Two More Sleeps...and Positive Mental Imagery

There's something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery. -- Stefan Kanfer

Two more days until the race.  This week I've been working on my mental imagery for the race - something that is very important for success  -- at least that's what the experts say:

Jim Taylor, PhD - Sports Imagery:  Athletes' Most Powerful Mental Tool

[T]here is no more powerful mental tool than mental imagery and it can have a huge impact on your sports performance. . . .  From doubt came confidence.  From distraction came focus.  From anxiety came intensity.  From timidness came aggressiveness.  From inconsistency came consistency.  And, most importantly, from decent results came outstanding results.

So I've been working on developing an imagery narrative for my race.  Yesterday at Masters I was inspired for the swim when the coach worked with me on dolphin diving.  Dolphins are one with the water, undulate through it without drag.  As she said, you need to become the dolphin and lose the human while you are on the swim.

By Arnaud 25 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

On the bike, it only makes sense to think of Freyja - my bike's namesake.  Now I probably won't find any cats to pull me along, but I should think about the bike as a chariot ride - a fast transport between the swim and the run.

By Ludwig Pietsch (1824-1911) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

And when I finally make it to the run, not so much an image, but an acknowledgement:

Borrowed from insatiably.wordpress.com

It will hurt.  It will take time.  There will be temptation to quit.  But IT WILL BE WORTH IT.  Suck it up, Buttercup - and finish the race.

So that's what I'll be thinking at various times on Saturday - I hope you will be sending good mojo my way.  :)  The weather sounds like it is going to be fantastic; the water is likely to be wetsuit legal (and therefore my swim may even be a little faster); and it's going to be a great day.