Think about this....

I've started training on bicycle, today being my first outing and I noticed something that is made up from 3 or 4 parts, as follows.

Whilst cycling this morning I noticed how easy it was for me to notice my thoughts and that I would occasionally check on my technique, heart rate, posture and cadence. I consciously checked in on my unconscious mind to check that everything was going okay. I was giving no thought to riding only what was going on around me.

I then thought to myself 'how is this different to my swimming?'
I started swimming only being able to think about getting from one end of the pool to the other and over time I started using a technique that I thought was ok. I was able to think about other things whilst swimming. Mainly, who am I catching and how long can I keep ahead of the other guys who are a lot faster than me. (I may have stopped racing at the moment, however, it doesn't mean I have stopped being a racer!)

On one of my coaching days, the father of the rider told me that he is a swimming instructor and as we talked, he gave some advice on how to improve my technique.
Back in the pool and I am using all concentration on technique and have very little thought to what else is going on around me in the pool and my speed has improved greatly.

This is what I enjoy about coaching.....being able to get riders to use new techniques, at an unconscious level, so that they can concentrate on racing and watching the track rather than fighting the bike and doing their best to stay in control!