At 09:52 AM 6/10/99 -0400, mitchell wrote:
>Thanks for the posts and discussions re: Mari's question.
>
>As a returning/newbie autox-er it might help me to hear:
>
>"What do you *think* about when on course?"
>
>Do you focus on:
>
>(a) the course: anticipating upcoming sections, evaluating options, any
>surprises
Still being pretty green myself, I find that my first run is sometimes
surprising because things aren't always happening according to the way I
thought on my walkthrough. Getting lost hasn't been an issue, but
sometimes what I thought would be the line when I walked, isn't the line I
end up driving. A lot of times, I don't exit a turn where I think I'm
going to---entries are easier to predict. All in all, I'm at least driving
the courses faster than I walk them ;-)
>
>(b) the car: how it's handling, shifting, tire/engine/brake performance
>
Most of my mental energy goes here---FEELING the car. My butt tells me if
I can go faster, turn in tighter, apply power earlier, brake later....or NOT!
>(c) the driver: skill/technique, concentration, following a line,
>correcting mistakes
>
Don't spend any time with these. Practice your techniques to the point
where they become natural and require no thought. By the time you realize
you made a mistake, it's too late to fix it--save it for post-run
analysis--move ahead, look ahead.
>(d) all of the above
>
>(e) none of the above...a more intuitive approach
See (b)
>
>(f) how cool/fast your car must look :}
>
>(g) how it feels to be beating *(fill in the blank)* today ;~)
>
F & G can be distracting, so I try to push those thoughts away---clear my
mind, feel the car. Besides, you can see how cool you look in photos or video.
At this point, I'm still not beating the people I WANT to beat, so thinking
about it only gets me worked up and clouds A & B.
>(h) Other?
There's nothing else in my world during a run.
Eric, taking a holistic approach to autocross.
Eric Moon
'92 Miata SOLO II CSP
e-mail: info@scca-susq.com
home: (717) 221-8828
mobile: (717) 329-7074
Appalachian Sports Car Club www.scca-susq.com
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