I have been fortunate to have worked with and spoken to many world-class triathletes over the years. Whenever I am with one of these triathletes, I ask them what lessons they have learned that have enabled them to reach the highest level of triathlon.

Perform To The Best Of Your Ability

In any given triathlon, you may not be at your best. You may not be fully prepared due to fatigue, illness, injury, or any number of reasons. An important lesson is that you can’t always perform your best. Many times, before a race, triathletes just don’t feel very good, and know they’re not going to have a good race. Because they’re not going to be at 100%, they, in essence, throw in the towel before the race even begins. However, you don’t have to perform your best to have a good experience and learn from the triathlon. So, you must learn to do your best with what you have on that given day. For example, if you’re only at 80%, perform at the full 80%. That may still be enough for you to have a good triathlon.

KISS

Triathlon is really pretty simple. Whoever goes the fastest wins the race. Yet, triathletes can make triathlon complicated by trying to do too many things. A rule to follow is the KISS principle. Most triathletes know the KISS principle as “keep it simple stupid,” but I believe it should be “keep it simple SMART!” When things aren’t going well, you might think too much and try to find some complex solution to the problem. This approach usually just makes it worse. Your goal should be to focus on a few things and do them to the best of your ability. In fact, on race day, the simplest of the KISS principle you should focus on is this: Give your best effort.

Expect It To Be Hard

Whether a sprint distance or an Ironman, there is no such thing as an easy Triathlon. Every race is hard. Triathlons should be difficult. That is what makes them so much fun and rewarding. They should be physically demanding, test your technical and tactical capabilities, and show you what you are made of mentally and emotionally. If you expect it to be hard, then there will be no surprises. If you have a bad swim, that is part of triathlon. If you fight as hard as you can and still don’t have a personal best, well, you can still feel good for having given your best effort. If you expect it to be hard, you will prepare yourself physically and mentally for the demands of triathlon.

Win The Mental Race

When you begin a race, you actually compete in two races. You compete against other triathletes and the course in the actual race. You also compete against yourself in the mental race. To win the mental race, you have to be your best ally rather than your worst enemy by staying positive all the time. Another key is to never give up. Remember what happens when you give up; you automatically lose. Two essential mental skills are to stay relaxed and focused throughout the race. Without these two Prime Triathlon skills, you will not be physically or mentally capable of having your best triathlon.