“The real race is not on the hot, paved roads, the torturous off-road course or the smooth-surfaced velodrome. It is in the electrochemical pathways of your mind.” - Alexi Grewal, Olympic gold medalist

By Kristin Keim

The race season is now in full swing with the Women’s Giro, Fitchburg and of course the Tour de France all starting up this weekend, an inspiring month of racing for sure! This time of the season can also present some minor, and or major, obstacles whether it be dealing with a race injury, mental and physical exhaustion from the grueling race schedule, or other life issues that can always come into play and add a bit of stress. These types of stressors can also lead to hindering your performance for future races down the road. Athletes and coaches often talk about trying not to be “stressed” or worried but there are actually many situations when our emotions and anxieties can also be seen as facilitative and not just debilitative.

First off, what is anxiety? Basically, it’s an unpleasant emotional state that can produce feelings of being worried, scared, afraid and nervous, and physiological responses such as an increase in your heart rate and the sensation of having “butterflies” in your stomach before a big race. Anxiety is often equated to stress, which can be either positive (eustress) or negative (distressed). One of the keys to managing your own anxiety or stress levels is to have a better understanding of when you start to feel anxious, tight, or nervous and to become more aware of how these emotions might actually help or possibly hinder your performance during a race. For example, one racer might view her entire family coming to see her race at the U23 criterium championships as “A great opportunity to show my family what I can do and to repay them for all the support,” while another may worry about “How embarrassed I’ll be if I don’t race strong or win.” These two racers are at the same race, but their different reactions could lead to varying states of flow (optimal performance) or choking.

In order to become more aware and learn to manage your own anxieties there are several strategies that can help you develop both skills. Take the above example, the racer who is most likely to choke is the one focused on the race as being a threat and is only highlighting the negatives and her fear of failure. A way to combat these anxieties would be to think of this race as another goal or challenge to reach; she could put a positive spin on the situation by focusing on what was in her control and her strengths as an athlete. By looking at various race/life situations as challenging, you will begin to enhance your ability to develop optimistic emotions and choose more constructive coping strategies to enhance your own race performance. Another way to cope with performance anxiety is by learning to “reframe” or to reappraise a potentially negative or anxiety provoking situation, “I’m worried, it’s my first race back after breaking my collarbone” as something that can also be viewed as positive “I am strong enough to race again and well rested.”

Additionally, you can employ the power of your own voice. By making sure the little voice in your head is whispering rational, positive, and productive thoughts, you will keep focused on your race and ultimately your Goals. As previously mentioned in one of my earlier articles, Imagery is another strategy that can help you gain control over your emotions on and off the bike.

Now let’s go back back to our worried U23 crit racer above to see how she might take control of her situation.Instead of being overwhelmed by the negative, she could focus on positive self-talk, reframe the situation into one that will enhance her confidence by taking some deep Centering breaths, visualize herself racing strong. enjoy the cheers of her family each lap and remember that this is one of the stairs to reaching her goals. Just remember that many times you can’t control what happens in a race or how your body will feel but you can work hard at being mentally prepared, which will always be in your control.

“Carefully train to avoid anxiety during competition. There is need to have a way to gather and harness positive energy and to compete with relaxed intensity, free of fear, able to risk, little or no self doubt and courage to thrust onward.” – Deng Ming-Dao

Photos: Leonard Basobas/LB Photos (top); Pat Malach/Oregon Cycling Action (Cycling T Shirts) (bottom).

By Kristin Keim

As the road and mountain bike seasons move into full swing, I am busily working on my sport psychology internship with the coaches of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) where I have the wonderful opportunity to assist in their holistic approach of integrating mental and physical training into their athletes’ training programs. This week, I’ll be presenting on the mental training skills of imagery and how it can be used to enhance their athletes’ performance. If you follow me on Twitter or if we’re Facebook pals then you already know how I share an inspiring quote each day about different ways to practice mindfulness and to be present and aware of all the gifts and amazing journeys life has to offer. Today, I offer you this quote by George Bernard Shaw,

“Some people see things as they are and ask why; I dream things that never were and ask why not?”

These words touch on the idea of imagery or what we also refer to as visualization in sport psychology. Everyone dreams and has an imagination, so tapping into this source should be easy, but for some this proves to be a difficult task. In these cases, imagery can be a powerful tool to help you perform at your optimal level of performance on the bike and in all your endeavors.

