What I learned from the Bike Genie

I have had the misfortune of sending myself into a race under trained. It was humbling and miserable and it taught me a lesson. Just finishing at any cost, with feet blistered, lungs exploding, skin chafed, and anxiously glancing around for defibrillator paddles, is not worth it. You have to train. But I've done races where I was physically prepared and a mental wreck and those weren't much better.

As the old saying goes, triathlon is 90% physical and the other 50% is mental. From my own experience an athlete should always be working on the psychological aspects of training and unlike the physical training, you can continue mental training no matter how close you are to an event. But what does that really look like?

I always wish there was more information out there about mental training for multisport athletes. Most of what I have read amounts to lists of tips in magazines and advice on sites like slowtwitch. I already know to bring my lucky troll doll, get a good night's sleep and fuel up, thank you very much.

I did, however, get a book this year called 10-Minute Toughness that explains basic mental training techniques in more detail. The book is quite readable, but seems more geared toward sports like golf, baseball or football and less oriented for multisport. It also suffers somewhat from chronic name dropping syndrome that makes it feel like the author is trying to demonstrate his bona fides at every turn, but that doesn't make the information any less useful.

By combining what I found in Jason Selk's book with tips taken from Runners' World and Triathlete mags, I have developed some habits that seem to help me a lot in prepping for races. Which is to say, I feel much stronger going into races than I used to, not just more physically fit but also more mentally prepared to push myself. The two things are intertwined, but focussing on the mental parts on their own feels particularly useful. It also makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

VISUALIZATION
Part 1: Happy Finish Face 

One key aspect every sports psychologist (and tipster) mentions about mental training is visualization. The first time I tried visualization I started by simply envisioning what I wanted to look like coming across the finish line at my next event: arms pumped up in the air, my stride confident, a smile on my face. I didn't actually look that way when I slogged over the line. I saw the finish and just thought, "God help me make it in." I forgot my Happy Finish Face completely.

In later races, as things got a little easier, I actually remembered Happy Finish Face. And that still didn't
always work out for the best. Take this photo from last year's Hightstown, New Jersey Sprint Triathlon. I actually submitted that to uglyracepics on Tumblr (yes, there is a site for this).

Having revealed that photo, however, let me say that I did actually feel great that day coming across the line. I loved that race and was proud of how hard I pushed. And it's not like I have to get this picture framed and put it on my wall (although it is sooo insanely awful, it's almost worth it to keep things real).

Point is, I find it really helpful to visualize my good finish first, and concentrate on how good it will feel, regardless of what the photos end up showing. It works.

Part 2: Visualize Your Best Race -- Over and Over 
After I got that Happy Finishing Face visualization in hand, I expanded to envisioning myself (through my own eyes, not from some other angle) going through each portion of a race and doing it exactly at my best. This takes longer to get used to. In the beginning found it awkward and hard to concentrate. Even now I sometimes get interrupted and have only visualized the swim and T1 before someone in my household needs me to make them a sandwich. But any amount helps.

I try to do the full race through in my mind every day, usually at bed time, when things are quiet and I have a few minutes to settle my mind. When actual race day comes I may have to dispense with a lot of my visual ideas depending on weather and other variables, but it still helps to have a vision of what I am trying to do.

Part 3 -- Highlights Reel
One cool idea from 10-Minute Toughness, takes visualization to what I find to be the most challenging --but also most encouraging-- level. It asks the athlete to look backward at previous races (and training days), rather than forward to the next event. It means putting together a mental montage of the very best moments from the one's previous athletic experiences. I first wrote down my very best moments, ones where I either felt great or was simply proud of myself.

Highlight: Me and Maria (light blue top) finishing strong together
at Perfect 10 last October. Look at those Happy Finish Faces!

It can be so easy to focus on everything we've ever done wrong in training and racing. To improve, we absolutely have to review our mistakes and look for ways to improve. But the highlights reel gives the mind a chance to encourage the good work. It focusses on the positive. As someone who can get very down on herself (and then use that as an excuse to cop out on tough training days or just feel like crap for a while), this is a useful tonic.

