My work with several pro triathletes focuses on building their confidence, helping them focus, finding ways to push their limits in training, and preparing them for the pressures of big events, whether the Paris
Olympics or the Ironman World Championships. Additionally, under the category of I Practice What I Preach, I apply the same ideas and strategies to my own “A” race preparations. I used much of what I teach these pro triathletes at the 2024 USAT Multisport Nationals in June in Omaha with considerable success (1st, 2nd, 3rd). And I’m doubling down on my own mental training as I get ready for USAT Triathlon Nationals in September in Atlantic City and the World Triathlon Championships in October in Spain.
Though emotions are a frequent topic that I address with the pros I work with; I had never really thought
about engaging in what I recently labeled “emotion training” in preparation for a big event…until recently, as I help prepare one of those pros for her races in Paris.
The basic idea behind emotion training is that every big race is going to produce a plethora of strong 
emotions, ideally positive emotions, but, more often, emotions that are both unpleasant and unhelpful. Yes, there is going to be hope, anticipation, excitement, and inspiration. But there is also going to be anxiety, worry, fear, trepidation, and even dread, all clearly not “make you go fast” emotions. In sum, you don’t want your big races to dictate your emotions. Rather, you want to dictate your emotions as you approach those important events. So, well before your “A” races arrive, you want to begin to condition the emotions that you want to feel in the lead-up to those races.
Identify Your “Dark” and “Light” Emotions
The first step in your emotion training is to identify the “dark” emotions that might hold you back and prevent you from performing your best, enjoying the experience, and achieving your competitive goals. The troublesome emotions I mentioned above are common, but you should look back on your own past
emotional experiences before big races to see which ones are more present. Knowing which negative emotions are likely to arise in you can help you to understand why you feel these emotions. For example, what perceptions do you hold that might lead you to feel trepidation and dread (e.g., a fear of failure).
The second step is to identify the “light” emotions that you wish to feel most and that you want fuel your race efforts. Positive emotional fuel may include happiness, contentment, excitement, pride, inspiration, 
or gratitude. All can potentially have a positively motivating impact on your racing, but which would be most beneficial for you depends on your personality and temperament. For example, you might thrive on calm and contentment before a race. Or you might be propelled by excitement and energy.
Train the Positive Emotions
Once you know which “light” emotions you want to feel most in your “A” races, you want to practice experiencing them. This is where emotion training comes in and there are four ideal ways you can feel, express, and condition these emotions. First, before, during, and after your triathlon training. Before you
begin a workout, close your eyes and allow yourself to experience those emotions. Let these emotions fill your mind and flow throughout your body. During workouts, when you’re working hard, again bring those emotions into your mind and tap into them as fuel to push yourself even harder. When you finish your workout, once again close your eyes and allow yourself to feel those emotions deeply.
Second, I am a huge believer in the power of mental imagery (also called visualization) to promote positive 
thinking, emotions, and competitive performances. Imagining what you want to feel before big races is a great way to condition your emotions for race day. As you see and feel yourself preparing to compete and then performing in the race, you can, in your mind’s eye and heart, experience and ingrain the positive emotions you want to feel in the actual races.
Third, create what I call “feeling phrases” that evoke the emotions you want to feel in your upcoming races. Several of my favorite feeling phrases are “Easy does it,” “Bring it on!,” “I love this!,” “What an
opportunity!” Once you’ve identified several feeling phrases, repeat them frequently until they become habit and even print them out and post them where you’ll see them often. Every time you see your feeling phrases, you will naturally say them to yourself, and, with each repetition, they will become more deeply woven into your psyche.
Lastly, share your positive emotions with others, such as family, friends, teammates, and even followers 
on social media. When you express these wonderful emotions to those whom you care about and who care about you, those emotions are reflected back to you, and you can then absorb them more deeply.
Have Your Emotional Radar On
Given that “A” races are important to you, you may still feel some negative emotions that may begin to take over as the races approach (completely normal). Rather than letting them bring you down, you
should immediately access the positive emotions that you have trained and ingrained through your emotion training and allow them to push the negative emotions away.
Your Emotional Goal
Your emotional goal as you approach your big races is to have the positive emotions you have trained into your mind and body with emotion training so deeply ingrained in your mind that those emotions just 
naturally come out and imbue your races with their positive energy. And if some negative emotions do creep in, they are quickly squashed by the positive emotions that you so committedly trained into your mind.
