Quote:
Originally Posted by salvo
Jatx, I would love to hear about your mental & workout techniques for enduring your ultramarathons, &c. After reading Born to Run it seems like a lot of it is applicable to the mental attitude needed to survive selection - plus makes for an interesting viewpoint on human capacity. |
Salvo, I haven't been to SFAS and wouldn't pretend to know what sort of mental preparation would be helpful for you there. Others here have made interesting contributions over time in the Mindset thread.
In a sporting context, there are a large number of books on visualization techniques, which can be helpful in boosting your confidence and in helping to focus your alertness on the right things. I have seen some of these echoed by shooters, such as Enos in his book. I used these techniques extensively with the help of a sports psychologist when I was competing.
Simple meditation is also helpful. There are few aspects of life which are not improved by the ability to "sit down and shut up".
ETA: As far as workouts go, it was a highly structured program and most were planned out a year in advance (necessary for periodization and peaking for multiple events throughout the year). I worked with Rob Sleamaker, who had an early book published about his approach to working with endurance athletes, although many of his ideas have since become mainstream within the cycling and triathlon communities. If you are training for non-military objectives, it might be worth checking out.