[bevan dewar]

Hi all.
I started on a a fairly intensive program of daily apnea walks in the leadup to the competition in Cyprus. This was meant to be CW training(I was planning on boycotting the static part of the competition). Prior to this a had a pb of 6:30. I was quite surprised then when my next static attemp(after a month or two of hypercapnia) managed 7:40 or there abouts, and all subsequent attemps between 7:30 and 8:00.
The only other change was that I started packing for these attempts. I've since been curious whether the improvement was more a training response to the hypercapnia tolerence training or from including packing into my routine. I had a plan to graph my detraining after Cyprus to answer this question for myself, but havent been able to bring myself to do a static since then.
Dont know if thats adds any wisdom to this thread or just raises more questions?
What I find more interesting is the psychological battles involved in static. Not the response to physical discomfort but the response to pressure/nerves that DSV mentions (and that anyone who has competed has experienced to some degree). It seems to me like a cruel catch 22 situation where the more you care about how you do, the more important is the competition is to you,the worse you fare. I find what works for me is to spend time beforehand in the company of something that puts the whole spectacle of competition in perspective. 20 minutes with J. Krishnamurti and all competitive urge is drained from me, along with any performance anxiety I might have had. Someone else I know likes to practice half an hour of Metta, a Budhist loving-kindness meditation. He says that it takes his thoughs off himself, and turns everyone else from competitors into good friends, thereby also taking away nerves. Though if you dont find competition to be any anyway morrally questionable my method might not work for you. Nevertheless, I dont think you can approach the event of a competition static head-on,like you could an upcomming rugby match. cheers
Bevan