Train your Brain

In long course triathlon especially, having a strong mental game can mean the difference between an excellent performance and a poor performance. There are always “dark moments” in the day where fatigue and negative thoughts can leave you feeling demotivated so it is best to come up with a plan to deal those feelings when they arrive. Having keywords in each of the three disciplines can help you maintain your form and give you something productive to focus on. Spend some time in training to come up with powerful positive words that address something specific to you. In swimming this may be somthing like “long and strong”, “catch” or “Phelps”. For riding, “power”, “relax” (esp. good if you tend to waste energy tensing up your neck and arms), “fly” and for running words like “quick”, “light”, “core”. Be sure that you pick words that resonant with you and that you use them in your trianing. If you have practiced thinking these words to shift to a positive place in your trianing it will be easier to do so on race day.