Today I had a hellavu day with my own brain.
I was really looking forward to the training I had on the schedule: 3hr ride + 6mi run off the bike. The 3hr ride included 4 intervals varying between half Ironman effort and Ironman effort. I went out to this gem of a road that is absolutely perfect for IM Chattanooga training: an out and back with small rolling hills and wind.
The short of it is this: on all 4 intervals I was not able to hold my target heart rate where I planned to. This immediate data feedback went straight to my head and my brain had a heyday. It didn’t take long for me to settle on thinking, “I’m such an inefficient cyclist. I need to learn how to ride a bike properly. I can’t manage terrain well and my bike positioning is not right yet.”
I was in it deep. And then I turned around into a headwind. Of course, I never felt any benefit of a tailwind before turning around! I was in this negative thought loop and the headwind dug me a little deeper. Pity party, party of one!
My brain was unsupervised. And simply doing what it’s designed to do: keep me safe.
Those thoughts above seemed soo believable and true in the moment. My riding was proving them true, right? Well, thinking those thoughts undoubtedly resulted in me decreasing my effort, holding back, and ultimately not hitting my target heart rate goals. That’s what the Self Coaching Model teaches us.
When our brains are unsupervised they go for the path of least resistance; the path that will keep us out of harm and in comfort.
I left my brain unsupervised today and with that, was not ready to tackle the negative thought loop that showed up. My brain won the battle on the bike.
But I learned a valuable lesson for next time I get in the saddle: if I want to get the most of out of my training session, I need to be on the offense and give my brain the direction it needs before it needs it.
Every training session is an opportunity not just to improve swimbikerun, but also on the mindset side of things! It’s the 4th discipline we need to practice to master.
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO HAVE A PERFORMANCE MINDSET?
