Imagery: The Sales Pitch
Me using Imagery before a race in 1979; years before I even knew what Imagery was.
I can hear the eyes rolling when I talk about imagery. Much less so now than back in the mid 1980s when it was a foreign concept, but still; some people just don’t believe that it’s ‘real’ or that it works. I’m here to tell you it’s and it does.
I have been using imagery training (both static as described on this page, and dynamic as described on the Race Walking page) since 1978; before I even knew what it was called. It has had a profoundly positive impact on how quickly I learned to drive/race (see My Big Lessons), and ultimately on the performance level I achieved. Here are some examples:
Example: Learning a New Track and Getting up to Speed Quickly
I came back for a one-off formula ford race, at a track I’d never seen, after being on the sidelines for 11 years. However, during those 11 years I had been constantly training with Race Walking, so I believe that gave me a huge advantage. Even so, it was still a big ask to be a threat to win, which was the goal I’d set for myself.
I walked that track twice that weekend (Friday morning and evening) to figure out where I could improve my times. I drove a total of 103 laps that weekend, and did a lot of imagery training in between each session and during the evenings to adjust my line and find the speed I needed (I was five seconds off of competitive times after my first session). I ended up with finishes of 5th, 2nd, and 3rd for the three races, during the 2nd place run I was lapping at near-record times; outpacing a driver who later went on to win a major pro ‘feeder’ series championship.
Without both Race Walking and Imagery training, there is no way that I could have learned that quickly and performed at that level.
Example: Quickly Improving Performance Between Track Sessions
Here is a specific example of how I used static imagery to quickly make major improvements to my performance. And yes, I know what follows sounds dumb, but it works! I will always choose looking dumb to become fast over looking cool and staying slow; how about you?
I took my RX7 to a race at Thunderhill Raceway in CA, which was being run on the long track. I had never seen or driven the long track before. Actually I had only driven at Thunderhill once; several years earlier in a formula ford, with that race being run on the original ‘short’ course (the race mentioned above).
My first session on track was pathetic; I drove like crap, and ended up 5.6 seconds off the fastest time for my class. I was mad… so when I drove back to my paddock spot and cut the engine, I asked my friend (pit crew) to give me some time. I stayed in the car for 15-20 minutes “learning” the track. I stayed just like I had come in off the track: belted in, suit zipped, helmet on, gloves on; even the window net up.
I closed my eyes and drove the track, while physically turning the wheel, operating the pedals, and shifting; I even simulated the cornering forces and corrected where I knew the car would slide. During that imagery session I taught myself the new (to me) portions of the track (or more precisely, I listened to what my experience was trying to teach me). I also ‘fixed’ flaws in my performance for the rest of the track; making adjustments turn-by-turn until I was satisfied.
Was it hot as hell in the car? Yes!
Did our paddock neighbors think I was crazy? Probably.
Did it work? I went out in the next session and qualified 2nd, 0.5 seconds off pole.
Would you be willing to be uncomfortable and look dumb for 20 min to knock 5 seconds off of your lap times?
Example: Replaying Your Experience from Memory
Here is an example of using imagery to ‘replay’ an experience stored in your memory. Replaying your experiences has many different uses for improving your driving, which are documented in the What Are Some Uses for Imagery section below.
While writing this page, I remembered back to when my sister was also racing (early 1980s), and how we would compete with each other; taking turns timing ourselves driving imaginary laps to see who could get closest to their actual lap times, and who could be more consistent.
When you’re driving, the whole of that experience (images, feelings… all of your senses) is being recorded in your memory (see Memory for Racers). The memory of that experience is available for you to retrieve, in remarkable clarity, at any time. But, perhaps you wonder how much clarity, and for how long the memory is viable?
I’m writing this in July of 2016. I have not raced for 14 years; since 2002. In July of 2002 I set the qualifying record for spec formula fords during a regional race at Sears Point, with a time of:
1:45.2
I figured what the hell, let’s give it a try, so I grabbed a stopwatch, closed my eyes, mentally climbed into my Crossle 45 FF, and tried to imagine (replicate from memory) my qualifying lap. I did three ‘warm-up’ laps of Sears Point; I didn’t intend to do any warm-up laps, but I couldn’t get the damn stopwatch to work. So, I grabbed another stopwatch and then I did five timed laps (one after the other, but stopping between each to write down my time). Here are the results:
2:02
1:52
1:36
1:47
1:46
I have to admit I was amazed at the results; I would have been happy being within five seconds of my actual time, and even would have been OK being within 10 seconds. I think these results show both the breadth, depth, and longevity of memory, along with how effective imagery can be for accessing and replaying experiences from memory.
