ITU Athlete Routines, Rituals, & Performance Strategies

ISSN: 1543-9518

Submitted by: Alan Ley

The Olympic Triathlete trains and the coach plans for four disciplines:
the swim, bike, run, and transitions. The 1.5 kilometer swim, 40 kilometer
bike, and 10 kilometer run are rarely done in ideal conditions or courses,
adding to the complex formula that the athlete must compete against in
order to win. At the Olympic level of competition every advantage and
possible race situation needs to be planned in advance. In a sport that
takes less than two hours to complete, often seconds is what separates
the Gold from second place.

Neuroscientist Paul Whelan in the February 28, 2004 issue of US News
and World Reports said: “Most of what we do every minute of every
day is unconscious. Your unconscious is making your everyday decisions.”
I suggest that if the elite triathlete practices the psychological strategies
and mental preparation techniques to build routines and rituals until
they become automatic responses so that on race day the athlete will have
the decisive advantage over their competitors. The coach must plan this
training into the macro, meso, and microcycles of periodization for the
athletes as he does the other four disciplines. The high performance triathlete
is like a finely tuned race car. The more horsepower/watts the car/athlete
develops the more finely tuned and highly sensitive the engine is. No
area can be overlooked or under trained.

This article will discuss mental strategies and psychological preparation
for designing pre-race and race routines for the elite triathlete. Pre-race
strategies will put you at the starting line in control, focused and in
the ready to race mode. When the triathlete steps up to an ocean swim
pontoon start or a beach run and the only thing that can improve their
performance after the first splash is the power of their mind, race routines
need to be automatic like an “auto pilot!”

Morning Ritual Procedures

Research has shown that how you feel when you awake in the morning markedly
affects your perceptions and mood, and influences that day’s events.
When waking on the morning of race day the athlete needs to insure that
their initial perceptions are positive, enjoyable, and not rushed.

A negative attitude must not be allowed to enter the mind on race morning.
Below are a few ways you can ensure that you wake up on race day correctly.

Go slow

No loud alarms or sudden movement in posture and activity levels. Ease
your body into the first waking moments. Lie in bed and slowly stretch,
wiggle, and move yourself to sensations that will help you build and maintain
positive sensations.

Immediately remember, this is your time

The first thoughts you recognize in a day are also important for setting
the days tone. Begin by telling yourself things like, “I feel great,”
“It’s going to be my day,” “My sleep restored
my power,” and “Now I am ready to perform to my full potential
as a triathlete!”

Stretch and move ever so slowly

While you are still in bed, perform a slow gentle stretching routing
that includes as many muscles as possible. Start at your feet and work
your way up to your ears by contracting, stretching, and wiggling the
muscles and joints. The intensity of these activities should be at a level
that produces pleasurable feelings, not pain or cramping. I would recommend
that you stretch as if you are in a slow motion replay.

Smile and be your own “Hero!”

The simple act of smiling will create good feelings. You don’t
have to have a huge grin, an internal smile will work just fine. Whether
the world knows you as a great triathlete is not as important as the fact
that you know you are. So, be your own hero and smile because you are
about to put it all on the line with the race of your life.

Write it down

In the beginning make a list of exactly what you will do on race morning
in detail and make it specific to each ITU race course/situation. Routines
need to be built and practiced until they’re automatic, almost feeling
guilty if you miss getting in the routine. Practicing and deliberately
developing a positive attitude can be learned in five to eight days. Placing
note and visual written ques beside your bed can remind and reinforce
you to practice your new race day waking procedure. I want to emphasize
that these rituals and routines must be followed for many mornings prior
to the triathletes race week. These techniques could very possibly be
practice for years before the benefits are maximized to their fullest
potential. The coach and athlete need to begin and plan for this type
of training early in the athlete’s career.

Race Day Routine

The critical period of time between waking up and standing at the starting
line should be devoted to activities that prepare the body and mind for
your race. If you develop routines and rituals then the unexpected events
that impact your psychological state will be almost automatically controlled,
minimizing unwanted stress and distractions.

