I don't think I'm aware of any sports that have as big a mental aspect as triathlon. I've heard golf is mental, but with apologies to all the golfers, I don't consider that a sport. And I suppose baseball must have a big mental aspect, otherwise how do all those fat guys stay focused and not fall asleep out there (with no apologies to baseball players).
Having played soccer and basketball for a lot of my life, I understand that all sports have a mental component that is often as important as skill or fitness. But triathlon requires regular mind games, especially (in my experience) when you get passed the adrenaline-fueled sprint distances and work your way through the Olympics and Halves up to the full "Iron Distance". Since I do the half distance most often, I'll use that as an example. Not being a strong swimmer, the mind games start while standing on the shore (or treading water) in my wetsuit waiting for the start gun. Half way through the swim my mind usually starts to drift, which is when I find my stroke reverts to 2007ish before pulling it back to the present form. Stay focused David! I always get out the water with a smile on my face knowing the biggest challenge of the day is over. Now it's time for fun on the bike. And that usually lasts for the first 40km (maybe 30km if it's a strong headwind...or 5km if I flat crossing the overpass at MacLeod Trail!), at which point I think if only I'd been doing an Olympic I'd be done. It's usally at this point I bear down and push a bit harder to hit the magic 45km mark. I'm now as close to the finish as I am to the start of the bike. Although cognizant that I will have to save some legs for the run, I manage to negative split largely by focusing on a rounded pedal stroke and staying settled in to my race. Inevitably as I reach the last 10km my adrenaline is anxious go full out and hit the run. But again, I step in and tell myself to finish strong without zapping my energy before I even hit the run. Now jumping off a bike and having been active for the last 3.5 hours, the last thing I want to do is start a half marathon. But the run is the most mental part of the day for me. After telling my legs to get going, I set myself small goals. I always check my pace after the first 1km and make sure I settle in after that to my goal pace. At 7km I tell myself I'm 1/3 of the way there. Then it's a short 3.5km to the halfway mark. And like the bike leg, I tell myself I'm as close to being finished as I am to the start. Some days are harder than others and you end up setting up yourself to reach the next kilometer marker, the next aid station, or maybe where you know you're fans will be cheering for you. Regardless of how bad I feel some days, I've been fortunate to never have a DNF which I attribute to mental toughness over any type of fitness.
So after last weekend's rather disappointing race, a few doubts about my IMC readiness started to creep in. The best cure for those thoughts? A great training week. A tough workout on Monday night while battling a cold resulted in lower numbers than usual, but I managed to get through the 2 hour session with Grant and felt pretty good afterwards. My legs responded great at Philip's cardio class on Tuesday. And then Wednesday night came a fairly laid back ride...until we hit the 7 or 8 hills that we treated as King of the Mountain stages. Nothing like a little testosterone to get you back on your game. (Wednesday night my friend also sent me an inspirational email which really got me back to a good state of mind). Thursday I was back in the pool - the stroke still wasn't feeling great but the form is coming back (uh, mental note - one swim a week won't cut it!). Friday we headed to Edmonton and I got in some quality family time; run with the sister-in-law on Saturday and a 60km ride with my pops on Sunday. I'm back to being excited about the next 62 days!
Having played soccer and basketball for a lot of my life, I understand that all sports have a mental component that is often as important as skill or fitness. But triathlon requires regular mind games, especially (in my experience) when you get passed the adrenaline-fueled sprint distances and work your way through the Olympics and Halves up to the full "Iron Distance". Since I do the half distance most often, I'll use that as an example. Not being a strong swimmer, the mind games start while standing on the shore (or treading water) in my wetsuit waiting for the start gun. Half way through the swim my mind usually starts to drift, which is when I find my stroke reverts to 2007ish before pulling it back to the present form. Stay focused David! I always get out the water with a smile on my face knowing the biggest challenge of the day is over. Now it's time for fun on the bike. And that usually lasts for the first 40km (maybe 30km if it's a strong headwind...or 5km if I flat crossing the overpass at MacLeod Trail!), at which point I think if only I'd been doing an Olympic I'd be done. It's usally at this point I bear down and push a bit harder to hit the magic 45km mark. I'm now as close to the finish as I am to the start of the bike. Although cognizant that I will have to save some legs for the run, I manage to negative split largely by focusing on a rounded pedal stroke and staying settled in to my race. Inevitably as I reach the last 10km my adrenaline is anxious go full out and hit the run. But again, I step in and tell myself to finish strong without zapping my energy before I even hit the run. Now jumping off a bike and having been active for the last 3.5 hours, the last thing I want to do is start a half marathon. But the run is the most mental part of the day for me. After telling my legs to get going, I set myself small goals. I always check my pace after the first 1km and make sure I settle in after that to my goal pace. At 7km I tell myself I'm 1/3 of the way there. Then it's a short 3.5km to the halfway mark. And like the bike leg, I tell myself I'm as close to being finished as I am to the start. Some days are harder than others and you end up setting up yourself to reach the next kilometer marker, the next aid station, or maybe where you know you're fans will be cheering for you. Regardless of how bad I feel some days, I've been fortunate to never have a DNF which I attribute to mental toughness over any type of fitness.
So after last weekend's rather disappointing race, a few doubts about my IMC readiness started to creep in. The best cure for those thoughts? A great training week. A tough workout on Monday night while battling a cold resulted in lower numbers than usual, but I managed to get through the 2 hour session with Grant and felt pretty good afterwards. My legs responded great at Philip's cardio class on Tuesday. And then Wednesday night came a fairly laid back ride...until we hit the 7 or 8 hills that we treated as King of the Mountain stages. Nothing like a little testosterone to get you back on your game. (Wednesday night my friend also sent me an inspirational email which really got me back to a good state of mind). Thursday I was back in the pool - the stroke still wasn't feeling great but the form is coming back (uh, mental note - one swim a week won't cut it!). Friday we headed to Edmonton and I got in some quality family time; run with the sister-in-law on Saturday and a 60km ride with my pops on Sunday. I'm back to being excited about the next 62 days!
Yes! IT'S ON!!!
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