Remaining Present In Endurance Sport
Jim Lubinski, Head Triathlon Coach, TOWER 26
When working with athletes at the pool, on the bike, and while running, I am constantly stressing as a coach: “Focus on your technique and the way your body is moving.” This focus helps the athlete perform their specific task more efficiently, but more importantly, this allows the athlete to remain present throughout the process.
Endurance sport athletes race for long periods of time. Hours upon hours . . . resulting in a lot of time for athletes to be in their own head. ...And, we all know how much endurance sport athletes love to think about what could have happened. “If I would have just been 10 seconds quicker in T1.” Or what can happen! “If I keep this pace I can run a 3:30 marathon.”
No matter what, these thoughts take energy and focus away from the current task at hand. If an athlete is thinking backwards, forwards, or multiple places in between, their focus becomes spread thin. This means that present actions are not getting the focus they need in order for the athlete to get the most out of their current performance.
I have raced plenty of endurance sport events to know that when my focus is on the present, I am getting the most out of my performance. This is not easy. It takes constant refocus throughout an Ironman 2.4 swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. Of course, over the course of an endurance sport race, your mind wanders. The key is recognizing that your mind has wandered and it is your individual responsibility to bring the thoughts back to the present.
This is brings us back to my original statement of “focusing on technique.” The athlete’s ability to pay attention to a small aspect of the swim stroke, the full pedal stroke, their posture on the run, etc. brings the athlete’s mind back to the present. For example, an athlete might be thinking, “I am so slow, that swim group just swam away from me.” Recognizing that the mind has wandered and becoming aware of the necessity to refocus on something as specific as hand entry on every swim stroke, brings focus back to the present and allows the previous thoughts to go float away.
This takes practice. Endurance sport athletes train hours upon hours, week after week, month after month. Much of this training, being done alone, is the perfect time to stress to yourself to remain present. Practice physical skills in training. Practice mental training. Hone into staying present. Acknowledge when the mind is wandering and refocus on the current actions taking place. Getting back to technique helps this happen.
FLOW is the word used when an athlete is totally present, void of thoughts regarding what just happened or what will happen. The athlete is totally entrenched in the process. Nothing can distract the athlete from the task at hand.
The Rise of Superman is a book we recommend that describes previously unattainable athletic feats because of the athlete’s ability to find this state of flow.
Endurance sport athletes must know this state of flow and practice getting there day in and day out. This way, when race day arrives, they know exactly where their mindset must be in order to perform their best. The ability to refocus is not something that comes naturally. Our mind, just as our body, desires to go down the path of least resistance. The athlete must train the mind to acknowledge the thought and bring it back to their current actions.
Endurance sport athletes must be able to stay present. There is too much alone time in endurance sport to allow the mind to wander for too long. The ability to focus on the present is of the utmost importance in getting the most out of performance. Stay on your athletes to focus on that technique and refocus on that technique which will help hone that skill of staying present.
As a parting thought after watching Episode 10 of “Last Dance” on ESPN, a documentary of Michael Jordan and the NBA championships of the 1990s Chicago Bulls, here is a quote from author of Rare Air, Mark Vancil:
“Most people struggle to be present. People go and sit in ashrams for 20 years in India, trying to be present. Do yoga, meditate, trying to get here, now. Those people live in fear because we project the past into the future. (Jordan) is a mystic. He was never anywhere else … his gift was that he was completely present. And that was the separator.”