I was inspired today by watching [Fabian] Cancellara not only win the Tour of Flanders but to ride away with such power, grace, and mental strength. If you did not catch the race on TV, I’m sure you heard about his attack on “The Muur” climb where he picked up the pace and dropped [Tom] Boonen like he had planned this attack from the start line. Actually, that might be what Cancellara did, he probably imaged at some point being on that climb and where he would make his final attack in order to race to finish alone for the sweet victory!

As athletes, there are many times when you might imagine yourself winning the local Roubaix-style race, or see yourself in the finishing circuits of Paris-Roubaix… if that’s your goal then you’re on the right track! Imagery is a way for you to improve your mind and body connection by allowing yourself the creativity and control of using all of your natural senses in order to create or re-create personal images that are positive, powerful, and productive. What you see in your mind can strongly influence your beliefs, achievements and help you reach your goals. In the words of Robert Collier,

“See things as you would have them be instead of as they are.”

By allowing yourself to dive into your own senses you can change the way you feel, think, act, and perform. Think about how you feel at the start of a race… Do you see yourself winning? Are you off the front or in a winning break? Tapping into these thought patterns can aid in improving your ability to perform well.

So how does imagery work? First off, our central nervous system to some degree does not distinguish between real and imagined events; it relates all images as if they are real. Here’s a quick test:

Relax and close your eyes… now imagine you’re holding a bright yellow lemon in the palm of your hand, you can feel the coolness of the lemon as you place it on the table. In your mind, cut a wedge from the sour lemon and place it in your mouth. Bite down gently, and let the cool, sour juices permeate inside your mouth. Alright, don’t lie… did you find yourself puckering or salivating? This is a simple yet effective way to show how visualization can create a physical response by just using your senses.

When you think about a past race or visualize yourself there are two ways in which we can use imagery. One perspective is Internal, which is when you image being inside your body. An example would be if you were behind the handle bars charging towards the finish line as you sprinted for the win! You might also take an External approach by imaging yourself as an external observer (much like in home movies) where you would see yourself win the race or make the perfect attack from outside your body from a third-person viewpoint. Through practice you can learn which approach is more effective for you personally and yes using imagery can be like training your muscles…just like you believe in your physical training you have to believe and practice your mental skills.

Let’s now focus on how to improve the amazing imagery abilities you already have… thinking back to the lemon example, what senses stood out to you?

It’s important to make your images as realistic and vibrant as possible. You need to focus on using all your senses such as: Visual, Kinesthetic, Auditory, and Olfactory, to name a few. Visual is important to set up the scenes or race situations you want to picture in your mind. Kinesthetic refers to the sensory experience of feeling and the movement of the experience. Additionally, Auditory can enhance your image but allowing you to mentally hear the sounds or Olfactory that will tap into the images that come to mind in relation to a smell that reminds you of that situation. Once you chose the situation and image, make sure to incorporate each of these senses in order to make it as vivid, controllable and realistic as possible.

Imagery is a legitimate skill and research indicates that it can aid in performance and is often used by many elite, professional, and Olympic athletes.

When might you use imagery? Some examples:

- To reduce your anxiety
- Increase your confidence
- Increase your motivation
- Enhance your endurance
- Pre-performance routines
- Race simulations
- Travel periods or recovery days
- Speed recovery from injury

When physical training is not possible, such as travel or recovery days, imagery can provide you with a way to train or focus on an area to improve. It can also help you through a tough injury by shifting attention away from the injury onto mental rehearsal of performance or healing internal imagery scripts to aid in recovery and re-entry. These are just a few ways that imagery can help you and I hope this has allowed you the opportunity to see how many resources you can use by allowing the mind and body to work together.

It’s best to begin to try and use imagery on a daily basis. Set aside 10-15 minutes a day, either in the morning before your ride/race or at the end of the day while you’re stretching, recovering, and preparing for bed. Make sure to find a quiet place, try closing your eyes, take some deep breaths and get into a relaxed position as you let your imagination take over. Lastly, focus on positive images because negative images can create anxiety and tension that could hinder your performance. Positive images will relax your mind and body, which will lead to enhancing your performance and reaching your goals. Cancellara probably imaged positive images such as the victory salute he would give as he crossed the finish line, while Boonen also was able to show mental strength by not allowing the other racers to catch him and at some point he probably imaged himself catching up and winning the race. To race at that level, athletes have to be physically strong, but also how to suffer and to never give up and that’s why so many professionals understand the power of being equipped with mental skills as well. Now start imaging your next race and the victory salute you will give as you cross the finish line…

Enjoy the journey… see, believe, become.

