VISUALIZATION AS A TRIATHLON TRAINING TOOL

Using visualization as a training tool for your first triathlon or perhaps Ironman is a perfect way to make use of your rest days.

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Ask most triathletes and they will tell you they have never used the visualization technique as a training tool for their Ironman Triathlons.

In fact, they most likely have little idea what its about. It's surprising considering that world class athletes have used this method to enhance their training and race performance for many years.

You may well have watched athletes in action without realizing they were using training and performance tool at that very moment. For example, have you ever watched a high jumper in the Olympic Games?

Before they make their approach to the bar, they have already completed the entire jump in their mind. Its the very same with world class divers. Before they ever leave the board or platform they visualize the dive to reinforce in their memory, every intricate aspect of that dive.

I remember reading an interview of Canadian figure skating champion Elizabeth Manley after the 1984 Winter Olympics. She stated that a big part of her training was laying down, relaxing and imagining her entire long program in her mind.

Often she would get to a very difficult spot in the program and see herself falling. She would start over and do it again and again until one day she imagined herself skating a perfect performance.

It was that day that she knew she was ready to perform it on the ice. She skated a flawless program during the Olympic Games and won a silver medal and it was close to being gold.

This training method can easily be incorporated into your triathlon or ironman triathlon training.

I found that once I learned the proper way to swim--with a long, smooth gliding stroke--that this method of mental training was instrumental in imprinting that stroke into my memory. You can do it as well. On those days when you just need a physical break or the weather is just plain lousy, give this a try.

Katrina Witt and Elizabeth Manley. Gold and silver medalists from the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics.

Find a quite place and relax and imagine yourself at your Ironman race start. Go over exactly how you want the swim to unfold.

Where you want to be when the gun goes off--the long, smooth, relaxed stroke you plan to use and how you intend to make your transition from swim to bike.

You can visualize your entire race, so come race day, nothing is left to chance. You can even visualize something going wrong. For instance a flat tire. You will just relax, take it in stride, change that tire, and carry on with your race.

This is just a great training tool that I would recommend you incorporate into your Ironman program.

When you're relaxing and thinking about your race don't forget to imagine yourself in that last 50 feet to the finish line and how it will feel to complete your first Ironman Triathlon.

I want to provide as much information as I can to my visitors on the subject of visualization. 99.9% of the information on my Ironstruck site is my own writing and my own thoughts.

However at times I come across information from others who can offer great insight and this is the case on this visualization article that I would like to pass on to my visitors.

Visualization has also been called guided imagery, mental rehearsal, mediation, and a variety of other things -- no matter the term, the basic techniques and concepts are the same. Generally speaking, visualization is the process of creating a mental image or intention of what you want to happen or feel.

An athlete can use this technique to 'intend' an outcome of a race or training session, or simply to rest in a relaxed feeling of calm and well-being. By imagining a scene, complete with images of a previous best performance or a future desired outcome, the athlete is instructed to simply 'step into' that feeling. While imagining these scenarios, the athlete should try to imagine the detail and the way it feels to perform in the desired way.

These scenarios can include any of the senses. They can be visual (images and pictures), kinesthetic (how the body feels), or auditory (the roar of the crowd). Using the mind, an athlete can call up these images over and over, enhancing the skill through repetition or rehearsal, similar to physical practice.

With mental rehearsal, minds and bodies become trained to actually perform the skill imagined.

Research is finding that both physical and psychological reactions in certain situations can be improved with visualization. Such repeated imagery can build both experience and confidence in an athlete's ability to perform certain skills under pressure, or in a variety of possible situations. The most effective visualization techniques result in a very vivid sport experience in which the athlete has complete control over a successful performance and a belief in this new 'self.'

Guided imagery, visualization, mental rehearsal or other such techniques can maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your training. In a world where sports performance and success is measured in seconds, most athletes will use every possible training technique at hand. Visualization might be one way to gain that very slim margin.

Sources

Brouziyne M, Molinaro C. "Mental imagery combined with physical practice of approach shots for golf beginners." Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2005 Aug;101(1):203-11.

Isaac, A. R. (1992). "Mental Practice- Does it Work in the Field?" The Sport Psychologist, 6, 192-198.

Martin, K.A., Hall, C. R. (1995). "Using Mental Imagery to Enhance Intrinsic Motivation." Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17(1), 54-69.

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