It’s happening right before your eyes, and you can’t stop it. There’s a panic episode on the swim, you regroup and make it to shore. When you hit T1 you press the start/stop button instead of the lap button on your Garmin. You get out on the bike and everything on wheels is passing you. You are already dreading the run. Time to hit the mental restart button.
Whether you are a runner, triathlete or cyclist, mid-trainwreck is not the time to come up with sound race day mental strategies. You have to develop and practice them during your training. There are a lot of techniques you can use and some will fit you better than others. Let’s take a look some so you can add them to your race day toolkit.
Make Some Mantras
Mantras are a great go-to mental cue to keep you focused. I personally to have mantras for every segment of a race. On the swim I tell myself “swimming is winning.” As I hit T1 I say “hand on bike fair fight.” Out on the bike it’s “spin fast so you don’t go slow.” At T2, “rack it, grab it and go.” During the run I repeat “hot pavement” to remind me to keep a fast run cadence and not overstride.
For more race day mental tactics, I polled a few of my endurance sports friends to get their input on how they stay focused and mentally strong during races.
“I tell myself to be patient,” said Ironman Triathlete, Roger Godsey. “Another mantra I have is if you don’t pace, yourself you’re going to wreck yourself. I know folks that hum in the water, recite the alphabet or count to 100 for stroke timing.”
“Focused, fearless, believe, is one of my favorites,” said Kona Ironman Finisher, Nicole Ramsbey. “I write them in sharpie on the inside of my arm/wrist so when I’m aero or running I can just repeat these things when stuff gets tough.”
Divide the Race into Segments
Thinking about the entire distance of a race or race segment can be daunting. It’s better to swim stroke by stroke and buoy by buoy. Ride one hill, straightaway or curve at a time. Run stride by stride, one mile or power pole at a time. In other words break the race into doable pieces.
“On the bike, I try to ride like it’s just a long ride like I’ve done a 1,000 times,” Godsey said. “I try not to get caught up in the excitement, just ride my ride. On the run during full distance, the aid stations are 1 mile apart. So I run aid station to aid station, or 26 x 1 mile repeats.”
Ramsbey, also likes to use the divide and conquer strategy on race day.
“I have an alarm on my bike for every 5 miles to beep, it helps remind me to nutrition but I’ve also found myself saying just make it to next beep,” she said. “Aid station to aid station for the run, I never tell myself I have a marathon or half marathon my goal is always the same.”
Focus on Mechanics
Another race day tactic is to break down your technique in each discipline. It keeps you focused and gives your mind something to do instead of freaking out.
“I have to focus on mechanics,” said Derek Tingle, 2017 XTERRA Southeast Regional points champion. “It keeps me grounded. On the swim I just focus on different aspects of my stroke. I’ll do several strokes focusing on entry, then catch, then pull then recovery, etc. Same with bike, I focus on even pedal strokes, breathing, then on the run its landing, push off, relaxed shoulders, etc. It helps me stay grounded.”
Visualize!
Many runners and triathletes use visualization to prepare for races. This is one of those preparation techniques that I keep meaning to try but haven’t. There seem to be two major methods: visualizing a perfect race and visualizing potential problems and working through how you plan to deal with them.
“I’m a huge fan of visualization the night before,” said Nicole Ramsbey, Kona Ironman Finisher. “I take the last 30-45 minutes or so before I get to sleep and visualize the swim. So if I imagine being dunked the first course of action is, what’s the best way to respond to that happening. Same thing on the bike if my mind wanders to the bad stuff like a flat, I think through how smoothly and quickly I can change it.
“If I know the course I think of the rough spots and the best way to respond to negative thoughts and stuff,” she continued. “So when race day comes, I’ve thought through things and even if my mind wandered to the bad things I walked through how to address them. The goal is to get to visualizing your race going perfectly, but minds can go to bad things, and I think you can still use that to your advantage.”
Laugh!
Don’t be afraid to use your sense of humor. It’s a powerful tool. My friend, Triathlete, Brian Williams, brings his surreal and comical outlook to races and finds it helpful. And I admit that I’ve found laughing at myself or my plight on hilly or rainy courses beneficial.
“Practice your telekinesis in the days leading up to the race,” Williams said. “You’ll find that moving your legs with your brain much more effective than normal running all willy nilly.”
“Do not push away any potentially valid psychotic impulses of paranoid self preservation that may arise before or during the race. ‘This race is going to kill me.’ to ‘These racers are going to kill me.’ is less of a logical leap than you might imagine.”
Final Thoughts
There are many little ways to stay grounded and upbeat during a race. At any point in a race if I need a lift I hum the theme from the A-Team under my breath. After all I am Team Al. Lately I’ve tried to notice the other racers more. It gets me out of my own head, and they’re a pretty inspiring bunch. Also the fact that I’m out there with them is pretty self validating for a back of the pack triathlete like me. The most important thing to remember is that you need to practice these strategies/tactics during your training and in your B and C races. That way when your A race rolls around stuff gets all too real you have both the confidence and the tools to stay on track or get back on track.
The final word goes to Ramsbey. “Last but not least, smile! It takes less muscles to smile. We are out there to have fun, right?” she said.