Photos: © Leonard Basobas (first and third); Reuters (second)

By Kristin Keim

Today I was personally and professionally inspired to sit down after a long bike ride with some amazing cyclists to write about an aspect of mental training that I am extremely passionate about, which is what we, in the field of Sport Psychology, refer to as Centering.

If you’ve ever taken a yoga class, then you’ve probably heard about centering and working from your core center of energy. I like to think of centering as a means of anchoring yourself and performing at your optimal level; regardless of various external and internal distractions that might arise you always have your center to come back to.

Centering involves the process of learning to direct your thoughts toward the center of gravity in your body. The center of gravity is a point just behind your navel where your breath flows from your diaphragm. It’s the location where you can anchor your feelings of being strong and confident.

The holidays actually provide a wonderful opportunity to focus on the basic elements of centering which involve feeling strong, confident, and in touch with one’s own mind and body connection. The hub is the center part of a bicycle wheel, and this concept can relate to focusing in our your own center of gravity. It’s important to have a type of anchor or what I like to call “your personal hub” where you can draw positive energy to help you stay focused, motivated, and inspired to face the tough training days and other obstacles you might encounter. I mean let’s face it, life is not always as great as Lance Armstrong’s Twitter updates and when life throws you a bad lemon you will have to find a way to center, cope, and persevere. Some of the key elements that should make up your hub are personal relationships with family, friends, and teammates that you can count on through the good and bad lemon days and keep you inspired to stay focused on your Goals.

There are three aspects to centering that I like to refer to as the…

ABC’s of Centering for Cyclists:

♦ Attention: centering allows you to focus your Attention; it is a way of maintaining control over tension and concentration under pressure especially in high-pressure races situations. You can bring your attention to your personal hub.

♦ Breath: the use of Breath is the key to unlocking the art of centering and will help you become more aware of your own mind/body connection.

♦ Control: centering can help you Control your thoughts and feelings, it’s a great way to create a positive mindset before and during a race.

Learning to use your breath as a centering tool can help bring your mind and body together in order to stay focused, present, and inwardly calm while racing your bike.

One of my favorite breathing techniques that I use on a daily basis is called Circle Breathing. This is a type of breathing that allows you to relax. It helps to calm your nerves and stay focused on positives cues that you are in control of…a way to bring you back to your hub. Circle breathing can be used whenever you are feeling nervous, before a race or any situation in life where you need to be focused, confident, and collected. Circle breathing helps regulate breathing and heart rate. I can also help you lower arousal levels and reach your optimal level of performance. When your body is relaxed, your mind will follow. An important element is the concept of breathing from the diaphragm (or belly) instead of the chest, as this produces feelings of being calm and centered.

Circle Breathing Directions:

1. Take a deep breath in through your nose for 3-5 seconds - feel your chest gently expand top to bottom. Now feel your belly push outward as if you were inflating an invisible balloon.

2. Hold for 2-3 seconds before exhaling - concentrate on feeling calm, present, and centered to your personal hub.

3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for 5-6 seconds. Feel your belly flatten. Feel the muscles in your neck and shoulders relax while your body gently anchors into the ground. Let your mind and body enjoy this moment of relaxation.

4. Take a moment to focus completely on your breath and how centered and strong you feel - as you begin your next circle breath.

The process of centering and circle breathing is a conscious act that can be done when and wherever you feel as though you need to channel positive energy, increase confidence, calm your nerves, and focus. When centering and bringing your focus to your personal hub it can also be beneficial to picture something that makes you smile, maybe you winning a past race, your favorite food for after the race, or anything that produces positive feelings. Remember, following the ABC’s of Centering can help give you momentary control over concentration and tension…using your breath and positive image will enhance your confidence and focus.

