I’ve had several athletes write me about holiday obligations etc., and wanting to know if this will affect their training. The bottom line is that it takes 10 days to begin to lose your current level of fitness. In fact, the body makes physiological gains during periods of rest so rest is good. At this time of year “DO THE RIGHT THING” what ever that means. I like to refer to these decisions as making emotional deposits in the bank for later in the year when you are always making withdrawals.

I’ve spent the last few days cleaning up my office. I found several folders in which I had placed miscellaneous articles with an assortment of triathlon related topics. I’m not sure of the authors of a few of these so I’m combining them and I apologize to the author for not giving proper credit. I’ve added some sidebar comments.

Champion Athletes…

1. set specific daily goals (your workouts are provided to you by your coach, but the attitude and effort you bring day in and day out is up to you)
2. make a 100% commitment to excellence in their goal event (let your goal drive your effort. How bad do you want to reach your goal? When things get tough, and they will, how will you react) plan and complete quality daily practice sessions
3. have an accurate self-perception of their performance and abilities. (If you’ve never broken 13 hours at an Ironman and the qualifying standard is around 9:30 don’t tell everyone your goal is to go to Kona)
4. use daily imagery practice (see yourself swim long and smooth, pedaling like Lance in a TT or running like a world class runner)
5. follow specific plans for competition and practice (warm up and cool downs in practice should be similar to what you do in a race.
6. focus 100% on the present moment during training and racing (when you are at work think about work, when you are with your significant other think about your significant other, when you are training think about training!)
7. prepare for their race with simulation training (to me this means both physically and mentally)
8. use mental preparation for race day stress management. (Don’t just show up to a race and expect to be mentally focused. Imagine yourself showing up for the race, what will you do first, what will be your routine? How will you handle friends wanting to chat or take you away from your regiment? What will you do if you get a flat or if the race starts early/late?
9. practice distraction control strategies in training. (during workouts run different scenarios through your head and work through them. Or if you get tired in training simulate what you will do during a race. You will get tired during races, there are dark moments in most races and the athletes who can use distraction control techniques will prevail)

• Learn to be calm under pressure
• Take the time to improve your overall body strength, especially your core
• Motivation is a key driver of success
• Ask yourself, what is it about me that is holding me back from achieving my desired goals?
• Don’t focus on things you have no control over.

Have a great holiday season, allow yourself time to relax and enjoy family, friends and the holidays. Mentally begin to think about how you will achieve your goals and what you will bring personally to training and racing. Your coach will build you a plan which maximizes your potential, but ultimately you will have to execute the plan.

Peace!!

Back to Articles