I said I was going to do this, so I might as well do it. During the marathon, I told myself, "It's a marathon. You might as well run it." I didn't run the whole time, but I ran a lot more than I thought I would. Sometimes I try to just observe the negative thoughts without taking them too seriously. Just keep going, finish the task. Getting out there in the first place is the hard part for me. I find it really helpful to think of you ladies out here, doing the work, when I want to quit. "Well, Denise is doing it, Nanci is doing it...etc."

[KSH]

I find myself focusing on technique when the going gets rough because I find that it can usually be improved--especially at that moment ("smooth, light pedaling"). And anything thats gets me through the sticky point more efficiently--hey--I'll take it!

If you're going through hell, keep going.
~Winston Churchill

I can see how focusing on technique would really keep your mind "somewhere else".

Does anyone watch Survivor? Did you see last night's episode? Shane was using a piece of wood as a Blackberry and acting like he was calling and texing his family and friends. True, it was a bit *nutty* but he was doing what he could to keep his mind *in it* and it was his was to remove himself from the stress. Now, I won't take out a fake Blackberry on a long ride... but singing aloud might seem nutty to some.

[colby]

After my mother in law embarked on her first triathlon last year (the Seattle Danskin), I got roped in. Seeing all of those women, it was just awesome. I thought, "If they can do it, I can do it." I started bettering myself, even if it was just to participate with Mom, to feel like I was doing something. She was so excited, she looked so happy, I wanted to be a part of it, I wanted her to have a daughter she could share her fun with. Alas, it is not so simple.

Lesson One: Why Can't I Be An Athlete?

For me, the biggest mental issue so far can be summed up by this penetrating phrase that I can't shake: "I'm not an athlete." I end up with this mental block that says "this isn't where I belong" -- it's like a lead weight I have to carry every time I get on the bike, lace up the shoes, or dip my toes in the water (heck, even snowboarding, kayaking, hiking, you name it). I even have trouble saying the word "training" Every time I buy equipment I think "I wonder what the people who really use this stuff correctly do with it." (As if somehow it's so different than what I'm going to do? Duh! You put the pedals on the bike and you ride it!)

I'm still working on this one. I regularly get passed by casual runners with more natural ability (and longer legs). I have to turn this from "why am I so slow?" into "maybe they are at mile 1" -- even if it's totally my imagination trying to play tricks on me, it gets me thinking "yeah, I was pretty fast back at mile 1 too, so let's keep working and I'll be that fast at mile 10!" I get passed by bikers who probably LIVE on their bikes. I have to turn this from "why do they all pass me?" into "but I pass people too!"

Lesson Two: Every Day Is Not A Race

My second lesson was learning that every day is not a race. You cannot look at every time, every average HR, every pace, every lap as a race. Some days are flat out different than others. Some days you want to try new things, some days are called "Friday" where you are tired from working 60 hours on top of your exercise schedule, some days Mother Nature decides to sprinkle her dew upon you profusely, some days that dew is a little more like a slushie, some days that dew is paired with Mr. Wind (too bad it isn't Mr. Bubble instead). You know what? You're still out there. You're still doing it. Every day is a good day, every day is progress.

I "learned" this lesson not long after I started -- I ran the same course regularly, and I started to plateau. It was bound to happen, I was thinking about it all wrong. I was racing myself instead of training. Every day I got disappointed if it wasn't faster than the day before... if the HR was higher than the day before... if the dog took two poops instead of one and made me walk (especially if I only had one poo-bag and had to backtrack).

Lesson Three: Goals are Good!

For a long time, I was training with this ubiquitous goal of "let's do a triathlon!" Yay! How neato! The reality is, training without real goals was just like running in circles, or swimming against the current, or trying to get out of your bike pedals for the first time over and over and over. I fell easily into disappointment because my only goal was "be better than yesterday" -- it was too simple and it doesn't work (see above!). My near term goal was good -- do a triathlon with Mom. At this point, we can't even sign up, so I don't feel very committed, but at least I have it down. I read some books, but it all seemed so far off. What about tomorrow? What do I do next week?

I work in a software company, and I'm involved a lot in making the decisions that drive our software releases and features. We break things down into things we can do now, things we can do soon, things we can do relatively soon, things we can't do right away but still want to, and high-level goals we want to work toward. I had to start thinking this way with training as well. Break it down -- set some interim goals that get you to your short-term goals but also work toward your long-term goals. Make them simple.

After a while, I ended up thinking in terms of "10 minute mile by May" and "biking to work every day (10 miles)" -- much more tangible goals that still got me to my interim goals, and to my long-term goal. In the end, even my long term goal didn't seem very far off, so I think about new ones (Ironman, anyone?).