"At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." ~ Laozi

Kristin Keim is a graduate student at John F. Kennedy University where she is currently working on her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. After racing a couple of seasons as a Cat 1 road cyclist on the NRC circuit, Kristin decided that it was time to pursue a new adventure in life and is now studying to become a Sport Psychologist. Her main focus is to help her fellow athletes become more aware of the mental tools they can use to reach their full athletic potential. Kristin currently lives in Pleasant Hill, CA where she is also a member of the Wells Fargo Pro 1, 2 Women's Racing Team. Follow her on Twitter - @thek2

Photos: Courtesy Liisa, © David Ellingsen; Katheryn Curi Mattis, © Ken Conley; & Emily Kachorek, © Jeff Namba.

By Kristin Keim

Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you’re all reading this thinking, “I already set goals so what more is there to know?” Well, if you are already on track with setting goals then GREAT but no matter if you’ve got ten goals or maybe zero, I invite you to sit back and enjoy a few minutes of relaxation while I hand over some tools for your cycling tool box: mental not mechanic.

First off, I wanted to reintroduce myself from our last meeting where I actually set my own goal for contributing a Sport Psychology article each month for all my cycling friends and fans. I know I’m cutting it close for November but like all goals I knew that this one would be realistic if I just took the time to let my inspiration do the writing.

Now back to Goal Setting, I’m sure you’ve all heard the term but have you ever been told what it really means? Let’s first define a goal, which is something you want to achieve and goal setting can help you achieve it. Goal Setting can help you reach what you thought could only be a dream. Effective goals are accomplished by being specific with your strategy and timeline. Goals can also influence your cycling performance whether it be training in the off season, for specific races, or to just beat all your friends in the local bakery ride it’s important to understand how effective goal setting can be to your sport and life in general. It’s been proven that goals can help with addressing proper levels of anxiety and improving confidence and motivation.

In this article I’d like to introduce the idea of setting specific goals and how each goal can have a positive contribution to your training and racing!

Types of Goals

Outcome Goals - focus on the result between opponents or teams.

Example: I’m going to win the local time trial.

Note: These types of goals can be motivating but are actually not the best types to focus on because they tend to lead to increased levels of anxiety and irrelevant cues if focused on prior to races.

Performance Goals - focus on achieving performance objectives, usually on the basis of comparisons with your own previous performances.

Example: Racing the time trial in 20 minutes, which is 2 minutes faster than last season.

Note: These are actually great goals to set because they lessen the chance of creating negative or irrelevant anxiety levels while increasing motivation throughout the training season.

Process Goals - Also known as Task goals, focus on the actions you must engage in during performance to execute or perform well.

Example: In the time trial, you may want to set a goal of keeping your head/shoulders in a more relaxed aero position while focusing on your cadence as a means of distracting yourself from the pain that comes along with the ‘race of truth.’

Note: These goals are excellent to use with your performance goals and can be tweaked throughout the season to help you do your best at the time trail or whatever race you’re aiming to have a peak performance.

When you start to make those positive, powerful and productive goals (like right now as you’re reading this) make sure to make SMART-ER GOALS!

S - specific
M - motivational/measurable
A - achievable/adjustable
R - realistic/relevant
T - time-based
E - evaluate
R - reflect

It’s always important to tell your coach, teammates, training partners, sport psychology consultant, family, or even me so that you’re accountable to these goals and can get the needed support to help you achieve them, which I know you will!

I also want to add that one of the goals in the off season, or if you’re about to head to Cyclocross Nationals is to make sure you’re having fun and to use these goals as a spring board for the passions that get you on that saddle and to that start line.

Now put these mental tools to the test…Lebe Deine Leidenschaften.

Kristin Keim is a graduate student at John F. Kennedy University where she is currently working on her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. After racing a couple of seasons as a Cat 1 road cyclist on the NRC circuit, Kristin decided that it was time to pursue a new adventure in life and is now studying to become a Sport Psychologist. Her main focus is to help her fellow athletes become more aware of the mental tools they can use to reach their full athletic potential. Kristin currently lives in Pleasant Hill, CA where she is also a member of the Wells Fargo Pro 1, 2 Women's Racing Team. Follow her on Twitter - @thek2

Photos: Courtesy Nick Frey (top - en route to winning the 2009 U23 US Nationals Time Trial; middle & bottom - 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 1 & Podium)

When I last spoke to our “Dancer on the Pedals,” Kristin Keim, she was recovering from a bad crash and living in Boulder, Colorado. My, how things change?

Her life, as beautifully fluid as her movements on the dance floor and in the saddle, has once again undergone another transition. In the past year, the South Carolina native has moved further west to Northern California, and she is now actively pursuing a career that will have her dancing in peoples’ heads in hopes of helping them to excel on the pedals.

