Did you know visualization can be used for good and evil?  If every time you are getting ready for a training day and you think about the things that can go wrong or if you think you are going to walk during a run or if you believe you are going to get dropped on a ride chances are things will go just as you imagined them.  The thing about visualization is typically what we visualize is what we believe.  So this has got me thinking.  Can we turn these visualizations into positive visualizations and believe the story we are creating in our mind?

I believe the answer is yes, it just takes practice.  So how do we practice?  Guess what?  It is just like training.  I have been using the time just as I am waking up as an opportunity to visualize the workout I have on tap for the day.  I start from the very beginning and go through all the motions.  Breakfast.  Calm.  Getting dressed.  Being prepared.  Starting out nice and relaxed, calm, and easy.  Then all of a sudden I am going over something in my visualization that I don’t want to see.  I stop and start all over again from the beginning.  I do this over and over and over again until I get through the workout the way I want it to be.   Now that I have the workout the way that I want it in my head I find examples of when things have gone that way in order for me to incorporate belief in the vision.  For me I look back on the workouts or races I am most proud of.  The ones I executed brilliantly or the ones where my running was strong or the training ride I stayed with the pack.

Then off I go on my workout.  Last night I had a 12 mile run on tap.  I spent my time visualizing running strong for the entire run.  I used some of my great runs from the past to help me believe in my capabilities and what I was seeing myself doing.  There were moments where I got a little tired and wanted to slow down and walk but my vision of the workout did not include that and I had experiences to back up my belief that I was capable of running strong.  Sure enough the workout turned out exactly as I had envisioned it.

In a nutshell, positive visualization, for me, has three steps.

1. Being aware of what I am visualizing
2. Creating a vision of what I truly want the workout to look like
3. Relying on my positive experiences to back up the vision- eg: find reasons to believe the vision is possible.

The coolest by product of visualization is that even if my workout doesn’t go 100% as visualized I end up 100% satisfied with my efforts.  This may seem contradictory.  But in my mind it isn’t.  Training and racing is ultimately about doing your best.  It may be that you are riding with riders who average 21mph and you average 19mph.  You will get dropped.  It is just the way it is.  But what visualization helps with is not giving up and giving in.  You can have personal bests and still not win the race.  I hope you will start training your brain to participate in your triathlon adventures.