Pre- race nutrition

Prior to race day, both at home and away, plan in advance what and where
you want to eat. If you will be eating away from home, make sure you have
the foods you want to eat available on race morning. Pre-package your
favorite morning foods. It’s much better to take a few comfort foods
with you than look for them prior to the days before the race especially
if the athlete is in a foreign land. Bring all the necessary gels and
powders that you will use on race day and race morning. Have a nutrition
plan that has already been tested. Have no intestinal surprises or upsets..
Experiment with routine and nutritional changes during training weeks
and recovery weeks to be positive about how your systems react to the
changes. The elite triathlete would be well advised to seek the advice
of a Registered Dietician or an endurance nutritionist that’s experienced
in the real world bioenergetics needs, foods, and supplements of high
performance athletes.

Waking the body

Athletes need to design and follow a warm up routine that prepares the
body slowly and without any surprises. I have followed the same basic
morning warm up routine for 20 years. This confidently prepares me physically
for the days activities. You could classify it as a pre-pre-race warm-up.
An example may be to complete a few easy knee bends, crunches, arm swings,
and body twists that are enjoyable and send wake up signals to the cardiovascular
and musculoskeletal system putting them in a gentle state of arousal.
Have a routine, stick to the plan, and keep the activities non-stressful
before the race. Avoid any hurry or sense of urgency of the situation
so you are not rushing to the race site or scrambling to take care of
final details. No matter what you do, remain focused on the race. The
triathlete on race morning should feel the waking routine feeding the
body with energy.

Equipment preparation and list

You should meticulously attend to your equipment before leaving for the
race site. This serves as a way of focusing your attention on the importance
of the race and also limits frustrating surprises. Always take the responsibility
for your equipment needs. Don’t count on others to bring a bike
pump, water bottles, tubes, or goggles. Pack extra elastic laces, running
shoes and warm clothes. A few other items that can help are superglue,
tape, rubber bands, and Ziploc bags. Prepare an equipment list specifically
for you and use it. Never assume that you remember all that you should
be packing. I would recommend that you are obsessive about your equipment
preparation and compulsive with using a checklist for your equipment.

A piece of equipment that is often overlooked is the race uniform. The
ITU uniform regulations are posted on the ITU website and the athlete
must know and follow all the guidelines. I have witnessed the inability
of athlete to properly have their uniforms sized, properly marked, and
in their possession prior to World Championship events. Every ITU competitor
and coach needs to make this seemingly simple task a priority by adding
this to their pre-race routine list.

Travel troubles

Travel will always be stressful when you are away from the normal training
home routines and rituals. The best tactics will be to plan, check, re-check,
and be as organized as possible. Expect and allow adequate time for unforeseen
delays. Think about an alternate route or different modes of transportation
in case of road closures, car, bus, or plane trouble. That way, if there
is a problem you will have reduced the stress of finding another way to
get to the race. At many World Championship, World Cup, and Contential
Cup races the roads that were open prior to race day will be closed race
morning. Expect longer or different routes to the race site race morning.

Performance-enhancing images

Visualization techniques keep the primary purpose of the day focused
in your mind. This very powerful tool is painfully neglected. Using performance
images and visualization techniques is done by many of the best athletes
in the world in a variety of sports, but the elite triathlon community
lags behind in this performance activity.

The elite triathletes should use visualization that pictures them performing
and feeling as they would like to, beginning first thing as soon as the
mind awakes in the morning and continuing through the finish line. The
imagery should be as specific as possible, Mimicking things like foot
plant, arm carriage, relaxing at the first sign of tenseness.

In a 2004 Tour de France interview, Lance Armstrong said, “I know
every bump and shadow on the Tour Time Trial courses. I’ve ridden
them over and over before the race. I see myself performing on the slopes!”
Libby Burrell and Gale Bernhardt video taped the Athens course and the
USOC made copies for the athletes to use in training and to visually familiarize
themselves with the 2004 Olympic race course. The more specific the visualization
the more effective it will be. The elite triathlete should practice performance
enhancing visualization techniques during key training sessions to help
develop effective routines and rituals early in their competitive career.

Use performance-enhancement visualization to rehearse specific sections
of the race and affirm positive outcomes.
Describe to yourself mentally and verbally what will be done in “what
if” situations that may occur during the race.
Avoid “hanging out” with other competitors. Stay in your
space and keep your energy.
Assume nothing, check equipment and mentally stay focused.
All great performers in sport and life have rituals and routines
they follow. Some are more obvious and elaborate than others. They’re
easy to see when athletes are on the mound or behind a plate, standing
at the starting line, or preparing to shoot a basketball.
Rituals and routines are powerful triggers for creating and Ideal
Performance State. They help in deepening concentration, focus, turning
on the automatic, increasing arousal, staying loose and helping the
winner - WIN!

