Pre-Performance Visualization For Triathlons And Marathons

This guided visualization will help runners, triathletes and athletes of all events, prepare for a big performance. In this practice, we learn how to prime for flow, overcome challenge & learn how to show up at your best- so the mind and body are at peak form!

Transcript

Welcome to this pre-performance visualization practice.

This can be done before a triathlon,

Any endurance event,

Or any performance that you find meaningful.

Everyone understands the importance of the mental game,

But few actually take the time to train it.

So acknowledge yourself for taking time today to strengthen the mind and your ability to be grounded,

Focused,

Confident,

And resilient.

They say that flow state is when our best performance happens.

So flow state follows focus,

And a prerequisite to entering that flow state is to prime our mind to focus and be present in our experience.

So in today's practice,

We will train that ability to focus and to show up fully as our best self,

So that all the actions between now and when you finish your performance are expressions of your deepest potential.

This practice is meant to be done before your performance,

Because at this moment,

All the work is already taken care of.

You've been training,

You've been putting the work in,

You have everything you need.

Now we just need to show up and trust the emergence of what's already inside you.

So let's begin.

Begin to settle in and make any adjustments that you need for this practice.

Find a position that promotes a sense of relaxation and also alertness.

You can do this sitting down or lying.

Just find what feels right and natural to you.

Close your eyes and let this be a signal that you are choosing to go inward.

Begin focusing your attention on where your body makes contact with the surface.

Noticing the body against the chair or the floor.

Maybe you notice the feet,

The legs,

Back,

Head against the floor,

And feeling the sensations associated with the body making contact with the surfaces.

Maybe even using some deep breaths to ground yourself deeper and relax into these surfaces,

Allowing yourself to be heavy.

And without judging or trying to change anything,

Begin scanning the body from head to toe and just noticing what is present.

Noticing what it's like to be alive in this moment,

And maybe noticing any sensations that are available and present to you.

You might notice tension in the body,

Maybe some heat or cold,

Maybe stiffness,

Feelings of hunger,

Digestion,

Whatever you do or don't notice,

That's okay.

And now taking our spotlight of attention and beginning to notice your breath.

Where do you sense the breath most easily?

Maybe you notice it in the mouth,

In the chest,

The diaphragm or the upper part of the stomach,

The nose.

And seeing if we can place our attention on a full cycle of breathing,

And then maybe seeing if we can keep our attention there for the next cycle,

And the next.

And there's no need to change your breathing or to try to go out and get it.

Just allowing the breath to flow at its natural pace,

And keeping our attention on the sensations of breathing.

The breath,

Much like for tomorrow,

There's nothing you need to go out and get,

Nothing you need to do,

All of that is already inside you.

So just being fully here to what is present and allowing the body to express itself.

And if your mind ever wanders,

Simply notice that and bring it back to focusing on the breath.

In fact,

You may even give yourself an applause for noticing the mind wandering.

That is a victory in itself,

Much like a rep to strengthen the mind.

The mind will wander,

That's normal.

So we're training our focus by catching ourselves and bringing our attention back to center.

Feeling what it's like to be fully present.

Now bringing that sense of being fully focused into our visualization practice,

We'll begin by bringing to mind your favorite fruit.

Imagine holding this favorite fruit of yours in your hands and sensing what this may feel like.

Noticing the texture,

Is it wet,

Is it smooth,

Does the texture change at all,

Are there lumps to it,

Seeing if you can sense what it feels like for it to be in your hand.

Now seeing if you can visualize it growing twice as large as it presently is in your hand,

And maybe even playing around with trying to shrink it into a mini size.

What does that feel like?

And now seeing if you can notice its color in great detail,

Maybe even noticing small specks of shine,

Dullness,

Maybe the top part and the bottom part merges or there's different colors merging into each other.

And now noticing its smell.

And now imagine taking a bite into this and experiencing the sensations associated with taste.

Now dropping this image of the fruit,

And now we'll begin to merge our visualization practice into our pre-performance meditation.

So visualize yourself waking up tomorrow morning,

The moment that you realize it's the day of your big performance.

Before beginning the big day,

You reflect on what makes this performance meaningful to you.

Now reflecting on all you did to get here to this moment.

