I heard a sports psychologist speak recently about knowing your strengths and training your weaknesses.
On training weaknesses: We all love the things we’re good at….sprinting, yes, more sprinting drills please. And we are not so keen on the things we’re not good at. Hills, ugh, make it rain please so I don’t have to climb hills.
But really, I ought to be training on hills some of the time. That’s the area where I have the biggest gains to make.
Reminding yourself of your strengths: The second part of her message matters too. She advised that you know your strengths and remind yourself of them in competition. Race day is when you forget your weaknesses and dwell upon your strengths.
What are three strengths you bring to this competition?
The suggestion was not that you should just know them but also that you should remind yourself of them as part of your race prep and while you’re out there competing.
“I’m ________, ________, and _________”
You fill in the blanks.
I haven’t been feeling great lately. Despite lots of physio my knee is still injured and I might not even get to take part in the Kincardine Women’s Triathlon the way things are going. While there may not be racing in my immediate future, I figure it can’t hurt to remind myself of my strengths.
1. I’m outrageously stubborn. It took me six years to learn to roll in Aikido. But I stuck it out, kept trying, and eventually did it.
2. I’m tough and I’m okay with suffering. I don’t mind working hard. On good days, I even really like it.
3. I’m powerful. For an adult onset athlete nearing 50, that is. I’ve got a good combination of aerobic fitness and muscle strength that surprises even me sometimes.
How about you?
Blogging from the plane. Here’s the view out my window.