What is Imagery?
What exactly am I talking about when I say imagery? Well, actually it used to be called Visualization, and then for some reason it got rebranded as Imagery. I’ll use the term Imagery because that’s what most people are familiar with, but I don’t like either name for two reasons:
- Even though I have used visualization/imagery for almost 40 years, when I close my eyes, I am essentially blind… there is NO IMAGE at all… at least not as in ‘seeing’ a mental ‘picture’ that looks like a photograph or video. While I can’t ‘see’ anything, I can ‘feel’ or ‘sense’ the information that would make up the image. What the hell does that mean I here you asking.
Well, I can’t really describe it other than to say, if you asked me to describe Turn 2… at Ontario Motor Speedway, or the real Laguna Seca, or the neutered version of Laguna Seca, or Sears Point, or Thunderhill, or Brainerd International Raceway. I could give you a painfully detailed description of each turn, including elevation profile, camber, surface characteristics, line, rotation point, and so on. I might even be able to draw you a reasonable picture of the turn, but I cannot close my eyes and ‘see’ it.So, if you too cannot ‘see’ things when you close your eyes, don’t worry, ‘blind’ imagery has worked just fine for me.
. - I do not feel that the names Visualization or Imagery effectively describe the type of mental training that racers do because they have predominantly ‘visual’ connotations. However we don’t race in images; 2D or 3D. Driving is a holistic process that includes ALL (or at least most) of our senses; not just vision, so it’s more like a 4D movie; 3D images with integrated sensations… or a hologram if you will (see Memory for Racers for more on this).
So then, this would be my definition of Imagery for racers:
“Imagery is a holistic training method in which you use your imagination to optimize your information processing skills, discover the lessons in your experience, integrate your experience (memories) with your various types of knowledge, prepare to make changes to your driving, rehearse current and/or new techniques, all with the objective of enhancing and automating your driving/racing performance.”
It’s a long definition because imagery can be used in many ways; it’s a versatile and powerful tool. However, the most important word in that definition is IMAGINATION.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
— Albert Einstein
What Are Some Uses for Imagery?
A dedicated driver can use imagery to do many things that can improve their performance such as:
- Recall/replay your experience for any of the following reasons:
.- Improving your ‘feel,’ timing/rhythm, and consistency by running imaginary laps while timing yourself; if nothing else, it’s fun.
The reason I was able to get so close to my lap time (from 2002 as mentioned above) was because when I do imagery all senses work together just like the actual experience. I could hear the engine revving, I could hear the way my car’s aluminum side panels would resonate at low RPMs in the middle of the turn 11 hairpin. I could feel the car compress and drift as I went into the banking in turn 1 flat out. I could feel the car get light and feel/hear the wheel spin as I crested the hill at turn 2 and so on. Also, when I timed my laps I was sitting in a swivel chair and (as described in Race Walking) my upper body was acting as the front of my car, while my lower body was the rear; when I got sideways, my upper body would twist to correct for the slide. I pushed back against the seat back during acceleration and leaned forward during deceleration… proportional to the actual loads. Also, I was holding the stop watch, which became the steering wheel; I used it to steer my way around the track; including correcting for slides.
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When using imagery, making it feel REAL IN YOUR MIND AND BODY makes what you imagine REAL TO YOU!
.. - Building a stronger and more flexible model of the track in your memory through repetition by using cheap ‘track time’. How much do you spend for track time? Even if you’re racing on the cheap, you still probably spend $8 +/- per minute. I guarantee you that imagery laps (done properly) are nearly as, if not just as effective, and they are a hell of a lot less expensive.
. - Discovering the lessons hidden within your experience. In the ‘sales pitch’ section above, a good portion of the imagery I was doing was replaying what I had felt, and then comparing it to what I knew I should be feeling (based on my previous experience and theoretical knowledge of driving) to figure out the adjustments I needed to make to bring things back into harmony.
For example, If I’m having to add steering input mid-corner, that means I must have turned-in to early or quickly. Or if I’m feeling OK with my line, but by mid-corner I can feel I’m not using all of the available traction, that could be because I have not made an appropriate adjustment to my entry speed that takes into account the fact that the banking that comes in later in the turn will hold the car on the track. Anyway, you get the idea; peal the onion layer by layer… you may find an answer, or you may find a new question that you should be asking, or both… don’t stop until you get at least one of those. (For more about this, see Learning Strategies for Racers.)