In my latest conversation with Kristin Keim, we discuss her latest passion, her return to racing, and her future involvement with the Triple Crankset.

Lenny B (LB): Since we last spoke, you've entered graduate school. What are you studying? What is your ultimate goal?

Kristin Keim (K2): Wow, yes it’s been well over a year since my last Triple Crankset interview and my how things changed. I ended up deciding to take a big leap a wee bit earlier than I had previously planned to pursue my goal of becoming a Sport Psychologist. I packed up my things from CO and road tripped with my dad out to NorCal to start school last October at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill. I finished up my first year of graduate school this past month and have been on the journey of a lifetime! It’s been a crazy year with many highs and a couple of lows to keep me on my toes and focused on my positive goals. Sometimes I need to be challenged mind, body, and soul to really appreciate and to work even harder at the things I’m passionate about in life. The program has been amazing, and to be honest it’s more than I could have ever expected. I’ve been able to work hands on with athletes of all ages and levels and even worked on life skills training through our LEAP program where I worked as a Sport Psychology Graduate Intern at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility. All these experiences have solidified my reasons for going into this program so I can help others realize how much potential they have by taking a peek into their mental tool box to enhance their performance. I was also fortunate to be accepted this past winter into the Doctorate program for Clinical Psychology and will begin that journey next week… yep, in four years I hope to be Dr. K2!

LB: In addition to furthering your education and practicing in your profession, you have also returned to racing. Has it changed how you mentally approach each race?

K2: Well let’s just start by saying that it was my mental resilience that actually got me back into racing this past summer. I suffered some complications and a very stressful flare-up of my Crohn’s disease just when I was starting to prepare for the 2009 road season with my new team Wells Fargo Racing. It was pretty bad and I was unable to ride for almost 5 months and I lost a ton of weight, muscle and fitness. Luckily, I have an amazing support system where my family, friends, teammates, and twitter followers (www.twitter.com/thek2) helped keep my spirits high and encouraged me to keep fighting. I’d like to give a special shout out to Mara, Kami, Kim, Yuki, Karen, Lyne, and yes you Leonard for all the support, laughs, and encouragement. I could list probably 100 names and I’m very grateful to have such amazing people in my life. Actually, it was around spring break when my mom and sister came out to visit that the new meds finally started to kick in and I saw a glimmer of hope that I was going to get back to my old self. I had been doing all kinds of mental exercises I might work on with other athletes like: positive self-talk, motivation statements, affirmations, imagery, and one of the most important to my situation, goal-setting. It’s funny because I owe a ton of my ‘comeback’ to a new friend I met out here who gave me some fun tips about training on Mount Diablo (at the time I was living at the base in Walnut Creek) so during my break I started riding and after a week or so the hunger started to grow inside of me again. He told me to just keep doing what I loved, which has always been climbing so I just went out and hammered Mt. D repeats for a week. All of a sudden I felt like my strength, focus, and passion for racing where coming back and I wanted to race… badly! One of the keys to starting up for my first race was to acknowledge that I was in no way prepared for an entire season and to just take each week as I could while balancing school, training, and life. I also tried to rely on my past years experience and did a ton of visualizing peak performances from other training rides, races, and enjoyable moments on the bike to spark that important mind/body connection. It was important for me to lie out short term and long-term goals where I realized that any of the racing and training I did this summer was actually a foundation for my 2010 season. I have come to terms with the idea that I probably won’t be able to do a ton of races but hopefully be able to support my amazing team with more confidence in my own racing abilities. By increasing my self-confidence I can increase my self-efficacy, which will lead to more productive racing and hopefully enhance my overall performance for next season.

LB: There are a great deal of popular misconceptions in your chosen profession, some of which involve someone lying on a sofa and talking about their parental relationships in some Freudian terms. Is that really the case?

