mental training discussion group?

Hey Autumn,

I'd be interested in reading/discussing this book.  The mental aspect of training is something that I'm very eager to learn more about.  I bought another book on the topic, but never got through it.  The whole beginning of the book was essentially about why you should buy the book and use the methods, but I found myself thinking, okay, I already bought the book, what are the methods exactly?!?

Anyway, if you have been finding this book helpful and useful, I'd give it a go.  What do you think of it so far in terms of its potential to really get your brain helping you in training and on race day?

I would also like to get in on this.  Great idea Autumn!  We can start up a BT book club!  Everyone benefits!

Timely post, Autumn...I almost posted this same request to Mike Ricci / Ron...how can BT promote a stuctured body of knowledge around mental training?  To achieve your tri potential, you need 1) the desire, 2) the knowledge (how-to, plus the training and gear), and 3) obstacles to achieving removed (fear, self doubt, etc). 

Desire's (1) intrinsic...you have to decide how badly you want it, only you can do that.  BT's all about the knowledge and training (2), but we really don't have a structured body of knowledge on how to address (3).   BT hits on it anecdotally, and coaches cover this...to a degree...with their proteges...but I think there's a lot of room for further discussion here.

As luck would have it, I bought a (different) book that brought me to the same conclusions about mental training this past week... "Unleash the Warrior Within", by Richard J. Machowicz.  It's a Navy Seal's take on achieving, dealing with fear, panic, and staying focused on what needs to be achieved, and what you need to do to achieve it.  It's already started to help me in ways I couldn't believe, both personally and tri-wise.

(Warrior.jpg)

I thought you had to be mental to want to do triathlons in the first place?  So, we don't need to be trained - we are there already.

Seriously though, I've had the book and read bits and pieces.  My mental challenge starting in March is to get to the boring pool 5x/week starting March 1 to get my IM swim split to 60 minutes.  Can't wait for lake swimming to start.

I'll participate.  I have read this book and went through many of the exercises last season.  But, I need to practice the exercises again.  I found it interesting.

TJ

I read the book about 6 months ago and go back to it a lot.  The best part for me was dealing with pain during training.  It basically said when training you don't suffer from pain it's more a mild discomfort,  cancer patients suffer pain.   The other was the list of what makes a Prime Triathelite.

Actually, it wasn't until I read that book that I started training with any intent.

A very good read.