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. 

Racing under pressure

After the culmination of many months (or years) of training, your race day is almost here! But now that the “fun” training is behind you, you now feel an enormous amount of pressure to perform. 

If you find yourself experiencing a flux of positive and negative emotions before an important race, these pre-race jitters are simply a mix of irrational and rational thoughts relating to your goals and expectations for race day. And when racing anticipations are at their highest, there is a subjective fear of failure that stems from by many uncertainties, doubts and worries.

For some athletes, pressure enhances motivation, enjoyment for the sport and focus. These athletes thrive off pressure and turn it into positive energy to boost performance.

But for many, the pressure to succeed is so intense that performance is negatively affected.

Although pre-race jitters are normal, they are commonly associated with disturbing symptoms like GI issues, mood swings, trouble sleeping, elevated heart rate, lack of appetite (or emotional eating) and nausea. None of which you want to experience before a race.  

Here are a few tips to help you better race under pressure: 

Gut-brain connection

Got butterflies in your stomach? The GI system is very sensitive to emotion so any extreme change in emotion or feelings can trigger abnormal symptoms in the gut. This is because the brain has a direct effect on the stomach.

Because the gut and brain send signals to one another, it is extremely important to minimize psychological factors, like stress, anxiety or worries before a race to reduce the risk for gut distress, including nausea, loose stools/diarrhea and headache.

• Train your mind and work on focusing on the present moment and not on the outcome. 
• Direct your energy to what is within your control. 
• Get off social media to avoid comparison. 
• Practice relaxation techniques (“me” time). 
• Remove yourself from energy suckers. Surround yourself with people who shower you with positive energy.
• Do not strive for perfection, aim for excellence.
• Identify your strongest skills and assets as an endurance athlete. Bring this confidence with you to race day.

Sleep and performance

Sleep is crucial for athletic performance. Poor sleep can negatively affect your performance, appetite, food choices and mood. 

• Don't be a rushed traveler. Give yourself plenty of (extra) time to get to your race environment and adjust to your new environment. 
• Travel with your favorite pillow case, sheet or blanket for a more comfortable sleeping environment at your home away from home. 
• As soon as you arrive to your race destination, start a routine that will help you perform well on race day. Set a bed time ritual like reading a book (non-electronic) or listen to soothing music with dimmed light to help with sleeping. 
• Keep napping to less than one-hour/day, minimize caffeine in the afternoon and be consistent with your sleep schedule on race week.
• If you have too much on your mind before bed, write down your thoughts on a piece of paper to give your brain a well-needed, 8-hour thinking break.

Eat smart

Despite meticulous food planning and hand-washing, an upset stomach (or worse) is common on race week - especially when you are racing under pressure. Unfamiliar foods, as well as unknown food handling/cooking, can have unwanted consequences on your gut. Additionally, it’s important to recognize what foods digest the easiest in your gut in the 48 hours before the race. 

• If eating out, communicate to your server about special dietary requests.  If possible, shop local (or bring your own food) and prepare your own meals.
• Reduce the risk of traveling constipation/bloating by drinking plenty of water, consuming your normal diet (within reason) and moving your body as much as possible. Warm water, tea or coffee can simulate the bowels but don't overdo it on caffeine. 
• Taper your “healthy” high-fiber diet on the 48 hours before race day. Reduce the quantity of foods that create frequent bowel movements (ex. fiber), minimize foods that may irritate your gut on race day (ex. dairy, fructose, sweeteners like xylitol and sorbitol, artificial flavorings) and control portions of foods that require a lengthy digestion (high fat).
• Resist buying and eating food on a whim. Identify the foods that have worked well in your diet around your “key” workouts/races and continue to enjoy those foods on race week.
• Research the cuisine/grocery options at your final destination and plan in advance for your grocery list as well as any restaurants that will cater to your dietary pre-race needs. Enjoy an unfamiliar new meal/food after your race. 
• Stay well-hydrated to help with dehydration and the digestion of food. 

