Mental
Focus Vital For Any Athlete
BY
PATTI SPONSLER*
Like many athletes
attempting triathlon proficiency, Deb Johansen thought the swim portion
would derail her goal.
"When I'd get in the
water I'd ask myself if I was trying to be something that I'm not," said
the 46-year-old competitive runner who lives in Indian Harbour Beach.
"I'd wonder if I just should stick with running and duathlons and leave
triathlon alone."
It certainly wasn't a
lack of training that left Johansen doubting her abilities. The chief
operations administrator for MIMA had diligently logged miles of yardage
in the pool improving her technique, building endurance and increasing
her speed. The preparation also included frequent sessions in the ocean
or river, even on days that were windblown and cold.
In spite of her
increasing physical prowess, however, Johansen continued to be greeted
by an overwhelming sense of anxiety and frustration as she lined up at
the sandy starting lines of multiple races.
"I just couldn't get past
all the bodies," she said of the frenetic and often crowded wave starts.
On the advice of her
coach, Johansen attended a mental training lecture given by sports
psychologist Dr. Virginia Savage to the participants of Running Zone's
marathon training camp.
And four days later,
after applying some of Savage's principles, Johansen returned home from
the Key Biscayne Triathlon with a second-place age group award and a
newfound sense of confidence and belonging.
"The night before the
race, I wrote down some positive things based on Dr. Savage's
recommendations," Johansen said. "I felt real relaxed the next morning."
Johansen's focused calm
allowed her to approach her challenges with a different perception and
attitude.
"In the water, instead of
looking for the bodies, I started focusing on the spaces between the
bodies -- I was looking at the flipside," she said. "I told my husband
after the race that the different way of thinking reminded me of those
old black and white trick photos where you can either see an old hag or
a beautiful woman in the same picture, depending on your perception."
And for many people
perception is reality.
"People don't focus their
mind in a way that benefits their performance," said Savage, whose focus
helped her to excel at sports despite childhood polio and later, a body
severely injured after falling off the mountain face she was climbing.
"Generally, people's thoughts are focused on what they are doing wrong,
beating themselves up or on something else that is negative."
Although the six Ironman
World Championship titles won by both Mark Allen and Natasha Badman are
widely attributed to mental discipline, most amateur athletes devote
little or no time in the pursuit of increased cerebral capability.
"I really don't think
that people know where to start," said Savage. "They don't have the same
kind of tools or as many that are available for physical training."
Among those tools, Savage
said, are:
-
Observe and change the language: "It is important to begin to
observe the language of what you think and say and it is most
apparent when you're talking with someone. Ask your friends and
family to help point out when you are being negative," she said. "It
helps to substitute the word 'but' for 'and'. Instead of saying 'I'd
like to do this race but,' say 'I'd like to do this race and,' Then
substitute something positive about what or how you'll do it."
-
Set
clear outcome and mastery goals: "You have to be clear in your mind
about what you want -- this is the outcome goal. It is important to
identify what is distracting you from achieving it and then you know
where to begin to resolve those challenges."
"Resolving those
challenges become the mastery goals and, in addition to providing us a
path to meet the outcome goal, achieving them keeps us moving forward
and positive about our progress.
"It also helps to write
the goal down and to speak about it. As you do so, you begin to clarify
and understand why you want it and how you are going to accomplish it.
Once you have a plan, it is not so easy to become distracted."
-
Imagine or visualize excellence: "Tap into a performance where
everything clicked for you and practice feeling how you felt at that
time. Was it strong, confident, fluid, powerful, calm? As you are
visualizing, do something physical that you can also do during the
race, such as tapping two fingers together. When you tap those
fingers during the race, you'll trigger the same sense of ease or
power that you've practiced and generate energy you didn't think you
had.
-
Practice mental training: "It is really important to have a strategy
to train your mind and then do so consistently. It doesn't have to
be a long period of time, but it needs to be done every day. Just
like you can't learn everything about triathlon at one time, mental
training takes practice."
-
Make positive choices: "It is important to recognize and acknowledge
that everything we do is our choice and the choice comes from within
us. When someone says 'I can't do this or that', they are making
their decision. Henry Ford said 'whether you think you can or think
you can't, you're right.' "
* Patti
Sponsler has lived in Brevard county for more than four decades and has
been a runner and triathlete for 20-plus years. She is passionate about
bringing to life those sports and their athletes. With undergrad and
graduate degrees in business, Sponsler is a self-described 'business
geek'. She is also a certified USA Triathlon level I coach and enjoys
surfing and goofing off in Cocoa Beach with her husband and her dogs.
