coaching files; the mental game

Have you ever noticed the words you say to yourself during a training session and / or in a race? It's pretty amazing to realize that most athletes speak kinder to their spouse and their children than they do within the spaces of their own skull. It's even more amazing to take a step back and see with eyes wide open, the paradigms that we exist within, ourselves and how that directly relates to the outcome of our training and our competition. It's truly the one thing that can make or break the entire deal. Months worth of excellent training can be completely ruined or completely enhanced by the conversation that we have with ourselves.

During the 2008 Beijing games when Michael Phelps was swimming fly, the infamous touch out that sealed the deal for the winning of eight gold medals. As he was swimming down that final 50 yard stretch, what do you think was going through his mind?

A. Oh man I am too fat to do this.

B. Oh my god I hope I win

C. _____________________________

I would bet money that it would be option C. It's not that nothing was going through his mind, it was more likely that he was hooked on a feeling so to speak. He existed only in that present moment. He was not thinking about his start or his turn, or even the finish. He was 110% present as we like to say in yoga.

After listening to yet another terrific lecture from Bobby McGee I felt so full of weaponry as I sat and absorbed the themes. It was about the mental tactics that we use and how they both help and hinder us in performance.

He reminded me that we are driven my our internal dialogue. We choose what happens on race day. Looking back on my run in Clearwater I can see where I fell into this trap. I came off the bike to legs that didn't feel so hot. While I did not engage in negative self talk, I let myself off of the hook. I knew that if I just ran I would come in under 5 hours. I still had that feeling of being so happy that I was actually running and not vomiting in a race..... that I gave myself permission to run slow.

So even though I didn't speak badly to myself during that run..... I was thinking much too much.

That's not me. My best performances are when my brain shuts off, I latch onto a feeling, a sensation...... I put my focus in front of me and I just go.

My biggest limiter in the past few seasons is trying to get into my head a little more. Thinking too much during. Realizing that now..... I know how to get out of that space.

Bobby McGee calls being in our heads like having our heads up our butts. It's dark and scary up there. He also gave some terrific tips on how to improve mental game:

1. Race 2 feet in front of yourself. There is no fear in having your mind literally two feet in front of you, on the asphalt. In the water. Get out of the space between your ears.

2. Speak to yourself in the 2nd person, in an instructional mode. Give yourself things to do: Okay Mary you are running well, feel the feeling, feel the feeling, keep leaning from the ankles, atta girl..... be instructional, be positive.

3. Don't try to change your paradigm, replace them. Instead of I suck at running...... lay a new one right over it...... I am a runner.

4. Doing everything right is not enough. Make the luck, make the break.

5. Thoughts are permanent: neurochemically each time we have a thought.... we create a molecule in our bodies. Waste space with the good stuff, if you know what I mean.

6. Allow results: if you get out of your own way the results will be there. If you are working with a coach realize this: your coach takes away what is not performance. They help you get out of your own way.... let them.

7. Let go of perfection. The biggest killer in our sport is trying to be perfect. If you are still breathing then you are still in the game. It is never over until you are 10 feet past that finish line. Stop putting yourself in positions of not being able to succeed... because you won't then. Have a healthy fear of failure.... we grow from that, but lose the desire to be perfect. There is no perfect race.

7. Problem solve Einstein style: Einstein stated that the problems created within a certain paradigm can not be solved in that paradigm. Involve another great mind..... like your coach.

As you begin to work towards your 2010 season and spend time on developing biomechanics and zones and improving nutrition, don't' forget to look up. To your head. That right there is your greatest strength and limiter in achieving the goals you have set. Thinking about it more is not the answer...... being open to shift paradigms is.

And remember: we must be open to change to allow it to happen. Where we are open in our minds there are opportunities. If we resist it, we will miss it.