Makin' it look easy

If you have ever trained with, been around, or watched a world class athlete there is undoubtedly one thing that stands out – how easy they make it look.  By and large their mechanics, even late in the game, are so honed over years of practice that they look effortless, even as we know that they are red-lining it.  If you watched the Olympic Marathon trials this weekend, Ryan Hall is a great example of this.  He was crushing the early miles, as he often does – running sub 5s and aggressively pushing the pace.  Even at the end, after over two hours of running at and below 5 minute per mile pace, Hall had the same strong, efficient stride – and was still pushing a pace that many of us can only dream of.  Similarly, in Kona this year, you may have noticed the same thing as Craig Alexander ran a 2:42 marathon in his typical stoic fashion, form perfect until the last miles.  Watching him collapse just after the finish line was one of the few indications of how hard he had pushed all day, but on the run his shoulders were relaxed, turnover was high, and his form generally indicated that he was out for an easy 5 mile training run.   Ryan Hall and Craig Alexander are two absolutely top-tier athletes, and while most of us will never reach that level of performance, we can still benefit from just having seen it – and taking a few minutes to learn.    

  

In the book, The Talent Code, author Daniel Coyle discusses just how those of us who don’t fall in the world class athlete category can benefit.  Coyle proposes a type of visualization, but not the kind you have likely read about or been taught where you visualize yourself.  In the latter type of visualization, we are told to picture ourselves as we race, thinking of every component part, imagining our perfect selves as we visualize the race that we wish to have.   Coyle instead suggests the concept of deep practice, part of which can entail watching elite performers – in our particular case, triathletes – and examining the way they move, the way they carry themselves, and the way they flow through their chosen art.  We are lucky to live in this digital age where world class performances are merely a click away.  Before your next practice session, spend a few minutes (you need no more than 5-10) watching some clips of your favorite athlete as they train or race.  Study their form, watch their seemingly effortless fluidity, and when you go out for your training session, keep those images in your mind and emulate them as best you can.  And as inspiring as they are, this means staying far away from the clips of Sian Welch and Wendy Ingraham (it is worth watching once though – just not before training: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTn1v5TGK_w)!  As an aside, if you want to see and emulate that fourth discipline of triathlon, the transition, check out this lightning fast performance by Team RWB’s own Tim O’Donnell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkYCsFpaWW0).   

Coyle goes so far as to say that watching someone that looks like you can actually be better, and from my own experience, it’s true.  I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a 120 lbs. elite Kenyan marathoner like Geoffrey Muttai, crushing the courses in Boston and New York, but I can picture myself as Normann Stadler on his bike or with Faris al-Sultan’s loping running style (save the Speedo and headband – I am only looking to emulate his racing ability, not his wardrobe).   As triathletes, we are fortunate to have three sports, and the elites from each, to watch and learn from – I personally love watching clips of Ryan Hall before my runs.  He runs with an amazingly smooth style that I try to focus on when my own is going out the window.  For swimming, Michael Phelps is the obvious choice, though I really can’t imagine what it’s like to be him either – I need at least zoomer fins to get to size 14 feet.

If you have the time and ability, take it a step further and have someone video tape you.  Juxtapose watching yourself against watching an elite.  Watch for differences in form and how you can make corrections.  If you are so inclined, find a coach who can help you with a video analysis.  For Christmas two years ago, my wife got me a one hour session with an Austin-based tri coach who did a video analysis of my swim stroke.  As a life-long swimmer, I was slightly skeptical, but it was the best hour I have ever spent training.  I learned more from being able to see my form and understand my weaknesses than I have in any other training session before or since. 

As a final note, in The Talent Code Coyle also postulates that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill – so while I may never be Ryan Hall or Normann Stadler, I know that every hour I am out there, I am that much closer to reaching my level of mastery, whatever that may be.

For more information on The Talent Code, visit http://thetalentcode.com/.    

Happy trails