The hours of hard work you dedicated,

The research,

The practices,

Getting to the pool or the lake to swim,

Those bike rides,

The hard runs,

The long runs,

The workouts.

All the little details and planning you put into this.

Calling all that into mind right now.

Imagine those hard moments you overcame,

Times in the weight room,

Or on the street,

Or on the treadmill.

Those moments of challenge,

The moments of joy and pride as well.

And as these memories pass through you,

Being aware of what those feel like in the body.

And there's no right or wrong here,

Just experiencing it.

And if you notice nothing,

That's okay too.

You put the hard work in.

Now feeling in your body a sense of trust and support from all the work that you put into this moment.

Feeling what it's like to trust your inherent ability.

There's nothing else you need to do,

The work is done.

All that's required of you is to show up and trust the emergence of these capabilities and to trust in your training.

Now calling to mind a moment from one of your past performances that would be on your own personal highlight reel if you had one.

Think of this as a peak performance that you've had in the past,

Or a moment that stands out to you that displays what you are capable of when you're at your best.

This can be in a specific athletic event,

Or something similar.

And feeling what it was like to experience that in the body and in the mind.

This is your credibility for you to say,

Hey,

I got this.

You are capable of great things.

You've done hard things before,

You've done great things before,

And you will again.

Now feeling this trust,

This confidence,

This calmness.

Now carrying with you those same feelings of empowerment as you continue to visualize going throughout your day.

You move throughout your day up to the event,

Feeling a sense of calm,

Confidence,

And trust.

You're visualizing yourself in this preparation phase.

Maybe this is walking out of the door,

Heading onto the bus,

Or putting your shoes on.

Maybe it's in transition area getting ready for the race.

Maybe it's at the start line.

And take a second to visualize what this environment around you is like.

Noticing the sounds,

Noticing how your performance clothing feels against your body,

What shoes you're wearing,

What the grass or ground feels like against your feet,

What the air feels like against your body.

Visualizing yourself moving in a way that feels natural,

Calm,

And confident.

And feeling what that's like in your body.

And if there are any butterflies or sensations that are maybe unpleasant,

That's perfectly okay and normal.

See if you can make room for those too instead of trying to push those away.

Working with whatever comes up.

This is mental toughness.

Now seeing yourself just as this performance is going to begin.

Feet against the ground,

Mind focused,

And seeing yourself performing with a sense of calm and confidence as the performance unfolds.

Moment to moment you are feeling focused and also loose.

Your body is capable,

You're here,

And you're up to the challenge.

And visualizing yourself moving through each leg of the race,

The swim,

The bike,

The run.

Watching all this unfold in front of you as you master each leg.

Mind and body in rhythm.

Noticing your strengths and your capabilities emerging with ease.

And see yourself also in moments where you may easily lose focus or where you may come across challenge.

And seeing how you reset and you reground yourself from here.

This may be towards the end of a swim or a bike.

Or when you start to notice that it's time to refuel or you're concerned about nutrition.

See how you respond to these different challenges as they come up.

And noticing what skills you call upon as well.

And as you respond,

This adventure is dynamic.

So recognizing yourself resetting and recognizing yourself recovering and continuing to execute and master the goal at hand.

Maybe even noticing what words you're saying to yourself.

And if you have a mantra or a reminder that you call upon,

Now's a good time to bring that into your practice.

From mile to mile,

Moment to moment,

Locked in,

Focused,

And your body rising to the challenge.

See this unfolding until you near the finish line.

And as you begin to cross it,

You cross it with honor and a sense of accomplishment knowing that mentally you gave your best today.

And letting go of this visualization and coming back to this mindfulness practice.

So feeling the mind,

The body,

The breath.

Knowing you are here.

As we come out of this,

See if you can leave this formal practice with the same sense of mindfulness as you entered with.

And seeing if you can carry this mindfulness presence throughout the rest of your time up until your performance.

Take a moment to see if there's anything from this practice that you want to remember and take with you.

You can be here as long as you'd like,

And when you are ready,

Go ahead and just open your eyes,

Wiggle your fingers,

And begin to reorient yourself to the room.

Give yourself applause for taking the time to practice and train the mind.

Now go trust emergence and do your thing.

Thanks for practicing.