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- Improving your ‘feel,’ timing/rhythm, and consistency by running imaginary laps while timing yourself; if nothing else, it’s fun.
- Training yourself to not overreact to (or even to completely ignore) certain sensory signals.
For example, in my second race ever, my car was very twitchy in Ontario’s high-speed esses. The car skittering about drew most of my attention and sapped the confidence I’d earned from a good showing the day before; I just couldn’t get myself to ‘hold the button down’, so I ended up with my worst finish of the year. During the month between race weekends, I used imagery every night; programming myself to ignore ‘small’ bits of oversteer/instability. I basically replayed driving through the high speed turns in the skittish car while telling myself, “I don’t want to know about ‘the noise’; unless the car is ‘x’ sideways, or it’s trending like it’s going to get ‘x’ sideways don’t bother me!” About half way through the month I changed things up and created/rehearsed a virtual-realization of driving through the turns flat out in the skittish car while ignoring the ‘noise’. At that next race, and from then on, a skittish car never bothered me, and I was easily able to do the high-speed esses flat out. Imagery allowed me to take a significant weakness and turn it into a major strength in a month, with zero track time. (for more about this, see Concentration for Racers.)
. - Getting maximum use of your various types of knowledge by:
.- Using theoretical knowledge to understand why an experience (empirical knowledge) played out the way it did allows you to create complete knowledge (a realization) about the situation. (See Types of Knowledge for more information.)
For example, there was a turn where my car got massive understeer every lap (that was my empirical knowledge of the turn). Through imagery, I combined that experience with my theoretical knowledge of driving and came to the realization that the nut behind the wheel was loose; I was rushing things, so I was not giving the car time to fully rotate into the turn before getting on the gas, which was causing the understeer.
. - Constructing a new imagined experience (virtual-realization) by combining other knowledge and experiences.
For example, learning a new track by combining visual information (from an in-car video or a game/simulator) with sensory information from your experiences in similar turns to create a complete ‘preliminary’ imagined experience for driving around the new track.
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- Using theoretical knowledge to understand why an experience (empirical knowledge) played out the way it did allows you to create complete knowledge (a realization) about the situation. (See Types of Knowledge for more information.)
- Defining and simulating changes to your current plan for getting around the track.
The change could be anything; from something simple, like remembering to check your gauges on each strait at a particular track, to trying to reduce your lap times by making a change to your driving technique.
For example, perhaps your car handles well everywhere else, but you’re getting a lot of understeer in one high speed turn. You could use your theoretical knowledge of driving to understand that, of the various options available, you think doing a slight pre-turn would help by giving a little more momentum to the car’s rotation into the turn. So, having come up with a plan, you would create a virtual-realization for the change by imagining driving the turn using the pre-turn. As with all imagery, extrapolate out how that change might influence how your car behaves during the entry, apex and exit phases of the turn. Then use your imagination to drive the turn using the new technique, FEELING how it’s going to be different than what you’re used to. Finally, make the change on the track (working up to it step-by-step if your feel you can’t make the change all at once).
. - Defining, programming, rehearsing, and selling a high-risk, but high-reward change in your driving
(like trying to go through a very daunting turn flat out for the first time).
This type of change requires a multi-step Imagery process:
.- Define the change you want to make – Use imagery to combine your previous experience in the turn (empirical knowledge) with your theoretical knowledge to determine if what you want to do is feasible. If so, continue …
. - Identify the possible results of the change you want to make (both the expected ones and as many unforeseen/undesirable ones as possible). If the reward is still worth the risk, then continue…
. - Use your imagination to run mental simulations for each possible ‘result’ that you identified in step 2 by combining your experience and theoretical knowledge into a virtual-realization. To be useful, your imagery simulations must be as accurate and feel as ‘real’ as possible, so when running the simulations, really experience the physical and emotional FEELING that each situation would produce.
For example, would the extra speed, and lower loads on the front tires caused by going flat out cause more understeer than usual? If so, how would that feel, how would that impact your ability to get the car turned in, and would you still be able to get the car down to the apex? Also, how would more understeer than you expected impact your mental state; would you remain calm? Would you start working Plan ‘B’ and bring Plan ‘C’ on deck, or would you get stressed out? Would your Sensation of Speed (SoS) elevate, and if so, would it go so far as to cause tunnel vision or target fixation? If, after simulating possible undesirable outcomes, making the change still seems feasible, and worth the risk, then continue…
. - Imagine/simulate how you’re going to get out of the situation, or at least minimize the consequences, if things go very wrong (you get an undesirable ‘result’ that is significantly worse than you anticipated). Where is the biggest danger in the corner; inside or outside, and does it change the further you get through the corner. That is, if you’re going to lose control at a particular point in the corner, where do you want to end up? Once you figure that out, then figure out what you would need to do (and when you would need to do it) to end up in the safest possible location. After you’ve done that, what you’ve created are your emergency plans. Finally, run simulations of your emergency plans enough that you feel you can do what’s needed under the pressure of an actual emergency.
