Preparing mentally when you aren't physically

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2008-09-01 6:11 PM

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Subject: Preparing mentally when you aren't physically

I have my second ever sprint tri next Sunday, and consequently the last one I will be doing for this season. 

I knew that August was going to be a very bad month for training, and it certainly lived up to that.  So I am going into this race being FAR less prepared than for my first.  I haven't done a single brick in about 6 weeks, and my total training time is almost half what it was training for my first race. 

I really wanted to one more this season just for the experience, so I know I won't be breaking any records.  I am not quite sure how to approach this race though.  I figured I could either go easy (since my training has been crummy) and just do it to do it.  OR, I could just go balls-out for the heck of it, since it'll be my last race for a long time.  I see pros and cons to both.  

So what is your approach to a race when you don't feel physically perpared for it? 

2008-09-01 6:19 PM
in reply to: #1642026

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Melon Presser
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Subject: RE: Preparing mentally when you aren't physically

I go in determined to have as much fun as humanly possible, and to really focus on transitions (a VERY important time-saver in tri, and vastly under-practiced).

Smooth, and perhaps having a specific goal or focus on each part of the race (e.g., form for swimming, bike handling on the bike, perfect pacing during the run), is wiser than balls-out ... looking at your logs, going balls-out may result in injury, and will likely give you a negative race experience when there were so many other positive goals/outcomes you could focus on.

2008-09-01 6:50 PM
in reply to: #1642026

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Subject: RE: Preparing mentally when you aren't physically
I signed up for IMOO last year. A few months later I got my wife pregnant. A few months later I completely dislocated my shoulder (again) and had to have it fixed.

The only goal I met in my IM training was my weight-loss (say BYE-BYE to 42 pounds!!!!), as a newborn baby and high-volume don't really mix, nor does a severely injured shoulder (I knew I should have quit playing hockey several months earlier due to IM training, but noooo, I'm an idiot) really work well with swim training.

So, to get to the point, I did a few things. First, I scrapped my time goal. I am a competitive SOB, and it was hard to do, but once I mentally accepted finishing the IM itself as a reasonable, logical, and acceptable goal, my stress level went WAAAAY down. You don't shoot for a specific time or a PR if you're under-trained.

The other thing I did was to ensure that I was actually physically able to complete my race. Yeah, I may whine about the shoulder, and I may have only swam 4-5 times in the last few months, but two of those swims were >1.5 miles in open water. I know my shoulder is going to hurt like hell next Monday, but I also KNOW I can do the swim. I ran Grandma's Marathon, and I put in the time on my bike, so those worry me much less, despite not nearly training at the volume I had planned.

Now all I have to do is get my out to Madison on Thursday, and execute on Sunday......

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