Lessons learned from Kona - choking under pressure

The triathlete who qualifies for IM Kona will have invested a lot of time, money and energy into the craft of preparing the body and mind for this grueling 140.6 mile event. There are no shortcuts or secret sauces. It's a lot of hard work, sacrifices and investments.

It's understandable that many Ironman athletes experience tremendous pressure to perform incredibly well on race day. 

Far too many athletes arrive to a race fit, ready and prepared only to underperform compared to performances in training. It's likely that anxiety, fear or stress gets in the way. 

Far too many athletes enter race week in panic mode and change the winning formula. Rituals and routines that were once in place to build confidence for race day or quickly replaced with haphazard, last-minute decisions and changes - all due to worry, fear and self-doubt. Sure, the Ironman World Championship is a big spectacle but racing with an outcome focused mindset can paralyze your abilities to have a great performance.  

Fear of failure is one of the biggest reasons why athletes choke under pressure. Worrying about an outcome is a big source of pressure for athletes. Beyond a finishing time or place, many athletes worry about what others may think about them - not wanting to disappoint a coach, friends, teammates, family or training partners.

If you feel like your mind is constantly getting in the way when you need to perform, it may be because you are used to always performing in safe and controlled conditions - always trying not to have a bad workout or race. 

Although it sounds counterintuitive, performing safe can lead to over control. Under pressure, athletes default to trying to control every scenario from pacing to nutrition. Although it's good to have a plan, over control is simply another form of over thinking - feeling an intense need to focus and control every detail of what needs to happen. Over thinking does not ensure a desired result. It only increases the risk of choking under pressure. 

Familiarity builds confidence. Trust yourself. When you want to do your best, rely on what you intuitively know. Let it happen, don't force it to happen. 

Don't worry about how others will react to your performance. Remove the high or strict expectations that you place on yourself. Unrealistic or perfectionist-like expectations can sabotage your ability to intuitively perform. Manage your thinking. Focus on the process. To deliver your best performance when it counts, release the worries, doubts and fear of failure. Don't let yourself get in your own way. 

IM Kona Race Week - Mistake #5

RACING UNDER PRESSURE

For many months, Ironman World Championship participants have been dreaming about race day. And now, with only one more sleep left to go, excitement suddenly turns into nerves and a calm mind suddenly goes into overdrive.

When you are racing against the best athletes in the world at the Ironman World Championship, it's easy to feel intimidated about everyone around you who is in the best shape ever and ready to perform at the top of their physical game.

But don't let this psych you out.

Athletic excellence on race day comes when your mind is as strong as your body. Don't let yourself get intimidated by the other athletes around you or by the challenging course. You earned your right to be at the start line and you know what you are getting yourself into. Trust yourself that you have the capability to reach the finish line. 

Here are my simple tips to help you perform under pressure while making the most of your Ironman World Championship experience:

1. Swim - Whereas most sport psychologists would recommend staying extremely focused before the start by tuning out any outside distractions, the IM Kona swim start is something that should be enjoyed. Take it all in as this is a moment to remember. When you see the cameras, scuba divers, helicopter, spectators, volunteers and Mike Reiley, all there to watch you start your Ironman World Championship jouney, make sure to take a few minutes and really soak it all in.
   
   
   
2. Bike - As most Ironman athletes know, you don't have to have a perfect race in order to have a great race. Make sure you have a plan for what you will do in every situation. Instead of worrying about what the winds will be like in Hawi or stressing about the possibility of a flat tire, equip yourself with the right mental tools of how you will handle anything that comes your way. Visualize different scenarios from all sections of the course so that come race day, you will feel prepared for whatever the Madame Pele gives you. And above all, never make assumptions or jump ahead in thoughts. Be proactive and processed driven. Remind yourself that you have trained the best that you could for the day and what's going to happen will happen - you can only control the controllables.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Run - You are running on an island in the Ironman World Championship. Can life get any better?? When you are running on Ali'i drive with endless cheers giving you positive energy and when you are running on the Queen K and in and out of the energy lab, with the quiet roads of the island trying to such the energy out of you, make sure to enjoy the experience. The moment you stop caring is the moment that you give up on your dream. There's no reason why you can't run happy in an Ironman as this experience (even when you are suffering) as this experience is extremely special. You are not only blessed with the talent/luck/genetics/hard work ethic that helped you qualify but you also had the support of your family/work and the means to get to big island. Never lose your positive can-do attitude, no matter how much you are hurting or how dark of a place your mind goes into during the IM Kona marathon.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Finish - The atmosphere near the finish line is unreal. With every foot strike forward to the magic red carpet, you will find the energy unlike anything that you have every experienced before in a triathlon event.
   
                               
   
   As you make your way on to Ali'i drive and run into the finish line chute, take it all in and don't let this special moment pass you by.
   
   
   
   
   Be sure to thank your body for what it has allowed you to do and no matter how your race went, be grateful for your experience to race on this iconic course with your healthy and strong body. 

And make sure to rock your finisher gear!!!
Be proud to wear your necklace and finisher medal - you earned it!