Race Site Planning

Plan everything at the race site and have a purpose for all that you
do. There needs to be no wasted energy on race day. Race performances
can be affected dramatically by seemingly insignificant events at the
race site. Your initial activities after arriving at the race venue will
set the stage for the activities that follow. Quickly learn where the
registration, restrooms, entrances and exits are. Landmark your bike position
and notice any last minute transition area changes that might have been
made. By deliberately undertaking certain activities and not allowing
distractions to take your focus away you’ll set the pattern for
an effective race routine and strategy at the race site.

H. A. Dorfman sums up why you build a routine in his 2003 book, Coaching
the Mental Game. Dorfman writes, “Routines –set behavior –
a plan. Call it what you will, effective preparation is grounded in such
behavior.”
Initial Mental Activity

Devise a constant reference point, regardless of where you are in the
race, to bring you back into the moment. That could be words like, “faster,”
“focus,” or “push” or a specific movement like
breathing or relaxing a certain body part like your face or shoulders.
Whatever you choose develop one ritual that can bring you back to the
moment. This will help in achieving control over your race and unexpected
issues. That reference movement or word will give you a certain amount
of control over the remainder of your planned activities before the gun
goes off. Find a routine and ritual you like and stick with it every time
you race and in key training sessions.

Performing enhancement imagery when you first arrive near the starting
line also sharpens your attention to that particular race. The scope of
this enhancement imagery should encompass the whole race. Think about
how you will start. Attack certain portions of the race course during
the bike and run finish. As start time approaches, begin to narrow your
focus on just the swim. Your thoughts need to become a vortex and the
closer to the start the more focused you will be on your internal mental
tactics and physiological swim skills and tactics. A triathlon swim start
can be like a water war with elbows, feet, and fingers flying in an enormous
water blender. Focusing and remaining internally calm will be paramount
to a good swim.

Mannie Edelstein in her program, Ten Steps to Breaking Mental Barriers
list these ten important steps for athletes to follow:

Think Positively – “Thoughts precede action – actions
are determined by thought!”
Be Aware of Self-Talk – “What kind of results will you
get if you are continually running yourself down? Be aware of negative
self talk and control it.”
Make the Decision to Change – Matt Biondi said to himself right
before his Gold medal swim, “I had a clear choice to make: to
swing to the positive or the negative.” Something inside me said,
“Put this behind you, and I decided I wasn’t going to let
it bother me.” Matt made the decision!
Use Positive Self-Talk – Feed yourself positive self-talk.
“Every day in every way, I’m getting better and better.
Or Things always work out well for me!”
Understand Worry – Worry is always about something that has
not happened yet. Why not spend that time planning and positively thinking
to make it work? Worry turns into fear and fear can galvanize our actions
in a race situation.
Focus on What You Want to Happen – A very interesting fact
about worry is that when we worry, we are focusing on what we don’t
want to happen. We actually concentrate and spend an enormous amount
of time, energy, emotion and effort on something that we don’t
want to happen. Triathletes need to realize that they can acquire the
skills needed to focus and build routines and rituals on what they want
to have happen but it does take time and practice.
Understand Your Self Image – Mark Allen said, “There
are plenty of guys out there that should beat me, so much of it is their
perception of their ability. They sell themselves short.” Self-
image regulates our performance. What we believe becomes reality. It
is based not on what we are capable of doing but on what we believe
we are capable of doing.
Turn Weaknesses Into Strengths. “When I was younger my weaknesses
were what I though about, what went through my mind,” Allen said.
“ In triathlons, I don’t have these doubts. I can stand
on the starting line and know that I have just as much chance as anyone
else of having a great race day!”
Improve Self-Esteem – Enjoy being you – you’re
unique. And besides you’re the only one you’ve got. “Remember,
what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve,” Joan
Benoit-Samuelson said: “I think whatever the mind wants the mind
will get. It’s a question of what the mind can endure and who
is at the instrument panel of the mind. You tell your mind what to do
and if you’re able to fuel your mind with positive thoughts and
self confidence, you’ll achieve some amazing things!”
Build Self-Confidence – “There always comes a point in
any activity when you have to decide that you’re going to go forward
and actually do it or pull back and let things sort of happen the way
they’ll happen,” Biondi said. “Unless you can see
yourself getting to the wall (finish line) first, then there’s
no way you’re going to have the motivation and desire to put forth
at the moment you need to.” Build your self-confidence by routinely
putting yourself on the line under pressure and practicing the self
confidence skills and routines it takes to come through when it’s
all on the line!

