So the race goes south… whether its internal (your ability to perform) or external (outside influences) the race goal isn’t reached. So what happens now..
Well we write about it..
In all seriousness this can be one of the hardest parts about any sport. Overcoming the disappointment of an undesired outcome. Triathlon has in its’ own nature a more personal component to this problem. No team to commiserate with, no shoulders to help carry the burden… nope its personal. Sometimes it feels really personal.
The above race outcome was affected by the cancelling of the swim due to a shark sighting. So what did I learn form the race? Lots…
Specifically when a race schedule is altered there is a quick turn of events that an athlete has to go through
How can we overcome these situations
- Try to start your race as early as possible – find out where and when you are going to start from – find a race official who can let you know. There will be a rush so be prepared for this.
- Revise your nutrition plan and stay on it – eg no swim, on the beach waiting for 2 hours what am I going to need to consume between now and starting my bike?
- Revise and ensure you stick to your race plan where appropriate – eg average watts output for the bike, run HR etc. Just because the swim is canned doesn’t mean you can now ride at a higher wattage. Any energy saved will be burned in the chaos before you start. And if you do have something left it will come in handy on the run..
- Remain calm and try not to stand in the coral for an hour…
Moving forward
- Don’t beat yourself up about it… easier said then done
- Take some learnings from the race. Taking this approach may help you uncover that ‘nugget’ that you could just make all the difference to your endurance pursuits moving forward
- Put your coaches hat on and have a look at the race, buildup, travel etc and use a 10,000 ft view to look at things. And use this lense to assess how well you did for you at your point in life. eg was it your first race back after kids? will it just take time to build that base up again?
- Take the time needed to recover – there is a tendency to jump into the next race available to try and make ‘amends’ for a bad performance. This seldom works for age groupers as we have commitments that we have to often ‘make up for’ post races. So we don’t have the ability to bounce back and absorb a race as fast as the pros.
- Set a new goal race but one that is sufficiently in the future to allow for recovery and also to work on any ‘new learning’ from the previous race.
- Smile – there is always another race and it is a privilege to do what we do
- And yes writing about it does help!
Coach Logan
