I Practice What I Preach: Tools Used and Lessons Learned from Multisport Nationals
I just returned from Omaha where I competed in three events at the 2024 USAT Multisport National Championships. To say that the races went well would be a vast understatement! I want to share some powerful mental tools I used to achieve my successes and several lessons learned that I will apply in future races.
I went into the Multisport Nationals with some big goals I set for myself. At last year’s event, I won my first national title and finished second in the other two races, so I was hoping for a similar set of results this year. But I knew it would be a challenge given that several strong competitors had aged up, several new guys showed up, and I was a year older.
Super-sprint
I raced the Super-Sprint last Thursday. If you’re unfamiliar with the S-S, it is around 20 minutes of full-gas pain, with no settling in, rest, or recovery from start to finish! I finished 2nd (out of 28) in my age group…by 11 seconds. Whenever I race, my goal is to be able to say, “I left it all out on the course and couldn’t have gone any faster.” I accomplished that goal today with the help of four mental “power tools”:
Power words (e.g., “push,” “dig deep,” “finish strong”)
Breathing (i.e., controlling my breathing when I’m out of breath)
Smiling (releases neurochemicals that relax the body and reduce pain)
“I choose to push my limits” (reminding me that I’m deciding to suffer)
Admittedly I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to repeat as national champion. But I was beaten by my friend, Mixed-relay teammate, and all-around very fast guy, Ron Gierut, by such a small margin (in reviewing my race, there wasn’t 11 seconds that I could have made up anywhere).
Two lessons I took away from the race:
Transitions matter A LOT (and that is a big reason why Ron beat me by such a small amount);
Even for a bike leg that lasted less than 10 minutes, tri-bikes are faster than road bikes. I didn’t think it was worth it to bring my tri-bike for such a short race, but I believe that using my tri-bike might have saved me those precious 11 seconds that cost me the victory (Ron rode his tri-bike). Next time, I’m bringing my tri-bike!
Draft-legal Sprint
The Draft-legal Sprint was held last Saturday. My goal was to make the podium again, but there were several old and new faces who I knew would be fast.
As usual, I came out of the water about a minute behind the lead pack in my age group and, as all were also fast cyclists, they quickly formed a draft group and pulled away. Unlike in past DL races, I was fortunate to become a part of a chase group of five after about a mile and, though we never got close to the lead pack, we worked well together and kept the damage to a manageable margin. Even so, I came off the bike into T2 more than 3 minutes down to the leaders in 7th place. Plus, I had pushed hard in the bike, so wasn’t sure what my legs had left for the run.
Heading out on the mostly flat run course, I didn’t feel great, but not bad either. I did have to use my mental “power tools” again to keep pushing.
Within a 1/2 mile, I had moved up to 4th, having passed some of the lead-pack riders who weren’t great runners. But the first three guys were way ahead of me. As I approached the turnaround, the three guys ahead of me passed me heading to the finish. I knew I wouldn’t catch the first two and the 3rd-place guy was also way ahead, and I thought to myself, “4th place, that’s disappointing.” But right after that I thought, “you never know; let’s keep pushing and see what happens”. Over the last 1.5 miles, I saw that I was reeling in the 3rd-place guy, but he was still far ahead of me, and I thought I would run out of real estate.
With about 100 yards to go, I thought that catching him was still a long shot, but decided to just charge and see what happens. There was a short climb just before the final 90-degree turn before the finish that I pushed myself hard up and was closing fast. I got on his shoulder just as we made the turn. He saw me and started sprinting, but I did too, and I had just enough speed to edge by him and beat him for 3rd place by a few seconds.
Yes, I was thrilled to get on the podium, but I was more thrilled and proud of myself for having not given up and done something—catch the guy ahead of me for 3rd place—that I didn’t think was possible.
Lesson learned: You never know, so why not find out!
Mixed-relay
Sunday was the Mixed-relay (my favorite event) and I was part of one of three stacked teams with the top 6 men and women in our age group. I led off against a guy, Bobby Gonzales, who is two years younger than I am, a multiple-time national champion, and whom I had never been within 35 seconds of in previous S-S or M-R races (he beat me by 45 seconds in the S-S three days before on the same course). When I learned the day before that he would be leading off, I was discouraged because I didn’t think I could compete with him and leave my teammates to dig us out of a hole. But I kept Bobby close in the swim and bike, reeled him in at the finish of the run, and we handed off to the 2nd leg at the same time (a huge “win” for me!). After strong 2nd (Robin Waterman) and 3rd (Ron Gierut) legs, our anchor (Karen Cummins) came out of T2 with the other two women whose teams were vying for the top spot (including, Kelly Dippold, a 2x world champion who dominates her age group, often by minutes) close together and I thought we had no chance of winning, But Karen, who is an absolute rocket, passed Kelly with about 100 yards to go and hung on for the gold by less than 4 seconds.
Lesson learned: keep charging to the very end.
