3Things: Elevate Race Day Performance
Embrace the Pain & Dominate Your Next Big Goal
An off day email directly to your inbox. But this was too good not to share. And yes, I just complemented myself.
Go ahead, complement yourself. I’ll wait.
I had a good conversation with an athlete on the pool deck last week. He was gearing up for a big race and we got on the topic of racing. He loves training but highlighted how stressful and painful racing is. It got me thinking. He was right. Racing is painful! So many levels of pain - some great, some awful. But being in pain is nothing new. Let's dissect...
1. Train Like You Want It
Every day, you're blessed to wake up and decide what to do with your life. We decide to work out, feel good about ourselves, conquer hard sh*t and live happy, healthy lives. Never forget that, and take it into your training. Don't think about yesterday's or tomorrow's workout. Just focus on the one in front of you. Do all you can to come out on top and conquer it. No pity party if you fail, and most certainly no "I'm just going through the motions." If the workout is going to hurt, settle into the darkness. If you're tackling a new distance, do it with excitement. All of this training is leading up to something bigger, so do it as it was intended to be.
2. Racing Hurts
If it's been a while or you've never raced, I won't sugarcoat it: Racing is really hard, and it hurts. A marathon, a triathlon—whatever it might be, it's not always enjoyable. It can keep you up at night, or you can own it. You know your goals, and you've put in the work. Now, just go and execute.
You put in so much work, you've tested your body for months, and on race day, it's going to hurt. It may suck. It will be painful. But alas, it's the celebration of all your hard work. You've put in painful days. So.Many. Painful. days. This isn't new to you. Race like you mean it. Race and own it. Race and feel the pain. Enjoy the pain. Again, pain isn't new.
STORY TIME: I once almost tricked myself into not pushing 240W for my 70.3 race. I was scared that pushing 240W for two-plus hours would be too hard. For a split second, I almost let myself down. But I pushed back, knowing I'd put in the time and could do it. Don't let negative thoughts derail your plan and goals. Racing is one day. You've put in hundreds of hours to get here. I walked away with a NP of 243w over 2hours and 15 minutes that day. Nailed it!
3. Take Notes & Learn
Race day isn't the time to evaluate your performance. You're riding high on emotion and endorphins. Good and bad things likely happened, and that's totally normal. On race day, take in the fact that you just accomplished a huge milestone or goal. Hug teammates, call family members, and take it all in. Use the next few days to walk through your race and write everything you did well and could do better next time in your phone's Notes app or a journal. Use that to get better and improve on your next race.
As always.
Stay moving. ✌️
Scott