K2: Funny because I just took a class this summer in preparation for the doctorate program that covered some of the mainstream forms of psychology like Psychodynamic Theory, Humanistic Psychology, Self-Psychology, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and one that really interests me Positive Psychology to name a few. The focus of Sport Psychology in many ways takes a bit of each philosophy; I guess you could say it’s a melting pot of theories. One area that many people get confused about is the difference between a sport psychologist and a clinical psychologist. Most people working in this field are actually Sport Psychology Consultants who have earned their masters in sport psychology but do not hold their doctorate in psychology. A Sport Psychologists is typically someone who has their doctorate, is licensed to practice psychology, has training in sport psychology techniques and is a member of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. Sport Psychology Consultants look to help athletes, coaches, and teams learn how to use various mental exercises and techniques in order to improve their overall performance but are not qualified to work with psychological pathologies, though we are trained to look for red flags and to make referrals. Since I have been on both sides as an athlete and now a future consultant, I’ve found that there are some deeper issues that many athletes have to face such as: depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse. These are issues that I would like to be able to offer consultation on if they happen to arise when working with an athlete. No matter what, my goal is to provide each client with the tools needed to help them become mentally prepared to excel as a person and athlete on their own. And no… there won’t be any ‘couches’ involved though maybe a bike ride or a chat at the start line.

LB: How does your profession differ from what a club or team coach might do for their athletes?

K2: That’s a great question and one I’ve already touched on a bit. So, instead of telling you how to eat, how many hours to ride and what zone to be in, I would be teaching you skills like imagery, goal-setting, positive self-talk, and helping you work on your concentration, focus and motivation through various techniques to reach your optimal level of performance. Just like training your body, you need to practice your mental skills for them to really help you in the long run. It would hopefully be a partnership between yourself, your coach and myself where we could all work together in synergy to facilitate a mind/body training program that would fit your individual needs.

LB: It’s often said that sports are 80 percent mental, but doesn't that mostly pertain to knowing what to do and when to do it?

K2: Actually, I like to think that it’s 90% mental and 10% physical but I have my biases. (laughing) Knowing what to do and when to do it is a lot easier said than done for most athletes. Some of the things we help athletes become aware of are things that might help to improve their confidence or motivation by focusing on things that are in their control and how to use positive thinking to improve their athletic performance. The next step would be to figure out various times or places to practice these mental tools, whether it be in a pre-performance routine (like listening to music or doing stretches before a race) where the athlete can focus on the exercises. Each athlete will have their own set of mental tools that they will be able to choose from and over time become more aware of when and where to use them. It’s comes down to the basic idea that… if you think it, feel it, act it, eventually… you will do it.

LB: Psychology has long been considered a "soft science". These days, isn't cycling (or any endurance sport for that matter) all about the hard scientific data: Power, Watts, VO2max, and Strength-to-Weight Ratio?

K2: The same train of thought is actually presented in psychology. Many theories are not taken as seriously because there isn’t enough research and or data to back up the theory. Since sport psychology is a rather new field of study we are still on the verge of gathering more scientific data but most of the theories that are used with today’s athletes have been thoroughly studied, researched, and tested. It’s surprising how many research articles there are about sport psychology techniques and how they are very effective and in some sports almost as effective as actual physical practice. In most cases, the combination of using mental techniques with physical training will enhance performance but no matter what, the athlete will always need the physical aspect in order to reach their peak performance. If an athlete was to inquire about the hard scientific data, I would be more than happy to provide days worth of reading materials proving that sport psychology is a key ingredient to helping an athlete reach their full athletic potential.

LB: With our "microwave" society where everyone seems to want a quick fix to any of their issues, how would address that type of athlete in search of a “magic pill”?

K2: That is something I think many coaches, trainers, and sport psychology consultants have to face when working with athletes, especially since most athletes are highly motivated and determined to do or try anything in order to win. This is not to say it’s entirely a bad thing, there needs to be some focus on what we call extrinsic motivators such as focusing on winning. It’s when the athlete becomes desperate and losses focus on intrinsic motivators like their passion for the sport and might turn to illegal means of getting ahead by taking ‘magic pills.’ If an athlete really wants to work on their performance they must understand that it’s just as much mental as it is physical and that it is going to take hard work, dedication, and practice to reach their full potential…but it can be done. The best way to address this is to have the athlete create a list of why they play or participate in their chosen sport and what goals they have that keep them motivated. The athlete needs to understand that the only ‘quick fix’ will come from them internally and they must decide how hard they’re willing to work mentally and physically to improve.

LB: You make the distinction between clinical psychology and sports psychology. Once you complete your degree, would you be able to address the issues associated with clinical depression, as in the case of athletes such as Tyler Hamilton?

