I have learned that all parts of triathlon are mental, and thus your ability to pull motivation from somewhere deep inside to find the strength to climb that last hill or keep your feet moving is going to be the difference between making this a life style or just completing some item on your bucket list.
Mentally tough is something I heard from every coach I ever had. It is also something I try to teach my girls as they go through life (probably the hardest thing to teach them). As much as we try as parents to be there for our kids and make things easier for them, there are times we just cannot be there. The ability to focus on what is truly important or the goal you are trying to achieve instead of the immediate pain or stressful event is something that’s hard to learn, but so rewarding when you do. Being able to show my girls how to do it is probably the best way to teach them.
While I am sure that I have just started to scratch the surface, there are three main mental challenges I have run into within triathlons so far.
Training. Just finding the will to train every day is a mental battle at times. Pulling yourself out of bed to get in that run, bike and/or swim before going into the office to work a full day isn’t always easy. Even though you know without that training session race day will be that much harder. Then after work many times trying to fit in another training session - when your family also needs you to cook dinner or drive kids to practices or attend that school event. It can be draining until you figure out a good balance – and even then it still has its moments.
Racing. To complete a triathlon race takes a lot of mental strength. Knowing you are about to swim a 0.5 - 1 mile (or more) in water that can vary from 55-70 degrees is enough to stop most people (thank you cold NE waterways). Knowing that immediately after swimming (and usually a short run to transition) you are biking anywhere from 12-56+ miles (in NE that usually involves a fair amount of hills). Knowing after the bike, when your whole body feels like you are ready to take a long nap, your tired legs need to carry you another 5K/10K or longer. Races are draining not only from a physical standpoint, but also a mental one.
Balance. As a working mother triathlete, there is a constant mental battle. Are you spreading yourself too thin, did you do enough training, are you meeting all your goals at work, are you spending enough time with your family, etc.? This is what I find the most taxing from a mental standpoint. I always want to spend more time with my family. I always wonder if I am putting in enough time at the office.
So how do you get through this and build that mental toughness? When I find my will to train or during a race my mind telling me to stop when I still have miles to go, I focus on what has motivated me to get to where I am. I try to find motivation in everything around me.
- My girls motivate me as I want to show them what is possible – that they can set their sights to do whatever they want in life and it is achievable when you put in the work.
- Racing side-by-side with my husband (well metaphorically, as we usually are in different in different start waves), but knowing that we are there to cheer for the other and push the other to constantly do better is such a helpful thing to know when you start to drag in the middle of a race (and maybe trying to beat him :) ).
- My sister-in-law (to be) who just rocked her first triathlon (finishing 3rd in her age group!) – seeing her work her butt off to have a great race all while planning her wedding and starting a new job has motivated to me to step up my training so that I can perform better.
- Knowing what I have been capable of in the past. While I am new to triathlons, I am not new to competing in sports. Now we are talking about high school level sports, but for example I know my personal best time for a mile run, my fastest times in a swim meet and how I felt after a 90 minute soccer game or soccer tournament (running up and down the field all day). I know that after years of minimal working out and age slowing me down, it is going to take time to get back to that form, but it’s something I believe I am capable of doing (or at least getting close).
In my view at the end of a day, the only way to be able to get through these grueling races and sometimes long training sessions is to be mentally tough and use whatever you have around you that can motivate you. For all of those that constantly push me – thank you and keep doing it!
Happy racing!
- Working Mother Triathlete
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