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!

Racing under pressure tips

It may seem like common sense to resist trying/buying food on a whim at your race venue, to write down your thoughts on a piece of paper for a better night sleep in the 48 hours before your race or to remove yourself from energy suckers on race week but you'd be surprised how many athletes become someone else on race week......especially when this anxious and nervous athlete arrives to the race venue and begins to doubt their own fitness and preparation. 

I see it and I hear about it all the time - the athlete who has a fine-tuned race and nutrition plan and then changes everything on race day for no good reason other than "Someone else suggested that I should do this instead" or "I don't know what I was thinking."

It is important that you not only have a plan when it comes to minimizing pre-race jitters, anxieties and nerves but that you trust your plan. With self-doubt that your plan may fail on race day, you may find yourself "trusting" what another athlete is doing and essentially, "racing' another athlete's pre-race and race day plan.

For many athletes, the pressure to succeed or to perform well on race day is so intense that performance is negatively affected before the race even starts.

Have you eve experienced a pre-race fever or sickness that comes and goes in 24 hours or less?

Emotions can run a gamut of position to negative, sometimes swinging both ways in a single second. 

Your thought process is likely a mix of irrational and rational thoughts relating to your goals and expectations for race day.
At worst, when racing anticipation peaks, straight up fear of failure can crop up - stemming from uncertainties, doubts and worries.

Although pre-race jitters are normal, they are commonly associating with disturbing symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, elevated heart rate and nausea.
The way you deal with pressure on race week  is extremely important to your health and overall race performance and experience. 

In this article, from Ironman.com, I discuss some helpful ways to reduce pre-race anxiety and to feel more at ease when racing under pressure. 

RACING UNDER PRESSURE 

Tips for racing under pressure

Do race day jitters affect your mind on race week?
Do you feel an ache in your tummy that you just can't seem to shake until you start the race?

I remember my first IM ('06 IMFL) and I was so excited to race! I wouldn't say I was super nervous but I did have a few pre-race worries.
It was a bit chilly out and the wind was howling. As if the Ironman distance wasn't tough enough!
Could my 24 year old body survive 140.6 miles for the very first time....is my heart strong enough to beat for 11+ hours?

My racing strategy and fitness has certainly changed since I won my age group at my very first Ironman but with every race, there is always something on my mind that drains a little bit of my race day energy. 

Just to make sure that you do not feel alone, no matter the race, I always have some type of pre-race nerves on race day morning. No race is easy and never do I arrive to a race with 100% confidence that this race will be my best race ever. Oddly enough, the races when I feel the most under-prepared, I seem to perform the best.

But with every endurance race, I strive to be stronger than the last race. Although the nerves are still there, this excites me to see what I can make my body do on race day. No longer do I chase times or worry about things out of my control but instead, I focus on executing the best possible with my current fitness. The pressure I put on myself to have a great race comes from within. Discovering what I am capable of, of course, thanks to my competition who pushes me to higher limits.

For the past two years, I have enjoyed having Karel with me through the entire process of training and racing in endurance races. But let it be known that two endurance athletes, living together and training together and racing together can make for some interesting moments in the 24 hours before a race.

Good thing we have a year to continue to work on pre-race jitters before we both race in the 2015 IM World Championship.

Although I am always upfront with our race goals on social media, I never feel pressure to impress others. I race for myself, to be better (defined differently with every race) than my last race. There are things within my control on race day and there are many things out of my control. Therefore, the roller coaster of nerves, excitement and anxiety that I feel on race day is simply because I want my body and mind to perform the best possible on race day.

Therefore, it is up to me to make sure that I focus on ways to control my emotions and thoughts before a race because if I don't, I may set myself up for a performance that is less than what I am truly capable of. 

Because we all can use a few tips every now and then on reducing pre-race nerves, I dedicate my recent Ironman article to me and all the athletes out there who need a bit of help learning how to race under pressure. 

16 STRATEGIES FOR RACING UNDER PRESSURE