Controlling the Rush

  In my most recent meeting with Bob we talked about adrenaline. He showed me a technique to help me "wire in" an adrenaline "hotspot" which allows me to access adrenaline when i need it for a training session or a race. Throughout the week, i looked for an opportunity to try out my new adrenaline "button" to see if it would really work, but i found that there was never really an appropriate time. In fact, what i learned is that i spend a fair bit of time controlling my adrenal responses. If anything, I am naturally over-excited and need to reel myself in in order to perform. This is something that i had never really reflected on before.  

I noticed that there were a number of times in training that my adrenal system kicked in;  at the start of any interval for example, whether in the pool, on the bike or running. Also, the exhileration of descending on the bike, or a near-miss with a pothole or a vehicle bring on an adrenal response. Group training situations tend to get me fired up more than training alone, which is a good reason to train with groups, but also a good reason not to sometimes. 

Further, i cant think about a race at bedtime or else I will get too excited and have to calm myself down. In fact, i found that throughout the week, i had to calm myself down from the excitement of upcoming races, even races that are weeks away. Every time i thought about testing out my adrenaline hotspot, i got a shot of adrenaline just thinking about thinking about it. I never knew i was such and adrenaline junkie! 

Reflecting on this has been eye-opening for me and made me realize that i need to harness my excitability if i am going to unleash it successfully on race day. They say that dogs immitate their owners, its no wonder my dog is so spastic! And my last dog was excitable too... 

In the process of wiring in my hotspot, Bob talked me through a wonderful exercise in which i had to think of 6 qualities that i possess that will help me win races. Then, i thought of each of them as i let adrenaline rush through my body and wow it sure made me feel excited and confident. The purpose of the exercise was to wire in the hotspot (which i still havent used!) but in this case i found the process itself was quite powerful. What a wonderful way to get excited about racing, to reinforce the idea that i possess all the skills required to reach my goals.  I highly recommend taking some time to get excited about your abilities and how things can play out on race day when you execute your master plan and finally get to show off your fitness!

Over the last couple weeks, i think Bob has been slightly taken aback by my focus on pain (I forget sometimes that we endurance athletes have an unusual relationship with pain). He told me to make sure I reward myself from time to time. It was a welcome reminder to step back and acknowledge the little accomplishments along the way. Thanks Bob!