Between your ears

You've probably heard it a hundred times...from your mom, your teacher, your coach, and maybe even your boss...."use your head", or "keep your head in the game".

While it is usually not communicated in a nice, gentle way, the advice is well founded.

Keeping your head on straight during a triathlon is key to having a good day. Why? Because no matter how well you are prepared, there is always something that will go wrong. And it is how you handle the situation or even situations that will determine your result.

First, let's deal with the physical. Not matter how much you've trained, and how fit you feel more often than not you will deal with some level of discomfort. For me the discomfort usually appears in the run. It may be heat, or it may be a cramp, or a blister. It is at these times that I simply try to think about how much time I need to deal with the discomfort. For example in a recent race the heat was really getting to me on the run. There was not a lot of shade, the road was hot, and the course was hilly. But I knew that if I could deal with the heat for another 12 - 15 minutes I'd be finished. And I knew if I kept moving I'd tick off the minutes and be done. So rather than focusing on the discomfort I counted down the minutes.

Then there are the mechanical issues. These are difficult because they can add a lot of time to your day. And worse, all you can think about are the athletes passing you. Then you begin to rush, make an error in your fix and end up in a worse spot. The key is to keep calm, and make the right fix, once. Slow is smooth and smooth is steady.

But what if it happens again. This is where attitude really comes into play. At Ironman Canada in 2005 carpet tacks were thrown onto the bike course by someone or a group of someones who did not want the race in their back yard. This caused a lot of flat tires. One participant suffered 6 flat tires during her ride. But she kept her cool, made the fixes, and knew that she had plenty of time to make the bike cut off. She did not end up with her desired time, but she crossed the line and was an Ironman. Now that's using your noodle.

And in a recent, local Olympic race the eventual winner had to fix a pedal issue which took 5 minutes of his time in transition. He kept calm, made the fix, then proceeded to race his race, and still cross the line in first place.

The stories could go on forever...from forgetting your bike shoes, to ripping your wetsuit, to losing your goggles in the swim.

So remember, train hard, and go to the race prepared - physically and mentally ready to handle whatever the day throws in your way.

Until next time, keep tri'n.