Warm-Up

Your warm-up should be as close as possible to the race start. If it
occurs to far from the race start, the benefits may dissipate before the
swimmers enter the water. Unless the water is frigidly cold the ITU athlete
needs to be thoroughly warmed up in the water before the start of the
“waterwar!”

There are three major effects of a thorough warm-up. First, the core
temperature of the body rises to the point where a light sweat develops.
Second, the neuromuscular patterns of racing are practiced though some
race-intensity specific activities like strokes or strides. Third, it
is the first opportunity to focus on features of the physical and mental
dimension of the race.

When triathlete plan their warm-up activities, they should plan to:

Make the warm up feel good. It’s your activity.
Have the content, quality and intensity of the activities (swim)
build up to those of the actual race.
Make sure the warm-up is open-ended. It is not completed until you
are ready.
Always include the short run to the transition area as part of the
warm up routine.
Check the fit and fastening of the wetsuit and goggles.

When you complete your warm up, make sure you don’t lose the effects.
Wear layers of clothing over your suit that will preserve your elevated
body temperature. Wearing a wetsuit accomplishes this to an extent, as
is often the case in ITU Olympic distance races. Often wearing two swim
caps during warm up is helpful. Maintain your fluid levels and begin to
isolate yourself mentally from other racers and spectators. Continue to
do strides or other event-specific activities between the end of your
warm-up and the start of the race. Don’t worry about expending energy
that you might use during the race since staying ready is critical.

Stretching is a valuable activity that can be useful in all phases of
race preparation. Stretches should involve all the muscles you’ll
use in the race. However, each exercise should have a purpose to achieve
some feeling of warmth and suppleness.

As the race approaches, the content of your pre-race strategy should
comprise events and actions over which you have total control. Don’t
rely on others’ schedules or strategies during this time. By keeping
active, warm and focusing on deliberate and practiced activities, you’ll
be developing an automatic state of mind free of stress, full of confidence
and decreased physical tensions. Your warm-up signals that the race is
eminent and that final preparations for racing have started.

Race Build-Up Routine

As you begin to line up for the swim, you should enter into a very narrow
focused phase of pre-race preparations that serve to heighten your responses
and readiness to perform. This is a physical and mental build-up that
puts the final touches for the start of the race or “waterwar!”

Start by isolating yourself as much as possible from personal interactions
and begin to concentrate on your race strategy and internal ques. Increase
the intensity of your activities for short periods. Your arm/body movements,
if possible should become faster but cover shorter distances. As the starting
time nears, you should approach a state of constant motion in order to
facilitate control over your physical arousal, which needs to be high
if you are to channel your energies and start well. Maintain a relative
high heart rate, take a few deep breaths and you are ready for the first
discipline to begin!

Always flood yourself in positive reinforcement and self-talk. If it’s
difficult to concentrate on mental self-talk because of pre-race commotion,
trying silently saying your positive statements or if possible, speaking
out loud requires more concentration than just thinking and may help you
maintain focus.

After you have focused on the whole race during your initial activities
at the race site, begin concentrating on only the start and early segments
as the race draws nearer. Thinking about the latter portion of the race
will lose its effectiveness as the start becomes imminent. Your last thoughts
before the gun goes off should be about how well you are going to start
and your spatial awareness.

