Before the Navy's elite flying team, the Blue Angels, take to the air, they spend time together in the ready room with their eyes closed and the "Boss," or team leader, rhythmically calling out orders in a soft voice. This is the same technique that uber-competitive athletes like Lance Armstrong use. Before every day of the Tour de France, Lance goes through the entire race in his mind; he rehearses where the attacks will come and how he will respond. It's all part of a successful performance athlete's repertoire and it is called "visualization." If you have read just about any book on athletic training, you have come across the term. Visualization involves a meditative period of time before your event or workout. During that period, you rehearse all that you will encounter: you visualize the hills you will have to climb, how the weather will feel, how your stride will lengthen as you reach for the finish line. It is a method of preparing the mind and it reduces the stress of performance. Over time, however, even this technique may not give you the benefit you once experienced. Here are some suggestions to spice up your visualization drills:
Visualizing With History
Go to your local library (or your local Google search engine) and do a little research about the history of the area you are running or biking in. Were there any Revolutionary or Civil War battles fought in your area? How about ancient Native American cultures? In Tennessee or Virginia, you can re-create the route taken by a Union regiment in a fiercely fought battle. Just about anywhere on the Eastern seaboard you can find the path of a British Army pushing the attack against retreating Colonial forces. From Florida to California, you can connect with the spirit of an Indian shaman from one of the Indian mound cultures.
Visualizing with Movies
Who can forget the opening running scene in The Last of the Mohicans? Next time you lace up your Nikes, imagine that you are heading out for the great hunt to bring down a stag to feed the family! How about the climactic scene in Gallipoli, as Mel Gibson races against the stop watch to stop the planned assault? After you've warmed up, imagine yourself racing to tell the General that the attack will be futile!
Visualizing with Infrastructure
Excuse me? Beneath every street lies a myriad of complex systems to deliver fresh water and take waste and storm water away. There are conduit pipes bringing everything from electrical power to cable TV. In larger cities, there may be subways rumbling deep underground. Try following the course of the Blue Line subway but please keep your eyes open! For fun, visualize yourself as a drop of water that has fallen on the street. How will you get to the nearest river? Run the course!
Anyone who has exercised enough to get past the local fun run knows that, at times, training can be as difficult on the mind as it is on the body. Use these techniques to take some of the drudgery out of your routine and start to see the course anew.
Reference:
The Blue Angels visualization routine is seen in the Discovery Channel's documentary: "Blue Angels - A Year in the Life."
Lance Armstrong discusses his visualization technique in the book "Mental Training for Peak Performance."
 |
