McFuzz's Group - FULL (Page 4)

Shamelessly copied from Oipolloi's inspire...

Replying to a message by oipolloi on 2007-01-11

 I have been thinking a lot about visualization and have realized that I visualize from the outside looking in rather than from the "1st person" perspective. When I look through my own eyes at what I am imagining, such as the start of an open water swim, the perspective makes much more sense. I can't remember whether you had pointed out this practice or whether I had read it, but this simple change in perspective is going to have a huge impact in how I think of myself as a triathlete from now on. I think when we look from the "outside" it represents how we want to look and how we want others to see us but it does not necessarily represent reality. Visualizing from a 1st person point of view forces us to assess and deal with the situation itself rather than our self-image. Does this make any sense? I am just a beginner but the psychology seems pretty simple.

There may be something to the first-person versus third-person visualization. 

The significance for me is that when we face a new or challenging situation, we have two choices...we can visualize success or we can visualize failure.  We humans can be pretty hard on ourselves, so we often choose to visualize failure ("I'm sure I'll panic..." "I probably won't finish..." ) especially when we've experienced the failure already.  Which outcome is more likely?  Visualization changes the odds (sometimes significantly) towards the envisioned outcome. 

I'm giving away all the secret code to my inspires...

Susan (and everyone else...),

Almost any goal is "realistic" the question really becomes what are YOU willing to make a priority in your life.  If your goal is to complete an Ironman, then you'll need to work hard and find 10-20 hours per week to devote to training and 60 hours per week to resting.  If you figure another 40 hours for work, 5 for commuting, you're left with 43 hours per week for eating (which will take a lot of time to stay nourished), shopping, laundry, surfing the internet, watching TV, cleaning house, etc.  Training for an IM will seem like THE focus of your life and are you ready for that?  (Is your family ready for that?) 

If you assess your life-situation, and can devote 5 hours per week to fitness, then sprint and Olympic triathlons are manageable and you can have a great time and also have time for other activities.  You'll keep yourself fit (mentally and physically). 

Consider another classic example of weightloss.  It is possible for you to achieve a goal weight of 100 pounds (maybe not healthy, but achievable).  Is weighing 100 pounds more important than weighing a healthy 120 pounds (or whatever the number)?  Probably not (I hope not at least), but there are plenty of people who have chosen otherwise.  If someone said you could achieve your (healthy) ideal weight by giving up chocolate (or ice cream) or french fries, would you do it? Or do you like those foods more than you like the idea of achieving your ideal weight?  Some choose the food, others choose the weight... (Now, in reality, it may be possible to get both, as long as you can be disciplined about indulging in those treats.) 

We're not going to be much help identifying YOUR long-term goals, but once you've identified them, we can help encourage you towards achieving them.  As for me, one of my long-term goals (not on my blog) is to enjoy (vicariously) the 2007 race season for BAMBAM66, WSM9363, Boyddr, Mashley, Mtskibum, Maverick_zh, Steph883, and Susanp!  Most of you are embarking on your first triathlon season (WSM9363 started last year) and I'd like all of you to remain active members of BT and the triathlon community.  (Just so you know, BAMBAM66 is my wife, Beth, and WSM9363 is my older brother, Scott.) 

For me it's about sacrifice. What are you willing to give up in order to accomplish your goals and dreams? Do you have to completely give something up, or just rearrange some things. Like I have said before, I like to set a goal and then work backwards. Kindof like what Mike was saying. My dream/goal is to be an Ironman. I know I don't have time to train for one with all of my other committments. I also found out that I have been a couch potatoe for too long. So, I said Ironman at 40. That give me 3 years to work up to it. I started working backward from that goal. This year it's sprints, next year oly's, the next year 70.3, and then hopefully, Ironman.

Now the real work starts, changing my schedule to get my training in and not letting anything take that time from me. It has to be a priority, or it won't get done. I will be tested this week as I have to train on my lunch hour because I can't in the morning or evening. However, I'm willing to give up 30 min of sitting in the lunch room for a run to keep my training going according to plan.

People that hit their goals are the ones that are passionate about them and strive everyday to make that little extra effort to get there. Dream of where/what/how you want to be in 4 years. Visualize what that will look like. See yourself in that moment with that life. Then set to work a plan to get there. Be on purpose about it. Work backwards. You have x many months until that day, that means you have x many days. You need x amount of hours a day to get where you want to get. Write it down. If you are passionate about it and willing to sacrifice a little hear and there, it will come to pass and you will hit your goal.

P.S. thanks to all of you for helping me stay motivated and feel like I'm not alone in the journey. I really appreciate it!

Wow Mike, tear jerking...

What a wonderful goal! How very thoughtful!

Yeah, Michael (McFuzz will have to be Mike!) I take your point about sacrifice and planning. I especially like your idea of working backwards from your goal. I want to work on that particularly. I would like to add another thought to this thread which is more for those of us who are new to this kind of effort. I know that this is becoming a process of personal growth and expansion of who I am and who I think I could be. I haven't been a complete couch potato all my life but I have never really pushed my physical limits because I didn't think I was "elite" enough. Silly really. I am beginning to see that those limits were extreme and, more importantly, self-imposed. It is a simple concept and one that I should have known already. But if I had, I guess I'd be doing IMs by now! I guess it comes back to what you have been preaching, Mike (McFuzz!), regarding attitude and positive imagery.

When I was first seriously studying music as a teenager, my teacher had me read The Inner Game of Tennis, which was all about positive visuaization to dramatically improve one's performance. It was easily applied in a musical setting as well, but I don't think I had the confidence or maturity to really apply it. Because I am beginning to understand that  triathlon is incredibly demanding  mentally, I think I am going to make it a point to include this sort of reading in my training program. Does anyone else have suggestions for resources addressing this part of triathlon? I'd like to realy delve into it further.