IM Kona Race Week - Mistake #4

RACING WITH A SPREADSHEET

Racing an Ironman triathlon is dynamic as there are so many variables that affect your performance. Some are within your control and others are out of your control. No matter how hard you trained, you will never feel fully prepared for everything that happens on race day. And in Kona, the unpredictable nature of the wind and heat make for an intimidating racing experience.

Going into the race with expectations and assumptions of how the day will go is just fine if that approach brings you confidence and excitement. But remind yourself that a great race day performance requires flexibility and adaptability.

With a spreadsheet, metric-obsessed mindset, it's easy to fail to reach athletic excellence on race day. Although it's the approach of many athletes, you can't go into an Ironman and expect your body to go on auto cruise for 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling and 26.2 miles of running by trying to hit certain paces/watts/speeds for 140.6 miles. The body wasn't designed to function like this. Additionally, from a physiological perspective, you can not hold the same effort, watts or pace for 140.6 miles - if you can, you are likely underperforming. To perform at your potential, you have to adjust as you go, through the high and low moments, hot, very hot, windy and very windy moments and by listening to your body as it relates to energy, fuel, hydration and mental focus. 

The goal of any Ironman athlete is to be great at not slowing down. In an effort to be great at not slowing down, you have to be constantly in-tune with your body signals. For many athletes, metrics are used to control a given output to avoid under/over racing. But a metric focused, spreadsheet approached racing plan typically hinders performance because it's very difficult to take care of yourself in the moment, when the mind is obsessed about hitting (or not hitting) a certain number. And when you can't follow your spreadsheet, you feel defeated.

As an athlete, you need to put all of your attention and focus into the present moment. A spreadsheet does not help you control everything that you will experience on race day. 

In any competitive situation (like the Ironman World Championship), a spreadsheet doesn't let you "race". When your brain gets caught up in non-constructive thinking (ex. thinking about the swim when you are on the bike or the bike when you are on the run) or if you start thinking that you are not meeting your expectations of what you think you should be doing, this mental chatter in your head can make it difficult to maintain focus and perspective. As an example, if you exit the water in Kona and see a time slower than what you anticipated, you may tell yourself that you are having a bad race. Same goes for the bike - if it's windy and you see a speed that is slower than what you have ever done before, you will struggle to stay focused with self-defeating thoughts.

It's important to make good decisions in the moment on race day - a spreadsheet can not do this for you. As an Ironman athlete, you must remain alert, focused and present, while constantly listening to your body and taking care of yourself. Because most athletes will struggle to meet metric goals on race day in Kona due to the unpredictable nature of the island, you may find yourself with great anxiety frustration and a sense of failure if you have a pacing and nutrition plan that you just can't keep up with on race day. 

I encourage you to go into the Ironman World Championship with a nutrition and pacing plan that reflects what is familiar to you and what you trained your body to do on race day. However, with this plan comes the understanding that you may need to adjust. You must adapt, stay processed-driven and focused throughout the entire race. If you can do this, you will find yourself having the best race performance possible by your body based on how well you managed what you were given on race day. 

IM Kona race week - Mistake #1

DON'T CHANGE THE WINNING FORMULA

Almost every athlete that competes at the Ironman World Championship has received a spot to the starting line by performing well at a qualifying event. Rarely does an athlete earn a spot to this notable triathlon event on a whim. The triathlete who qualifies for IM Kona typically invests a lot of time, money and energy into the craft of preparing the body and mind for a 140.6 mile event. Thus, it's the commitment, consistency, flexibility and goal-focused mindset in training, along with the understanding of the right gear, nutrition, mental skills, pacing, training and taper that contributes to athletic excellence on race day. This is the winning formula that helps an athlete qualify for the Ironman World Championship. 

Far too many athletes enter race week in panic mode and begin to change the winning formula. Rituals that once helped an athlete build confidence for race day are replaced with worry, fear and self-doubt. Sure, the Ironman World Championship is a big-deal race but if you think about the distance, it's just another Ironman distance triathlon race. While you should certainly respect the distance and the island, don't abort the approach, method or formula that worked for you in the past. While it's ok to change certain aspects of your gear, nutrition or pacing plan to better manage the course or conditions (ex. ventilated helmet, depth size of your wheel, etc), it's not ok to change your plan because you think you'll be faster, perform better or because you saw that someone else (top age grouper/professional) was doing something similar.

As you enter race week for the Ironman World Championship, don't get distracted by focusing on what everyone else is doing. Be attentive to your own needs and do not make drastic/extreme changes as it relates to what worked for you in the past::

• Fueling/hydration plan
• Pacing strategy
• Taper training
• Race morning routine
• Sleep regime
• Daily diet
• Daily rituals
• Mental skills
• Gear/equipment 

Avoid the tendency to change what was familiar to you in an effort to try to gain the competitive edge.

Additionally, any last minute strategies to feel more race ready, like validation workouts to test your speed, watts or fitness, taking anti-inflammatory or other performance-enhancing medications, getting a cortisone shot, relying on ART or other body-manipulating therapies to heal a niggle/injury or trying to manipulate your diet in an effort to change your body composition can be extremely damaging to your health, not to mention your performance.

Sometimes change is good and even on race week, you may find that you need to be smart with your nutrition, gear/equipment and training. You don't need to reinvent yourself on race week in an effort to perform your athletic potential.

Trust your coach. Trust yourself. Trust your training.