Dear Athletes,
Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the requirements and approach to racing. We looked at physiological testing and how your results require a training program designed specifically for your development as an athlete. We then spent time looking at each discipline – the swim, bike, run and transitions – and how athletes with different areas of strength and weaknesses can approach a race and use the areas of a course to their advantage.
This week I would like to pull all this together to look at what is required when we race triathlon. Should you seek to have ‘fun’ while racing – or is this impossible? Are we better off learning the 'art of suffering' and managing our expectations so our minds are set to what actually happens when we line up for races?...
Triathlon is largely seen as an endurance sport. Over the last 25 years we have seen World Triathlon racing move to tighter racing circuits over multiple loops. The Triathlon relay and shorter race distances are now required, so the ‘endurance’ label of triathlon is becoming increasingly questionable. This year the ‘supersprint’ format will debut on the circuit, which will add more to the demand on athletes to develop speed in all areas of triathlon.
As a developing athlete, does this change your training approach? No it shouldn’t. As a developing athlete your training focus should be on skill, technique and speed – not endurance. BUT this doesn’t mean you will immediately be able to mix it with the top, well established athletes. Here’s why, and what you should do about managing your expectations when winning becomes increasingly difficult.
As previously discussed in earlier emails, younger athletes moving from junior through to U23 then elite open level racing move from initially an age controlled group of competitors in junior races, to a wider group of age categorised athletes in U23 to finally the elite open group category of athletes racing. While there are chronological, development and racing age differences in the junior and U23 category of racing once the move has been made to elite racing, the difference in racing experience, physical maturity, racing age, chronological age, and development age can be at its extremes - younger athletes are now racing the best in the world. Therefore, as a young developing athlete entering the elite category, the expectation to win and even place a top 10 is an extremely difficult task. It is a common mistake of successful junior and U23 athletes to maintain the same level of expectation in their debut year of elite open racing. While an athlete may come from a winning mindset in the U23 category, this expectation needs to be managed. Often not enough consideration is given to their lack of physical maturity (speed, power and endurance), race experience and mental resilience, and the general week-to-week grind of the racing circuit demands of travel, training, performance, and recovery to repeat this again next race.
How do you manage expectations?
Be Patient
It is important to remember when developing a discipline and skill, the improvements will show in training first and may not initially show in races. Racing is generally the last place an athlete will show an improvement, but when they do, they have usually stepped up to another level, so their entire performances in training and racing are at a higher level. It can be likened to raising the floor and the ceiling together.
Be Confident in your ability
Everyone suffers from pre-race nerves. It is important to be nervous, because it means you care about the result. If it didn’t matter, and wasn’t difficult no one would care and being the best in the world wouldn’t be so highly sought after and race to achieve. What is important in your pre-race nerves is what exactly you are nervous about. Your focus should be on what you can do, not what you can’t. Focus on an incremental improvement in yourself as an athlete. Avoid uncontrolled thoughts like ‘I hope I don’t mess this up’. This type of thought is really a negatively resting mindset, and very disruptive to any race, because it is a double negative – both ‘don’t’ and ‘mess up’ are not positive outcomes. Younger athletes should be seeking small goals like a fast reaction time on the start, fast first 200m in the swim, breathing patterns should be planned according to the water chop, sightings set, exit planned……and that is just the swim. Every section of the race should have a plan around it. This way your mind is focussed. Your mindset is positive.
Be dismissive of mistakes
Given a triathlon can take from around 20min (a leg of a relay) to 2 hours, it is not unreasonable to expect that something may go wrong at some point. In order to perform to the best of your ability you must be able to take on mistakes, deal with the consequences, refocus quickly and cover the cost of that mistake. In order to do this you need a disciplined mind with a resting mindset of optimism. Simply put your mind should think ‘I can get myself through this, I just need to work out how’. Your race plans cannot be set in stone, and pre-race you should have worked through a number of race scenarios with your coach. As an athlete you should also know your competitors and the sport of triathlon very well and to the finest detail, and know what is required to perform. While racing, if you are truly in a period of suffering and struggle, work off those around you. What cadence are they riding? How are they holding themselves while running? What can you do better right now? Working off your competitors to your advantage while racing through a ‘bad’ spot is a very good way of staying in touch.
This brings me to the very important skill required in triathlon, and that is the art of suffering.
Be able to suffer
(where ‘suffering’ is described as ‘the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship’).
Unfortunately, if your expectation when you race is to ‘have fun’ your expectations will not really be met while racing in the sport of triathlon. Fun is broadly defined as ‘what provides amusement or enjoyment’….hardly a description I give to my racing career! There may be glimpses of ‘fun’ but it is for a race few who have time to celebrate, alone and unchallenged when winning by a large margin. For the majority of time, if you are truly racing hard you must have the ability to push yourself – both physically and mentally - beyond the level those you are racing. It is only through ‘out-suffering’ that you can win a race and repeatedly win races (ie: be consistent). This needs to be practiced in training in balance with sessions that are fun and enjoyable. No one can suffer all the time – because misery then creeps in and misery is no good to anyone!!
Be prepared to be different
This is an extension of ‘suffering’ in racing. To be the best in the world, you need a point of difference. When you have a point of difference, you don’t fit the norm, and can be left on the outer. The life of an endurance athlete can be a lonely existence for this reason. There is a fine line between friendship with your competitors and it is up to you how you juggle this. What you should never do though, is let a friendship dictate how you race or allow you to ‘let’ others beat you. To race to win is not bad sportsmanship, it is your role as an athlete. Never feel ‘bad’ about beating a friend, training partner or teammate. There is only one place on top of the podium and you deserve to take it.
Be you
Be proud of what you can do. Know where you are at with regards to your career. This year may be your first season in the elite category and you may struggle to win, but be certain in your plan forward. You can control how you race now and into the future.
Managing your expectations relies heavily on you. As a younger athlete it is highly likely you will be beaten initially not by athletes who are better than you, rather athletes who are more experienced and stronger and older than you. Triathlon may not fit the ‘endurance’ tag completely accurately now with regard to racing format. It does however fit this label with regard to expected peak age of performance - this still remains as late 20’s early 30’s. As a younger athlete, manage your expectations and make sure you remain in the sport and are able to peak when you should.
Any questions, start a conversation on the forum.
Emma
Global Development Partner of World Triathlon
