Relax

We were transfixed by how fast Michael Phelps swam in the summer Olympics and by how relaxed he looks in the water. The ability to stay relaxed while working hard is one reason why winners win. Tension is slow and inefficient but relaxing tends to go against most athletes’ instincts. Think about racing a friend on the school-ground as a kid; you grit your teeth, throw your head back, and inevitably tense up, thinking that the harder you work the faster you go. This is not the case, as the grace and fluidity you see when you watch the best runners in the world suggests. The trick is to realize that relaxing doesn’t mean slowing down. Mr. Clyde Hart, director of track and field at Baylor University, gets his athletes to focus on their eyes. “If they’re wide-eyed, they’re tense. I tell my runners to run sleepy eyed”. As the eyes relax the jaw relaxes and this feeling spreads through the shoulders and arms. You want to stay tall and avoid the rolled shoulders and tight upper body that comes with fatigue and being too tense. “You want your arms to be your rhythm” he said. They may not help you, but they can hurt you big time if your arms are tense and you are gripping your hands tightly.” Try also to relax your grip on the aerobars while riding and remember to breathe with your diaphragm – from your stomach not your chest. Relaxation is one of those mysterious states; hard to describe but you know when you achieve it. Remember those times when a run felt effortless and keep replaying that feeling. With practice you will be able to nail your rhythm and relax enough to free your body to perform.

- see content from The Globe and Mail, Friday Oct 3, 2008, Life L5