The Mental Game of Triathlon

Last weekend, I competed in the USA Triathlon Long Course National Championships. The long course distance is synonymous with 70.3 or a “Half Ironman” and consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile (half marathon) run. If you’ve raced a couple of olympic distance races and are ready for the next big step, the 70.3 distance is the way to go! However when it comes to training, it doesn’t only involve the need for some longer workouts to train your endurance, it also will require you to be a bit mentally stronger than you could get away with on the shorter distance courses. In this blog post I will outline some of the things you need to try to do during training and leading up to a race in order to be as mentally ready as you are physically ready. You could be in the best shape of your life but if something goes wrong or one of the legs of the race doesn’t go as expected, you’ll need some mental toughness in order to push through. This is not only true for 70.3 but for all distances so whether you’re aiming for a 70.3 AG podium or trying to complete your first sprint, your mind needs to be as ready as your legs.

Commit and Set a Goal

One of the toughest parts of triathlon is continuing to train consistently and adequately for a race. Not only does it take a toll on your body but it can also be tough to push yourself to even start. Some days you just want to take a nap or you would rather just sit and watch tv than hop in the pool or lace up your shoes. One way to help push you is to sign up for your race and know your goals. Signing up for a race puts you on a bit of a deadline and will make you want to continue to train. Whether your goal is to finish or to win, you’re more likely to push yourself to get up and work out when you know you have a race on the horizon that you’ve already paid for.

However, sometimes life catches up to you and you need to take a break for a bit to catch up on work or study for an exam. Dial back the volume or take a couple rest days but don’t let this derailment effect the rest of buildup. Once you have time again make sure to get back to working out to avoid losing that work that you put in earlier in the season.

Don't Quit Those Hard Workouts

There are many benefits to a hard workout. Not only will you build strength and/or endurance but it’s also something you can think back on when you’re in the pain cave during a race. Pushing through a hard workout can help you mentally in many ways. It can be considered practice for the big event, if you can’t persevere during a tough interval set, how are you going to fair when you get to the big race? The other thing that hard workouts can do is provide you something to look back on during the race. When you find yourself doubting your ability to finish, just think back on some of the other hard days that you endured to get to the start line, those hard workouts and remembering how you crushed them or just survived them can help propel you to the finish line.

Be Ready for the Race

Getting ready for the race involves two things, having your mind ready for the different legs and transitions of a race, and being ready for the other things that pop up throughout the race. Going from swimming to biking and from biking to running doesn’t just require a transition. It also requires you to be ready for how each sport is very different. For example going from swimming to biking you are completely changing what engine you’re using, you go from a mainly upper-body drive to a lower-body drive. It can be easy for someone to just start hammering on the bike because your legs are fresh and haven’t had to do much thus far, but you need to remember to pace yourself not only to be able to finish the bike leg, but also the run leg afterwards that, unlike swimming, requires most of the same muscles that you’re beating up on the bike. The switch from bike to run is also tough for some athletes, after spinning your legs at ~85-100 rotations per minute your legs are used to moving fast, and many athletes take the run out super fast only to pay for it after the first mile marker. I saw this at nationals as one of my age group competitors flew by me in transition headed towards run out, only to be walking at the first mile marker and eventually dropped out less than halfway through the run. If you’re not careful you can really put yourself in a bad place that even some of the most mentally tough athletes wouldn’t be able to pull themselves out of.

Another thing to be ready for is when something goes wrong. It’s not a matter of if something will go wrong during a race, it’s a question of what will go wrong and am I prepared to handle it. After over 15 triathlons in the last 2 years I can’t recall a single race that went off without a hitch, in fact most races aren’t limited to just one either, and you need to be prepared for whatever can be thrown at you. From small issues like a strong wind you didn’t expect or not being able to wear your wetsuit during the swim, to bigger issues like a flat tire on the bike, a broken shoelace, losing your water bottle or having your goggles kicked off at the start, you need to prepare yourself to be ready for these issues. Know how to change a flat, bring multiple bottles and learn how to work hard while rationing your water, buy shoes with a one piece upper that could still function without laces, wear an extra pair of goggles around your neck just in case or wear your cap over your goggles. Be prepared for whatever a race will throw at you because problems will happen. And when things do, don’t panic or get angry, think about the things you can control! Don’t let them derail the race you’ve worked so hard for.

Do Post Race Analysis

After every race, usually later that night, I will try to write up a race report analyzing my whole race experience. From what I ate and how I slept the night before, to how the swim, bike and run felt, I will go through every aspect and write it down on paper for future notice. It not only allows you to think through the whole event and reflect on it, but it will also come in handy when you inevitably hit that registration button again, and you need to remember what you did well and what you did badly for this race. I have reports from my best races and my worst races and they offer me a bit of a roadmap to make each race experience as good as possible. You start to learn what works well and what doesn’t and you need to make sure you can help yourself as much as possible.

Lastly, Don't Be and Idiot

What I’m trying to do with all of these tips is help you to be prepared for the race, but what I’m not trying to do is encourage you to make a dumb decision. If you’ve signed up for a race and have done a lot of training but along the way fell ill, got an injury, or just got bogged down by your other responsibilities (you know, the life OUTSIDE of triathlon), don’t still try to do a race that you can’t complete. You don’t want to hurt yourself racing, whether it’s too much volume and you end up injuring yourself in the process or you have a race that is so brutal that it makes you want to quit the sport and never race again. Some races will serve as mental strengthening too, my recent race in Miami was mentally the toughest thing I’ve ever had to endure, and I came very close to quitting multiple times. Being mentally ready for this race was as important as being physically ready for it, and now as I look towards what new steps and bounds I want to make in 2018, I think back about what I was able to do in Miami and what I’m ready to take on for 2018.

For more information about my Miami race or my other races, check out my personal blog.