Practicing the Mental Game....

My coach once told me to picture my 5K, imagine how it will feel, imagine how you will look, just visualize it.  At first I thought that she was crazy but I did it anyway and the next day when I raced I did better.  I had run the course multiple times so I could remember how it looked in my head I just had to use the most crucial tool ever.  The mental side of running is more important that the physical part of running.  According to an article I recently read there are three different types imagery:  internal, external, and kinesthetic.  Internal imagery is done in first person, the athlete runs through the whole race in their head alone.  External imagery is done from another perspective other than the athlete like an outside observer.  Kinesthetic imagery, however, is different in the sense that an athlete will run through their race in their head but they move their body along with it.  The athlete doesn’t have to be in full engagement but they do need to think of as many physical situations that could happen as possible.  Just like anything you want to be good at you have to practice at visualization.  It doesn’t just come overnight. When mastered, visualization can become very helpful and powerful for an individual athlete.  No athlete is the same so each athlete will react differently to this new skill.

 

 I feel as though visualization may help me when I race in any race.  I want to get the best out of every race and I want to know that each time I get into the set position that I am ready to take on the challenge of only beating myself.  That is my only goal every time I race, beat my previous time and set myself new goal.  I love the feeling of getting a new personal best and I think that I might initiate imagining all of my races and see how my year changes. I think that reading the article may have helped me look at preparing for my race in a different view.