Lesson Four: You Don't Have to Work Out Every Day

Let's face it, some of us have this personality element of competitiveness, even if it's just with ourselves. I want to be better. I want to be faster. I want to be stronger. I want to look fit. I want to BE fit. I want to beat my husband at his favorite sport. I want the dog to be tired at the end of our run, I want the cat to massage my back, and I want to eat Godiva chocolates just once in a while without feeling like that red devil guy and that white angel guy on my shoulders are arguing about it. I want my friends to say "this is a casual pace?" when they work out with me. Maybe it's being obsessive compulsive, maybe it's just straight up competitiveness, but some of us just have this urge to push push push (even those of us who aren't giving birth).

Our bodies, however, disagree with our minds. Pushing doesn't sound so good when you are overexerting yourself, but you do it anyway -- no pain no gain, right? Well, yeah, but pain can also mean injury, and worse than that, a distaste for every step, every stroke. Associating negativity with such an important part of your routine makes it way less fun, and when it's not fun, you don't want to do it anymore, and when you don't want to do it anymore, you get frustrated. ARGH, MENTAL BLOCK. In the end, it's better for yourself that you take a step back. Take it easy for a few days. Re-engage.

I fight this a lot. I'm really competitive, somewhere in there. I'm not really competitive outright, but I'm definitely competitive with myself. When I bike with my husband (who is much less active), if he keeps up with me, I feel slow. It's not that I want to kill him (usually), but I feel like that means I have to push harder. Easy there, turbo, let's think about this for a second instead of letting our super competitive side take over (not to mention the whole "killing husband" thing). Pushing yourself: good. Pushing yourself too hard: bad. Remember the goals, remember that we're not racing, remember this is supposed to be FUN.

Lesson Five: HAVE FUN

Yeah, I just said this twice. It's supposed to be fun! I have trouble believing this one myself. Some days I dread getting up the next morning. Sometimes I debate running shorter distances, it's not that different right? Sometimes I hate myself for being tired at 9:30. Sometimes I feel like nobody even cares that I am working my butt off. Sometimes I want the dog to strategize her poop-and-sniff sessions to the middle of the hill, so I can stop. Sometimes I get mad. Mad mad mad. Some days I even say to myself "this is supposed to be FUN? What the fudge was I thinking."

Wait a second, this IS fun. Feeling the adrenaline. Getting rid of some energy. Feeling GOOD. Not having those extra-special cramps so much anymore. Feeling like you're actually awake when you get to work without drinking 10 cups of coffee like the guy a few offices down the way. Not catching anyone's stupid sinus infection, cold, or flu bug anymore. Actually wanting to eat breakfast and start your day off with the cheerios bee or tony the tiger, or someone else from the Magic Cereal Forest (or maybe just the Low Sugar Somewhat Less Magical Cereal and Fruit Forest, or the Energy Bar Jungle).

In the end, I think the mental battles are just as hard, if not harder, than the physical ones. Our bodies are pretty amazing little machines, and our brains are pretty much total mysteries.

(Stepping off the soapbox...)

[Running Mommy]

My 80's song... Tainted love!!! AAHHHHHHHH!! Now it's in *your* head too huh?!
Cilby, I could identify with alot of what you said. To this DAY I sometimes think of myself as not a 'real' athlete... And I've done a freaking Ironman and countless marathons!!
I also have to have a concrete goal. In fact right now I'm in a training quagmire (did I spell that right??). I haven't registered for anything other than the Walt Disney world Mary next JAN!! I need to get some local races on my schedule here soon! - I know Tracy... Solano beach...I just haven't done it yet, but Terrie has.
And as for working out everyday. I have to really work on this one. I know full well what happens when you don't recover. And I have to remind myself that I get stronger during recovery- not training. Training breaks you down, recovery builds you up. But the type A in me says if I'm not sweating I'm turning to mush..
As for the mental aspect, oh yeah, that is HUGE!! If you ever want to learn about mental training do an Ironman- or a 400-600k brevet like Nanci.
I learned so much about the mental componet not only while training, but during the race itself. People keep asking me how I kept going for almost 17 hours straight. Well, I kept my head in the game. First of all I had to move from cut off time to cut off time, so I focused on those small increments of time, and getting from one to the other. I also did not let my mind wonder to how much farther I had to go, just what was happening at the moment. And during the marathon I had to go inside myself and focus like I never have in my life. I was so focused that I seriously did not know I had anyone behind me! I seriously thought I was the last person. It's a weird sensation, and one that's really hard to describe. I guess you just have to experience it.