Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Mind Control.

This won't be any new profound idea in life. It started from reading T-Metz's post.

If you can't visualize yourself on that podium, you'll never get there, no matter how incredible of an athlete you are.

I have invest a great deal of time, effort and resources to train. I have changed my diet and my living habits. Why not do the same for the way I think?

I have a tendency to poke fun of my slowness. Swimming for example. Is this helping me in becoming training better and harder? Nope. If what I am thinking is not helping me toward my goal, why just not think about it?

I recall when I was taking a driving class, the teacher said wherever you look, you will be heading there. Hmm..this also applied to snowboarding. Where I look is where I will head to. And it works just the same when it comes to mentality.

I stop poking at myself (ok except that rock bit :D). In my head, I am thinking of myself as a triathlete. There is no more of that "this is hard" "this is grueling" "I can't do this". That's not good for me and my soul.

I remember back in November when I started to train, I have a lot of doubt. In fact, they were screaming at me (yes there is more than one voice in my head :) ). Now they become quieter. More like a whimper.

Last night at the swimming pool, I bumped into another triathlete. His name is Stuart and he is a regular in the pool on Tues night. He has also done a IMUSA. He is now training for IM Canada. I resisted on talking about how boring the trainer was or how hard the training is getting. Instead, I focused on the positive. I was telling him about the hill that I saw last Sunday and how I would go train once spring hits.

It wasn't easy. But it was managable.

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My friend sent me this article yesterday. It is about the similarity between a Christian and training for a marathon.

Dave
and others had asked me about the potential job interview. I turned it down on Mon. It was quick. Hello this is Cliff. Oh it is there. Nahh I am not interested. Thank you and Good luck on your search.

I thank God for getting the VPN to work. I really have no idea what is going on. I also give thanks to Will for his help. I am understanding the networking aspect. Yeah I am a geek :).

There is something I want to write..but no time..I rather talk about the situation I have been going through lately...once this networking project is done and over with, we shall see.

10 comments:

Trisaratops said...

Cool post!!! I gotta work on this too....gotta push the doubt outta here. No room for that. :)

Anonymous said...

Don't know what I think about this subject. I guess I'm a little wierd but I've always looked at negative thougths as a good thing. Means I've got a lot more that I can make better, it's when I don't have any negative thoughts left that I start to worry.

And I know how the work thing goes, heck, I don't know how some of you guys do it, I'm in the IT field as well and I'm so busy sometimes I have time fitting my training into my day. Networking can be so time consuming, as can programming.

E-Speed said...

I think it is okay to poke a little bit of fun at ourselves, just not too much (and in your head you should alway pump yourself up) like "Swimming Rock" (in your head, but damn my kick is improving!)

qcmier said...

The mental training is a big aspect of athletics. I tend to say a lot of negative things about how I am slow or how hard or boring workouts can be. But as dave said, you can use that to push yourself even more. There's a fine line between joking you are slow and believing you are slow.

Mike said...

Excellent post- the mental aspect is HUGE...especially in training for / competing in an Ironman. You definitely want to stay focused and believe in yourself regardless of what obstacles are thrown at you race day- sounds like you are on the right path! Remember, no doubts or excuses when you toe the line...I am STRONG...I will do my best...I AM STRONG!! ;-)

William said...

Yeah, I agree Cliff. Complaining can be very bad for your training morale. I try to make the workouts more fun or drop my volume a little to instill that hunger for it.

I try to indulge in a few things during the week as reward for my training like Bolders chocolate.

It's also good to know my limits. I am a relatively slow runner and swimmer. So what. I am what I am. For me, training is the fun and racing is the night cap.

Where was the job?

Cycling Under The Influence said...

My coach had me do some mental training type stuff last year before a big race. I thought it was really a bunch of BS. After I did it, I found that it actually helped and I felt better about the race. Stick with it, in a sport where every second matters, we all need all the help we can get.

Sixteen Chickens said...

I am visualizing myself drinking a beer... nope didn't work, darn.

You are starting to talk to people at the pool, and dare I say, make friends? That is a big improvement over "I just do my drills and don't talk to anybody." You are growing stronger in more ways that you realize.

Rae said...

You can do this!! I think having all the positive reinforcement from the blog world helps me a ton with the mental aspect!

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