Ramblings on sports psychology

This post might not make sense to everybody, but read on and see what you think. It’s about the mind/body connection and the psychology of training.

As I was riding back from Merrickville yesterday, my legs were becoming sorer with each passing kilometer and I began to revise my plan to do another long, hard ride the following day. It was this revision in my thinking that made me consider how intimately connected the mind and body really are. Let me explain. Lately, I have been doing one hard, long ride and taking it easier for the next two days before riding long and hard again. Makes sense: My legs are sore after one of these rides so I allow them to recover.

However, I have done many tours where we ride long and hard two days in row, sometimes three or four days in a row. So how does that work? The only difference is that my mind (and therefore my body?) knows that I will be riding again the next day. Usually there is not much choice because you are away from home and you have to ride to get back home. So the mind is prepared, resolved, and resigned if you will, to the idea of doing another big ride the next day. Physically, there is very little difference.

Another example of the same concept is an instance where the distance or route gets changed mid-ride. One can get quite upset by this. Usually, one sets out – at least on a group ride - with a planned route in mind. In effect you ‘sign up’ for a given distance and speed, implied consent as it were, to the quantity and quality of effort you are willing to put out. If something goes off the rails for any reason and the distance becomes longer or the speed becomes faster than expected, it can be difficult.

And that’s what it all comes down to: expectation. The mind prepares the body for what’s coming. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t train for the unexpected. After all, that’s what life hands us sometimes. So those little surprises may hurt and piss us off, but you will be undergoing an exercise in adaptability, and that’s a good thing. So whether your training goes as planned, or is unexpected, you can rest assured that you are benefitting either way, the latter just feels harder than the former.

What experiences have you had that illustrate the interconnection between mind and body?