As I noted in my last “I Practice What I Preach” post, I was feeling a fair amount of anxiety and worry in the weeks leading up to the 2023 USAT Multisport National Championships in Texas that was held less than two weeks ago. Those nerves were coming from “outcome expectations” I had created in my mind after having some success in late 2022, including a bronze medal in my age group at the Super-sprint World Championships in Abu Dhabi last November. Two additional factors contributed to my current expectations. First, I had that success as the oldest in my age group (there is typically a significant drop-off in speed from the first to the last year). Second, I was aging up to a new age group meaning, in theory, I would have the age difference in my favor this season.

You may be wondering, “So what expectations did you have going into the TX races?” My primary expectation was to win an age-group national championship title in one of my three races (Super-sprint, Sprint, Mixed Team Relay). I figured my best chance was in the Super-sprint because that’s where I podiumed at Worlds. I had also assembled a fast team for the Mixed Team Relay, so I thought I had a shot at a national title in that event as well.

Even though I have been training hard and making some big gains in my fitness (particularly in my cycling), my mind was filled with doubt and trepidation in the weeks leading up to the races. My mind was filled with questions: “Had I improved enough in the swim and bike to be competitive when I got to the run (my strength)?”, “Did I not give myself enough of a taper to be rested for the race?”, and, of course, the usual “What ifs” (what if I get a flat?, what if I get sick?, what if one of my niggling injuries acts up?). I also wasn’t familiar with the top guys in my new age group, so, I did what I tell my clients never to do, namely, look at past nationals and the age-group rankings to see who my competition would be. Doing this is bad because I was now focusing on them instead of focusing on what I needed to do to swim, bike, and run (and transition) fast in my upcoming races.

A conversation with my coach, Dr. Greg Rhodes (Ph.D., Exercise Physiology) helped get my mind back on the right track. He gave me a big confidence boost by reminding me of the hard work I had put in, the great numbers I was putting up in the pool, on the indoor trainer, and during my runs, and how far I had come since last season. Greg told me that I was ready to have a great series of races. As soon as he said this, I felt the great weight of expectations lift off my shoulders. I also noticed a marked change in my emotions, going from worry and dread to excitement and anticipation. I was about to put all of my efforts over the last few months to the test and I was ready to pass with flying colors.

My Competitive Mental Tools

In addition to this shift in attitude, referring back to my pre-Texas “I Practice What I Preach” article I also put to use some essential mental tools that kept my mind off of the “pink elephant” (outcome expectations) and onto the “blue hippo” (outcome goals) and “green rhino” (process goals).

Remember the “why.” When preparing for a big race, it’s easy to get wrapped up in results and forget the real reason why you’re racing. So, I kept reminding myself of my own personal “why” for doing triathlons. My whys included pushing my limits, challenging my pre-conceived notions about my capabilities, seeing progress in my fitness and speed, and giving myself the opportunity to compete against the best in my age group in our sport. When I thought about my why in the days leading up to my races, I felt as if I had replaced the contaminated “fuel” of doubt and worry that had been driving me down a bad road with pure rocket fuel that was formulated with my passion, determination, and excitement about racing.

Mental imagery. In the days leading up to the races, I did a ton of mental imagery, where I would close my eyes and see and feel myself at different parts of the races. I rehearsed what I wanted to be thinking (“push it!), the emotions I wanted to feel (pride and inspiration), and the effort I wanted to put in (full gas!). In doing mental imagery, I was also priming my mind and body for the races, so that when race arrived, I had already done the races (successfully) in my mind’s eye. In a sense, I was programming my mind and body for what I wanted to think, feel, and perform, so that, on race day, I just had to run the program.

Routines. I’m a creature of habit and I find comfort in my routines, whether sleep, meals, or training or race related. In fact, there are three ways that routines bring comfort to all of us, namely, they create feelings of familiarity, predictability, and control in situations like a big race that can feel anything but. Upon my arrival in Texas, I locked into my routines and then, on my three race days, I followed my routines to the letter. Aa a result, I was more relaxed, happier, motivated, and excited to race.

Community. One thing I really enjoy about being a triathlete is the passionate and interesting community I’m a part of. So, in the days leading up to my races, I connected with many old friends, those I “met” on the TeamUSA Facebook page, and new people who saw my name on my tri-kit and introduced themselves. Their collective enthusiasm and excitement for racing was contagious and made me feel the same.

Meaning, satisfaction, joy. Finally, I constantly reminded myself of another “why” I trained hard and put myself to the test in races: because triathlon brings meaning, satisfaction, and joy to my life. Whatever results I might achieve in my three races, good or not so, I would experience all three of those feelings big time.

“So, How Did You Do, Jim?!?!”

I’m sure the suspense about how I did in the races has been killing you (though the photo gave some of it away!). But, seriously, all three races exceeded what I thought was possible, while affirming my hopes (and, yes, expectations) for how I might perform there.

The two most important aspects of all three races was that I executed them, if not flawlessly, at least exceptionally (triathlon and flawless rarely go together!). Aside from a few seconds here and there in my transitions, I pushed hard from start to finish and simply don’t believe that I could have gone any faster in any of my races.

Here are my three results:

• Super-sprint: Age-group National Champion (my first national title)
• Sprint: 2^nd
• Mixed-team Relay: 2^nd (fastest in my age group)

Do I wish that I could have won another national title? Of course, I’m a competitive guy who is never going to be completely satisfied regardless of my results. But the guy who beat me in the Sprint and the team that beat us in the Mixed Team Relay were just faster and there is nothing I/we could do about that.

These incredibly gratifying results have turned up the flame on the fire that propels me and I’m more motivated than ever to up my game and go even faster in my next “A” series of races, the 2023 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships in Hamburg, Germany in July.

Having already fulfilled my dream of being a national champion in Texas, I feel that anything else that happens this year is just icing on the cake. As a result, I haven’t created any troublesome outcome expectations for Hamburg, but I sure as heck have some big goals that I want to achieve there. I’m sure it’s not too difficult to figure out what those goals might be!