Remembering to race
In this article, Coach Alan writes about how to squeeze a little bit more from your racing in 2023.
Last year I concluded that I wanted to ask athletes before a race, ‘How would they like to experience an event?’
I do this because I believe it helps athletes focus and deeply think about their race, as their experience, and their experience alone. It triggers a thinking pattern that is personally meaningful and helps foster ownership in the process to enable this experience without the interference of what others may be doing in a race or even what those not even racing may be thinking or doing.
During an event, how many times have you said to yourself;
Should I keep pace with that athlete
Should I go with this group
I don’t want to be beaten by that person
I’m not sure I can hold this effort
What if I don’t hold this effort
What will my significant others think of me…
What will my friends think of…
What does this mean about me
‘They’ won’t think this is very good
All of these questions are huge distractions and significant pieces of potentially undermining negative feedback. It is critical to race success in terms of the experience that they are swotted away pronto so you can get back on with the job and enjoy the experience!
Having a plan for your experience and your process is the swotting instrument redirecting your attention to these cues is vital to staying on task. To help with the writing of this blog and help the athletes I work with open their minds to their experiences, I asked the following question;
“How do you want to experience your chosen target race this year?”
These are the answers I received;
“To come out feeling on top of it throughout.”
“Get to it feeling healthy. Get round it. Finish it feeling better about it than when I start it.”
“Confident I am ready to enjoy a race again - not just physically after ‘injury’ but also with a new mindset/set of expectations of myself.”
“What makes an enjoyable experience is to feel physically able to take on the challenge because of all the hard work you’ve put in and to be able to take those you love and share what you are passionate about them.”
“For me, it’s the struggle that makes it enjoyable. It could be the struggle of a hard-as-nails course or stiff competition along the way. It’s the feeling that you’ve accomplished something not everyone can do. I guess no matter what the circumstances, I always like to come away thinking I achieved something that took persistence and balls.”
“For me, I want to feel that I have achieved something which I've had to graft for and done something the general public wouldn't put themselves through or probably understand. The reward is then turning up at the race in the knowledge I've put myself in a great position which is a must, I can't do it half-hearted; I need to feel I've earned it. Then the race, I, unfortunately, judge with respect to others rather than times etc. I want to perform as best I can, and I love to be in the mix with others I see as fit where I stand next to them, and I'm scared about how fit they look and feel I'm not worthy, then mix it up with them. Wish I was happy with times but love the competition.”
“I would like to feel prepared, as Athlete X says, put myself in a position to do well. I then want to put myself in a position to compete in the latter stages of the race at a minimum. (If, by coincidence, I find myself around others with similar pacing for longer during the race, then all the better, but that's not within my control.) I want to make good decisions throughout the race and execute what I have practised well to put myself in a good position later in the race...I don’t need to feel like I’m working hard until it really starts to show up at around 30k in the marathon; at that point, I want to see my preparation shine, and I want to keep on moving well through to the 40k mark. If this all goes down, I intend to lap up the crowd and laugh my way down the last 2.2k. Ironman, specifically for me, is about trying to conquer the distance at a speed I feel I have the potential to sustain. I want to explore that potential, I want to use the strength I have gathered from going ‘longer’ than 10 hours or so in some things I have done in the last few years. I want to experience a degree of control and empowerment by setting myself a challenging plan and going out and executing it. If I do it well enough, I may even exceed expectations if I can use the crowd and atmosphere and opponents at the right time to be useful to me. Ultimately I’d like to enjoy going fast, experiencing something new and something that I wasn’t sure I could do.”
The quotes above led to a really interesting conversation with the athletes I work with. At first, the answers were simple and perhaps based upon what the athletes felt the coach would think was the ‘correct’ answer. The truth is there isn’t a correct answer; however, there may be a few sub-categories into which authentic answers can fall. Those who like to thrash themselves and work hard, those who like competition and going toe to toe with others and also those who want to master a challenge.
How you want to experience an event or race can help you focus on yourself, having the best time, the best fun and doing exactly what it says and helping you have the best experience possible. Isn’t this what we all want?
As a side bonus, it can also help you answer all those tricky negative questions above and stay on task, make better decisions now and potentially exceed your expectations in other respects. Being ‘serious and performance focussed’ can often lead to a mistaken focus on the outcome that encourages a pass/fail approach that makes for an experience that is not enjoyable.
Before your next event, ask yourself, “What do I want to experience?” Answer it once and ask yourself, is that an experience? Look a little deeper for your why and take it forward. It will change over time and from event to event. Some events are fun, some events are scary, some are for a good social occasion, and some are for trying to see what you are capable of.
From start to finish, my ‘best’ experience would be…
Asking this question should hopefully lead to personally considered authentic aspirations that are more meaningful and lead to greater satisfaction and contentment in your sporting life. The sunshine is back out, and it's time for racing let’s go smash 2023 in our individual styles.
Alan has worked with Tri Training Harder since 2014. During this time working with a wide spectrum of athletes from beginner, to youth and junior elite athletes through to 70.3 and Ironman AG winners and Ironman Kona Qualifiers.
An active Triathlon coach since 2007 Alan has been fortunate enough to work with athletes, peers and support staff who have continutally challenged him to evolve and develop. Building on a solid foundation in swimming teaching, Alan has specifically developed swimming coaching experience having worked in High Performance Swimming environments. Alan's other passion is all things fast on a bicycle!
Since 2015 Alan has worked in conjunction with the other Tri Training Harder Coaches to significantly develop collective coaching practice both on camp and online.
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