K2: After I complete my doctorate program, I would be able to work with athletes like Tyler who suffer from the disease of clinical depression. What many people don’t realize is that depression is a disease and that most people who suffer from it need psychological therapy in addition to being placed on medications to cope with daily life. I do not know all the details of Tyler’s case but I commend him for seeking therapy and I wish him the best with his future endeavors.

LB: Like with most things, you get out what you put in. How much of treating or helping out the athlete is dependent upon the effort they put into it?

K2: How we approach athletes is not that much different from what coaches expect from physical training. Just think, would you be able to race an entire season on 1 week of riding? No. The difference is that you can use your mental skills throughout the entire day if needed and adapt them to fit into your training, racing, and daily life routines. The key is to make sure you fully understand how and when to use the skills that your consultant presents. It’s a team effort and as a consultant we are in a partnership to help athletes become the best they can be without our help. With that said, it’s very important for the athlete to take their mental exercises seriously and to practice them just like they would riding their bike everyday. I like this quote, "A lot of people want a shortcut. I find the best shortcut is the long way, which is basically two words: work hard." - Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

LB: I'm a lowly Cat 5 racer, how can sports psychology help me or is that type of help better reserved for elite athletes only?

K2: First off, there are no ‘lowly’ categories in world of sport when it comes down to how people perceive their own passion, dedication, and commitment to doing something they enjoy. So for starters we would need to work on changing your self-talk by possibly re-framing that as, “I’m and up and coming Cat 5 racer.” Making sure you are referring to yourself in a positive, productive, and powerful manner. To get back to your initial question… no, sport psychology consultants work with people of all ages, levels, incomes, cultures, and physical abilities. I would like to work with the Special Olympic athletes in the future as well as for the U. S. Olympic Committee. These skills can be taught and successfully used by athletes and performers of all types such as dancers, musicians, and actors. It’s funny because most of the techniques we teach could probably do just about everyone in the world some good at enhancing their own performance personally and professionally.

LB: Through your program, you have already worked with some younger athletes. Is it easier to work with minds that are readily impressionable as opposed to the adult athlete who may already have a bevy of ingrained beliefs/notions?

K2: This is similar to what most coaches deal with; it’s easier to work with new athletes or cyclists who don’t already have a set pedal form or way they’re used to training. The same thing goes with the mental aspect as well. I’m not sure if I’d say it’s easier to work with younger athletes though because the approach would be different since each individual presents a wide spectrum of issues we might need to work on. Younger athletes might also have a more difficult time understanding the importance of their mental training and it might take more convincing than it would be a seasoned adult athlete. In some regards, it might be easier to work with adult athletes because they might have a better time with understanding how the mind and body are connected and would be able to retain the material in order to practice it on their own. The focus with younger athletes is to help them start to become more aware of the mental side and then how to use their mental tools in order to help their performance. No matter what, I look forward to working with both youth and adult athletes as I continue down the road to becoming a Sport Psychologist.

LB: As the newest contributor to the Triple Crankset, you will be dropping some of your newly found knowledge on our readers. What are your hopes and aspirations for the “Mind Meets Bike” section?

K2: My hopes and aspirations for life are big and it’s a wonderful opportunity for me to start working on one of my main goals of writing a sport psychology book focused on cycling so these articles will kind of be my rough drafts so to speak. I will be focusing on spreading the word and concrete information about sport psychology and how it really can help all athletes at any level reach their full potential. Most of my articles will focus on using sport psychology techniques and exercises that can be adapted towards cycling rather it be a one-day crit, stage race, or a weekend century ride. One of my old coaches for cycling gave me the book Thinking Body, Dancing Mind by Chungliang All Huang and Jerry Lynch and it’s the book that sparked my own passion for wanting to learn and someday teach the mental side to sport. Another wonderful book of reference is Flow for Sport by Susan Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; flow is a topic that I will probably touch on throughout my articles. I come from a diverse background of experience in many sports which I think helps me understand the various stages we all go through mentally and physically as athletes and these will be some of the topics I hope to address. Overall, I would like to help each reader understand the positive, productive, and powerful capabilities they have within their mind when they meet their own bike at each race. The best part of this project was trying to come up with a name… it was an email I got from you about liking my idea of Mind Meets Bikes and how it reminded you of the song Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie. This is actually one of my all time favorite songs and here are some lyrics I think are perfect for what I hope to contribute…

“Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here.”