As a general starting point, "The Power of Positive Thinking" (head over to the self-help section of the bookstore) and similar books.  We had a workshop put on by The Pacific Institute (Lou Tice) where this kind of imagery was really developed.  Our "homework" between weeks was to watch "Miracle on Ice"  (about Herb Greenberg? and the 1980 Olympic Hockey team).  Since I'm attuned to these things, I also saw this theme in "Lawrence of Arabia" last Friday (it's 3 1/2 hours, we missed the last hour).  Pretty much any movie where the hero/heroine overcomes huge obstacles to accomplish their goal will have this theme (if you can see past the pyrotechnics and special effects).  Ohhh...two other movies are "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "October Sky"...

I've always been of the mindset that you don't know what you are capable of until you push yourself mentally and physically to the edge. Only then do you know. When I was in high school ski racing, we would push the envelope and see how long we could hold onto the edge. That is when you know what you are made of. Of course now, I'm much more controlled in my experiements as I have a responsibility to stay safe and healthy for my son. The competitive spirit is what brings me joy, because it is a test of what I'm made of. I want to pass the test with flying colors so much, that I am willing to sacrifice and get the training in. A wise old ski instructor once told me that if you aren't falling, you're not trying hard enough! 

 Life tests us everyday with trials and tribulations. I think if we test ourselves mentally and physically, it will help us in all areas of our lives because we will better know how to handle different stresses that come our way. Keep fighting the good fight!

And to borrow a quote from a previous post.....cue the Chariots of Fire music!

I'll toast to that! (sipping)

Thanks for other mentors!!

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=63979&posts=12&start=1

Thoughts from my run this morning that I think you'll all gain from...

The mind is a pretty incredible machine.  It is capable of countless simultaneous executions, and can store countless bits of information for later retreival.  I was thinking about how we often "fill-up" our minds with negative images and information, and that we ought to "purge" it periodically to make room for positive, useful images and information.  But it never really "fills-up" and we can never "purge" the history that is stored there (we'll leave out the physiology of Alzheimer's and such).  So what happens when we add new images and experiences?  Right, the brain expands to hold it all...kind of like the eccentric pack-rat neighbor...Trouble is (and this also explains why the brain can do so many things) to be this good, it has to be lazy (some might say "efficient"))...so when you need to retrieve a mental picture, your brain grabs the easiest ones to retrieve (sort of like a "Top-40" radio station) and if the image you want is #41, you've got to work at getting that image into the "playlist".  What are those readily accessible images from your training?  Sore legs, sore butt, huffing and puffing in the pool?  (If you're like me, probably...)  What should they be?  Right...a gazelle gliding across the plains (maybe snow, it is after all your imagination), that effortless, perfect, glide in the water, the rush of blasting down the hill faster than you've ever ridden on two wheels...So...what'll it be??

Now for your part...post your successes!

Stumbled across this at the store this week...

http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-4-23-15394-1,00.html

You guys have sure been quiet for a while!!! Are you still around?  The idea behind mental positive imagery is sometimes difficult to get your head around.  For me this weekend was my first race of the season and McFuzz wasn't there.  I set a goal for the race and thought about that everytime I heard a time on the route.  I was on track to smoke my goal and then my muscle decided that it  had other ideas   I didn't change my goal time I just added a new goal!  As I was running I thought about the eagles that were probably watching us from above (the race was along the Illinois River) and how fast they can go when they want something.  I wanted that goal to be met and so I pushed a little harder. 

I didn't hit my target goal of time but it was a PR race.  At the time I wasn't happy with the results but now I'm becoming more comfortable with it and my medal!  My next race is in April (I think) and I will still have the same goal--I will until I have reached it.  I WILL NOT change the goal untilit is accomplished.  Part of the way I'm going to do that is on my training run today I'm going to work on speed since it is a short run (15 min).  It will be on the dreadmill since it is soo fricking cold outside and I can change the incline (I will) and the pace (I will). 

Do you guys set goals for each day (personally or for training)?  I do. That's how I sometimes make it through each day.  I even make lists of things to do so that I don't forget. 

Sorry for the interruption!  Now back to your regularly scheduled mentor!

Determination - Sometimes you're part of the Steam Roller, sometimes you're part of the pavement.

I saw that sign today in an office. I thought about it quite a bit for the rest of the afternoon. When I got to the pool for my workout tonight, I decided to attack my workout with some Determination. First I got to have some fun in the indoor river just to warmup, but then when I hit the lap pool, I was all business. After last week of a few not so good swim workouts, I needed a confidence boost. I attacked the swim with complete focus and determination. What a difference that made! I set some personal bests on time and really felt strong. Breaking 20 seconds on a length was great. Hitting 42 seconds for a lap was incredible.

Mental training for me is getting focused and stomping it! I also saw another sign yesterday that really sums it up. "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right!"

Speaking of motivation, just wanted to pass this along. Saturday on CBS they are going to televise the Xterra World Championships. Set your Tivo's!

http://www.xterraplanet.com/

Bummer for me... Maybe someone could copy it to DVD or VHS...

We kinda don't have TV here... Seriously! It's been almost 2 years.  We disconnected it due to bad grades (kid's, not mine)...we don't even get local channels. We have a VCR and DVD player hooked up... I don't miss it... didn't watch it much when we did have it.

We rent movies every now and then, and we have a large collection that we own, but otherwise... it's OFF. It's NICE!