I happen to play my highlights reel in chronological order, but I'm sure there are a million ways to do it. The first clip in my reel is of me finishing my first half marathon in Sept. 2012. That was after losing almost 30 lbs in less than three months. It had taken a lot of courage to even start running while obese. Running 2 miles --at 13 minute per mile pace-- had been a challenge in the first days. It took more strength to get the distances up high enough to be prepared to finish the half. I just didn't know if I could do it. I had run a half marathon once almost ten years, sixty pounds and one child earlier. Moreover, that Sept day in 2012 was hot and I'd had a rough night on a hard hotel bed, lying a awake and worrying about whether I'd finish or not. My wife and daughter, who I thought would be cheering for me on the course, didn't make it out of the hotel room because said daughter had pitched a massive fit (she doesn't have TV at home and had been caught tight in the grip of hotel TV and Dora the Explorer). They weren't there at the finish line either. But I finished. And I finished faster than the time I had in 2003. That was a good day.

Other clips in my reel include:

• finishing the NJ State Spring Triathlon in 2013, in baking hot weather, less than 5 weeks after having surgery to repair a broken collarbone that I shattered on a training ride. 
• setting a 1/2 marathon PR in Asbury Park in 2013 even though I had to run most of it without my comforting music because I gave my earbuds to my wife when hers pooped out
• completing my very first triathlon

And so on. It's nice to view them in sequence and realize how far I've come. It definitely makes me feel like more of an athlete and less of a poseur during the waiting around time on race day. 

MANTRAS

Basic Mantra 101
I sometimes find my mind buzzing and distracted during races. It may be that I'm worrying about my swim technique, or getting anxious about falling behind someone who is riding ahead of me, or thinking more about the next transition instead of what I'm doing right at that moment. In half marathons, which can get monotonous for my multisport loving soul, my mind often drifts off onto random topics that have nothing to do with racing at all (...I thought Rachel Maddow kind of blew that interview with Sandra Day O'Connor last night...wonder what happened...Oh, crap! Did I just start running 11 minute miles??).

To bring my mind back into the moment, I have embraced the tried and true technique of using mental mantras. Here are some that work well (bear in mind, the tired body seems to appreciate simplicity, so they can sound a bit trite):

• "Strong legs, strong heart" (for tough bike moments)
• "My race, my pace" (for when I'm starting to worry too much about what everyone else is up to)
• "You've got this!" (in the home stretch when all I want to do is walk)

Me and Leo, starting the season together. 

Mantras From the Great Bike Genie 

You have probably heard of the Genius of the Lamp from the Arabian Nights, but I doubt you've heard of

the Genius of the Bike. Biking is my weakness in triathlon and after a bad fall last year I became even more skittish. I purchased a Bianchi cyclocross bike and named him Leonardo. Pretty much every triathlete I know has named their bike, but if they also have ongoing conversations with their bike during long rides, they've certainly never let me know it. 

My bike has a sexy Italian accent and the personality of FIFA world cup soccer announcer. And he talks to me all the time. He keeps my mind on the race (or training ride), encourages me, is extremely optimistic and doesn't have much patience for laziness. He keeps up a steady stream of chatter when I need it, and when things get dicey he just calls out the mantras he thinks I'll need. For example, when going up a tough hill: "What is up-uh there?! It must-uh be something molto bene! You must speed up-uh or eet will get away from us-uh -- andiamo!" He knows I get nervous about rough road and always says: "Do not-uh worry about the bumpies in-uh the road-uh!" 

Go ahead and laugh, but when I was on a training ride the other day and my plump rump caught up with and then passed a muscle bound dude spinning up a massive hill on his swank Cervelo, I can assure you it was Leonardo's encouragement that took me up-uh so fast-uh. 

Talk to your bike. I dare you. 

GRATITUDE

I have found that I get more out of any race when I:

• Take time to thank the volunteers and the friends and family who have come to cheer me on
• Encourage other participants -- especially ones who seem to be struggling. I remember with crystal clarity every one of the kind strangers who have given me a word of encouragement when I really need it during a race.  
• Enjoy moving my body through space, and soak up the surroundings. 
• Smile often. I cheer for friends as they come across the line. (As an aside, finding new friends after grad school has been a challenge, but I've made many since I took up triathlon). 

I have lived through bone crushing periods of depression in my life, where the mere act of getting out of bed was harder than any Ironman. I know how lucky I am to still be here and be able to race. I am blessed with the time to train, the money to buy my gear and register for events, the support of my family. I didn't get to the finish line alone. Being mindful of that makes all the effort seem even more worthwhile.

So there you have it, my little bag of mental tricks. Now that I've written that all down, it's time to start thinking about this afternoon's ride... Andiamo!