Create Your Dream Race
I am sure you, like most swimmers, have experienced a time
when you felt like you were in the zone, where every action flowed
absolutely perfectly and effortlessly. These are times when you feel, even
just for a few minutes, like you are the world champion.
Well, those times when you felt invincible can propel you towards even greater
success in the future!
You can do this by mentally constructing your own "dream race".
This is something you can use and practice in training, so that when you reach
the big meets, you will be ready to put your dream race into action.
Here's how you do it.
First of all you need a pen and paper, and then I want you to really think hard
through the archives of your memory bank, because I want you to remember the
time and the place that you did the 'best dive you've ever made'.
Yes, you CAN remember if you try hard enough! Your best dive ever.....think for
a moment.
OK, once you've remembered, write down the word "Dive" on the paper,
followed by the location, date and the event where you had this fabulous dive.
Now, I want you to think back over all the meets and training you've done in the
past and remember the best 50m you ever swam in your life, in your
favourite event (or you can even use an entire race, if you like). Then, write
it down next to the word "Race" (including the location and event you
did this).
Now, remember the best turn you've ever done (this might take some real
brainwork to remember this one, but you can do it if you keep your mind focused
on it). Once you remember your personal best turn, write down the
location, date and event (naturally) next to the word "Turns".
OK, we've nearly finished creating your dream race.
Now, last of all, remember your most brilliantly powerful finish ever, think
of one that really stands out - and write down the time and place of this next
to the word 'Finish'.
Your dream race is complete, and you are ready to use it.
Now look at the paper and look at the best race segments you've ever swum - your
best dive, your best laps (you use the 50m lap you wrote down for every single
lap of the race), your best tumble turns, and your best-ever finish.
OK, now close your eyes, and now join that race all together in your mind,
like putting together a jigsaw puzzle of film and video clips. Put them all
together as one race, and this is now the movie of you at your absolute best!
Mentally play this through your mind regularly, especially at training, and make
this dream race your goal to achieve in training and the meets. Then, rewind and
play it through your mind again, and again, and again until you know it
backwards. When you can do this, you will soon notice your times coming down and
the quality of your strokes improving.
As time goes by and perform even better dives, laps, turns and finishes, add
these to constantly update your dream race, taking out any old race segments
which are no longer your best ever.
So if you haven't done created your dream race yet, go and do it right now.
Use this as your benchmark, the peak of your swimming career that you
aspire to achieve all over again. By remembering and using your dream race, it
will bring you plenty more in the future!
"The
Mind controls the body, and the mind is unlimited".
The best of success, Craig Townsend
Swimming Well After Illness Or Injury