Mind Games

There's a line somewhere between being calm and being apathetic, but the two should never be confused. In my most recent race, the Lowell YMCA Olympic Triathlon, I certainly cared about the race and my performance in it, but I've begun to build the confidence needed to perform without all the extra pre-race stress. I'm discovering the process that allows me to access and utilize my abilities fully. I am developing trust in myself and in the training I have done. I'm beginning to personalize all the things I tell athletes: I don't need to do something superhuman on race day - I simply need to tap into the talents I've refined in training.

Lowell is not a big race. It's low key and the field is small. Still, it has drawn a handful of great athletes over the years. I had no idea whether or not any of those bigger names had shown up this year, but I was prepared for whatever challenge people were ready to throw at me. As I've been swimming incredibly well lately my intent was to bury anyone on the start line from the second the go command was given.  In the past I used to use the swim as something to give me a head start on the bike and run. I would get a gap in the water and hope nobody would catch me on my weaker disciplines. Now, as I have made massive improvements to my bike and run, my swim has become an even greater weapon. I've become much harder to catch on dry land so any time I put on the field in the water is even more critical to the race outcome. 

It did not take me long to put my plan in to motion. By the 200 meter mark of the swim I'd gained a 15 second gap on the field. By 500 meters that gap was up to 30 seconds. At 750 meters, as I hit the end of lap one and  began the final loop, I saw that my lead was approaching a minute. When I reached the beach the second time, it was clear that I'd done my job in the water. The second place swimmer was 1:30 back and there were big gaps to third, forth, and fifth. Only three people were within three minutes as I headed out on the bike. 

I nearly saw my day come to an unspectacular finish before taking even one pedal stroke, though. As I went to execute the flying mount, I completely cleared the saddle and landed on the opposite side of my bike. Oops. It wasn't one of my finer moments and only goes to demonstrate that when you don't practice these things regularly you're going to get rusty. That'll get fixed before my next race, for sure.

With my wheels comfortably under me, I put my head down and got down to work. The ride itself was completely uneventful so I won't walk you through the mundane details. Basically, I rode the first loop hard and suspected that my lead was growing. It was. During the second loop I dropped 5-10 watts and began to prepare myself for the run. It was senseless to ride myself into the ground given that I'd built up such a large lead so I played it conservatively. Never before have I put together a decent Olympic distance run and I suspected this might be the occasion to change that.

The first two miles of the run were a little touch and go. I was running well, holding about 6:15/mile, but I was experiencing a strange sensation in my quads. They weren't tight, sore, fatigued, or any other form of tired. They were, however, feeling different than normal. Not knowing exactly what was going to happen over the course of the final four miles, I decided to hold steady until the turnaround before attempting to lift the pace at all. A mile later, as I turned, I felt amazing. I had a four minute lead and I was floating over the pavement. I had full confidence that I could build all the way to the finish. And I did. I negative split the run with miles 6, 5, and 4 being my fastest in that order. It's the best I've ever felt on the run in a triathlon. Crossing the line in 37:07 was a tremendous feeling. While I have run well lately, even I didn't think I would run faster than 38 minutes. To go almost 50 seconds faster was a breakthrough that has been a long time in the making. And as a result, I secured a win by a massive four minute margin.

The success I've had this year has been, of course, closely related to the work I've done in training. More important to what's been a breakthrough year, though, is my ability to manage my mind. I have the physical tools to excel as long as I enable myself to utilize them. No longer is my head working as my body's mortal enemy. I'm discovering how to use my mind to unlock my talents and the dividends have been significant. Have I perfected this art? No. But I have discovered the road that is sure to allow for my continued success and it's one I'll continue to travel.