Wrap-up
I’ve been fortunate to have had some wonderful successes over the last few years against some of the best age-group triathletes at national and world championships. But these races in Omaha were different and special for me. At a manifest level, more than ever before, I was able use to my advantage the many mental tools that I teach my clients; I did indeed practice what I preach. And they really work!
But the real power was in my emotional experience of the races. After the races, and especially after the DL Sprint and Mixed-relay, I was beside myself with intense feelings of excitement, pride, and joy, quite simply, I was ecstatic. I had rarely experienced emotions quite like this before in my triathlon life. I realized that these emotions are the reason why I race.
But there was something deeper from which these emotions arose. Though the results were certainly gratifying, what moved me most was that I pushed myself harder than ever before, found something inside of me that I hadn’t fully tapped into before, and discovered a new level of resilience, perseverance, and speed that I didn’t know existed within me. I’ve always believed that, though we do triathlons for a variety of personal reasons, the fundamental reason we compete is to challenge our preconceived notions of what is possible and to see what we are truly capable of. That is certainly what propelled me in my races, and it has led me to redefine what “possible’ meant for me.
In all the years I’ve participated in endurance sports (first running, then triathlon), the day after every race didn’t feel any different than the days before the race. In other words, whatever goals I achieved or successes I attained, the experience didn’t fundamentally change me. But, in the days after returning from Omaha, I have felt different, something has changed. I have continued to feel deeply about my races. I feel a certain new confidence and inner strength. And I’ve noticed that, at random times, my mind drifts back to the races, I notice myself smiling, and feel an odd and pleasant sensation of, well, happiness.
Two Biggest Takeaways
Most important lesson learned: Don’t get stuck with past perceptions of your ability. Find out what you’re capable of now.
Most powerful tool: I visualized the race every day for the week leading up to the races, and several times a day upon my arrival last Tuesday and once I did recon of the courses. Seeing and feeling myself swim/bike/run in my mind’s eye motivated me, built my confidence, calmed me down, yet got me excited, focused me on what I needed to do, and inspired me to give my best effort and enjoy the races. Before each race, I felt I had already done the race and, as a result, I executed as flawlessly as the conditions would allow.
powerful mental tools I used to achieve my successes and several lessons learned that I will apply in future races.
first national title and finished second in the other two races, so I was hoping for a similar set of results this year. But I knew it would be a challenge given that several strong competitors had aged up, several new guys showed up, and I was a year older.
group…by 11 seconds. Whenever I race, my goal is to be able to say, “I left it all out on the course and couldn’t have gone any faster.” I accomplished that goal today with the help of four mental “power tools”:
friend, Mixed-relay teammate, and all-around very fast guy, Ron Gierut, by such a small margin (in reviewing my race, there wasn’t 11 seconds that I could have made up anywhere).
fortunate to become a part of a chase group of five after about a mile and, though we never got close to the lead pack, we worked well together and kept the damage to a manageable margin. Even so, I came off the bike into T2 more than 3 minutes down to the leaders in 7th place. Plus, I had pushed hard in the bike, so wasn’t sure what my legs had left for the run.
runners. But the first three guys were way ahead of me. As I approached the turnaround, the three guys ahead of me passed me heading to the finish. I knew I wouldn’t catch the first two and the 3rd-place guy was also way ahead, and I thought to myself, “4th place, that’s disappointing.” But right after that I thought, “you never know; let’s keep pushing and see what happens”. Over the last 1.5 miles, I saw that I was reeling in the 3rd-place guy, but he was still far ahead of me, and I thought I would run out of real estate.
pushed myself hard up and was closing fast. I got on his shoulder just as we made the turn. He saw me and started sprinting, but I did too, and I had just enough speed to edge by him and beat him for 3rd place by a few seconds.
than I am, a multiple-time national champion, and whom I had never been within 35 seconds of in previous S-S or M-R races (he beat me by 45 seconds in the S-S three days before on the same course). When I learned the day before that he would be leading off, I was discouraged because I didn’t think I could compete with him and leave my teammates to dig us out of a hole. But I kept Bobby close in the swim and bike, reeled him in at the finish of the run, and we handed off to the 2nd leg at the same time (a huge “win” for me!). After strong 2nd (Robin Waterman) and 3rd (Ron Gierut) legs, our anchor (Karen
Cummins) came out of T2 with the other two women whose teams were vying for the top spot (including, Kelly Dippold, a 2x world champion who dominates her age group, often by minutes) close together and I thought we had no chance of winning, But Karen, who is an absolute rocket, passed Kelly with about 100 yards to go and hung on for the gold by less than 4 seconds.
age-group triathletes at national and world championships. But these races in Omaha were different and special for me. At a manifest level, more than ever before, I was able use to my advantage the many mental tools that I teach my clients; I did indeed practice what I preach. And they really work!
simply, I was ecstatic. I had rarely experienced emotions quite like this before in my triathlon life. I realized that these emotions are the reason why I race.