Pre-Race Psychological Strategies and Preparation

For every preferred action to be performed prior to a race, you should
plan an alternative fall back action that achieves the same intended outcome.
This develops a coping capacity that will help you to maintain a positive
focus when things start to feel like they are falling apart. A failure
to cope reduces performance capacity and available energy to the triathlete
as indicated by neurobiologist Lawrence Katz in a 2004 article called
“Brains World.” Katz states that, “The brain uses an
enormous amount of the body’s energy; even under normal circumstances
it uses about 20 percent of your body’s entire energy production.”
You could compare the stress and energy demands of racing to power lifting
for the brain. Imagine if the elite triathlete is so well prepared for
the physical and mental stress of racing from building automatic responses
through routine building in training that they had an extra 10 percent
of their energy reserves available to them the last mile of the 10 kilometer
run?!

Routine and Ritual Success Strategies

Below are twenty practical items you may use as a menu for designing
your own
performance strategies.

Design and use a “big picture” game plan.
Make back-up and emergency contingency plans or “what ifs.”
Have a tested nutrition plan.
Check and re-check all the equipment you will use.
Formulate a routine for you specifically.
Visualize your success in each event.
Warm-up everything you will use in your performance.
Seek a coach or mentor who will listen to you.
Wear clothes that make you feel confident.
Plan quiet time for yourself.
Check out the venue where you will perform.
Use positive self-talk and positive imagery.
Watch your best performances on video tape.
Be around people who don’t rain on your parade.
Be around people who are role models of mental toughness.
Know your opening tactics cold so they are automatic.
Read and review your past successes.
Maintain a consistent, organized schedule so there is no last-minute rushing.
Seek supporting individuals to reduce pressure on yourself.
Remain flexible and confident in your training and ability.

These pre-race routines, rituals, and strategies can be learned by devoting
training time to the total practice of at least the race-site activities.
Mimicking your pre-race warm-up before your next key workout is a great
way to become comfortable with your routine. After each race, you can
alter your strategy as new elements are included and others discarded.
In time, precision and competence in developing your own ideal race-readiness
state will improve. After all, you can never be too detailed in your pre-race
strategy.

Lastly, it’s a good idea to take written strategies to races. If
you find it difficult to concentrate on what you need to do, you can read
them over.

Learning to develop and employ pre-race mental strategies is a lengthy
learning process-much like the physical training processes you go through
while preparing to race. Practicing your mental strategies during workouts
and experiencing them time after time in races will help you hone and
refine them, and show you that they are equally as important as any other
preparation you undertake.

I’ve listed ten mental thoughts that an elite ITU elite triathlete
could use.
“I will swim, run, and/or bike:

confidently, relaxed and in a controlled state of terror!
smoothly but with lightning speed!
with purpose and conviction – Second is the first loser today!
dancing up the hills (in the water) like a man on fire!
staying in the moment and focused during the competitive confusion!
focused on my internal signals and movements with pain being my best friend!
flowing with the inner strength that the hours and miles of training brings.
with furry because this race is my race to take!
like I’m possessed because I was born to be in this moment,
because I love this s*#+!”

H. A. Dorfman summed it up nicely when he said: “Athletes who wish
to be consistent must make a commitment. First, they should formulate
goals, which will help them determine what aspects of their game-physical
and mental-they need to work at. Then they should develop a program of
routine, which will allow them to habituate behaviors, so that these behaviors
will become ‘second nature’ to them. They then must have the
mental discipline and stamina to follow these routines, regardless of
how they may be feeling at the given moment or on a given day.

“An athlete’s preparation should come from a compilation
of all the good and appropriate habits he or she has on and off the field.
His or her eating, sleeping, and conditioning habits should come as a
result of a plan put into action. If they are habits of neglect, they
will be habits of failure. Sloppy thinking is not the characteristic of
successful athletes (coaches). Preparedness developed through positive
and determined thinking (routines) succeeds and endures!”

References

Rushall, B.S. Ph.D, Mental Skills Training for Sports (2nd ed.) 1995
Spring Valley, CA. Sports Science Associates

Peak Running Performance Volume 7/Number 3, May – June 1998

Sachs, M. L. and Buffone, G.W. Running as Therapy 19844

Edelstein, Mannie., It’s All in Your Head Triathlete, March 1992

Dorfman, H.A. Coaching The Mental Game, 2003 Taylor Trade publications

Dembling, S. Brain’s World, Sky Writing, February 2004, p 68

Loehr, James.Ed.D., Mental Toughness Training for Sports, Stephen Green
Press 1982

Townsend, Craig, The Power of Your Pre-Triathlon Thoughts, http://www.triathlonpsychology.com

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