. - Select some of the most likely ‘results’ that are not exactly emergencies, but are also not exactly what you want and simulate them until you’re prepared to handle those situations should they occur.
. - Select your optimum result ‘your plan’ for getting through the turn flat out and run that simulation until it’s second nature.
. - Your Intellect, working on behalf of your self-preservation system will NOT let you do things that it thinks will put you in serious danger, so use imagery to ‘talk’ to yourself and sell the idea/plan. I know this sounds silly, but that’s just the way it works; you must get buy-in ahead of time or your foot is not going to stay on the floor. You need to have a conversation something like:
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“Look, I know this seems risky, but I’ve mitigated much of the risk by verifying the empirical and theoretical feasibility, creating contingency plans, developed plans for eliminating or minimizing the consequences if things go seriously wrong, and I have simulated and rehearsed all of these so we are prepared and trained to do this.”
. - Go out in your next session and make it happen.
- Define the change you want to make – Use imagery to combine your previous experience in the turn (empirical knowledge) with your theoretical knowledge to determine if what you want to do is feasible. If so, continue …
How Does One Actually Use Imagery?
Using imagery is NOT rocket science; you just close your eyes and use your experience, knowledge, and most importantly, imagination to do (imagine/experience) whatever you’re working on; whatever needs doing.
Also, I don’t do any special relaxation exercises or incense burning or anything like that. I just get comfortable, close my eyes and take a few deep, slow breaths.
However, If you want to you can find plenty of information on the web about progressive relaxation techniques. I’ve tried progressive relaxation, and a few other methods, but, while it felt good to relax, I didn’t see a benefit to my imagery training, so I just use the time I would have spent ‘relaxing’ to get in a few more training repetitions.
I usually do imagery training:
- When I go to bed; as you fall to sleep is prime time for imagery. Don’t worry if you fall asleep before you ‘finish’, just pick it up the next night.
. - When I wake up; instead of snoozing, I get in a few minutes of training.
. - In the shower… don’t know why, but it’s another prime imagery time for me.
. - Immediately after I come in after a bad session.
. - After walking or thinking about the track to figure out where I can find the time I need to become competitive. Once I identify what I want to change, then I make the changes with imagery; typically I do this between driving sessions and/or on Friday or Saturday when I’m at a race.
. - On pre-grid; I like to get strapped in early, relax, and use imagery to reinforce changes I’m planning to make, or test run strategies for the start, or whatever.
A few notes about imagery
Here are a few final notes about using Imagery:
- Use as many senses as possible when imagining whatever you’re working on, but how it will FEEL is the most important thing.
. - I call it ‘static imagery’ but that’s only in comparison to Race Walking; don’t feel you must stay still; in fact, move… let your body express what you’re experiencing in your imagination (g-loads, slides, bumps, etc.). Also, if you’re doing imagery in your car (like before or after a track session), go through the motions of driving your car; steer, shift, brake, etc.
. - Try viewing whatever you’re working on from different angles: in the car, as a corner worker, from above, as the following driver… it’s your imagination; you can move your viewing perspective anywhere you want.
. - Change the speed of your imagery. If your are working on reducing your Sensation of Speed, imagine driving how it feels to you now, and then imagine the car moving the same pace around the track, but everything feeling slower to you.
. - Unless you’re specifically training for the whole lap, just work on what needs work. If you’re programming a change to one corner, just keep simulating that corner over-and-over; then, once you get it down, do a few laps to integrate the change into the whole lap.
. - Be realistic; when imagining changes/improvements to your driving. You’re not going to go from 10 seconds off the pace to setting the lap record, so trying to imagine that will set off your brain’s BS alarm. Shoot for a 5-10% improvement.
The last thing I’m going to say on the subject is that I view Imagery as a tool that is geared to reaching specific training objectives. But I view Race Walking as a form of continuous training. If you have not read Race Walking, you should, and then you should always, Always, ALWAYS race walk! I have no doubt that a huge part of the credit for what I’ve been able to do behind the wheel is because of Race Walking.