February 2012
My first full month of training in picturesque Wollongong with the NSWIS squad is complete and barely a day has passed where I have not learnt something new.
On a fairly miserable day we were met by Kell who explored some techniques to train our state of minds so when the time comes to perform the mental facet of performance is up to scratch with our physical, technical and tactical aspects. With the increase of commercialization in sport, it is important to be constantly aware of the power of words particularly on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Krystle Stylianou had us all gob smacked by a You Tube clip on the social media revolution which pointed out, “We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it”(Erik Qualman). While people our age may be able to put nearly anything online, as elite athletes it is part of our ‘job’ to ensure we think twice about the appropriateness of our thoughts.
There have been a number of training sessions that have stood out in February. The past few Sundays we have been running 14-16km along the coastline up to Stanwell Park Train Station which has proved to be one of my favourite runs particularly when we finish the day off with a ‘recreational swim’ at the beach, acting like we are 10 years old again playing in the waves. Another run that has stuck in my mind is an 8pm Fartlek run along the bike path, which I felt really good in despite the odd training hour. As we were running behind Jamie on the bike, the light became progressively diminished and we were able to finish the session with the help of the Itorch app on Jamie’s phone as our source of light.
Without a doubt the biggest event for me this month would have to be Race 3 of the TriShave series, my first triathlon.While I was happy with my result on paper, the fact that I completed the race in a fairly smooth manner without any major mishaps gave me confidence in training and for upcoming races. My weakness’ were undeniably in transitions were I encountered a few stumbles although the past few weeks Kieran Barry has been helping me to master the efficiency, speed and most importantly the mind set needed to complete a high standard transition. As race 4 in the series is coming up, I will hopefully be successful in putting these skills into action.
Just recently a good friend of mine was in a serious car accident which has left many people around her including myself to take a step back and look at the way we approach certain events in life. A quote she has sitting by her bed in hospital says, “Don’t count the days, make the days count”. Training and racing is not only about the final result but the small processes we must take note of and ensure we are continuously achieving within each session. By doing this, the probability of achieving the desired result will have a greater likelihood.
Grace Musgrove
