on sports psychology

Had been in a state of mental funk all of last week. Dreary weather, injuries, bike problems and the stress of keeping up with my training program finally boiled over on Wednesday when I realised that I might have no bike to race next weekend's triathlon!

It was one of the rare occasions where I totally felt helpless and anxious over a race, or over any random situation. A few days of light to non training and the insecurity of my "race state" crept in. I felt totally unprepared (in spite of my rather huge store of race experience) and in complete disarray.

It was definitely not a fun place to be.

But enough about me. Ceteris paribus, what distinguishes an elite athlete from the rest is usually mental toughness. Instead of pointlessly languishing at the bottom of energy-sapping pits when faced with problems and setbacks, top athletes usually have the mental toughness to reshuffle plans and to bounce back.

What is mental toughness then?

While there is no concrete definition to what constitutes a mentally superior athlete, the general consensus is that he/she is more likely than not to possess all of the four following character traits: motivation, discipline, confidence and patience.

To elaborate, mentally tough sportsmen are often motivated enough to give it their all, be it alone or with a group, during training or during competitions, or regardless of potential training interruptions like rain and exams (in my case =P). They are disciplined enough to tailor their lifestyles and nutrition to suit their training goals (means no beer and fêtes but sadly I am not disciplined enough). They have the self confidence that they are able to deliver the goods, no matter the conditions and the equipment. Lastly, they have the patience - Years and years of routine training and hard work for that elusive moment of glory.

It is every athlete's dream to be the very best. However, many of us do not make the cut. While most do not hesitate to point their fingers to their physical ineptness as a cause of their failures, why not take a moment to reflect on one's mental weaknesses? Like me, many other average age groupers tend to stick to a comfort zone - a minimal level of performance (45min 10km runs) or lame excuses (had too much to eat) - in order to justify themselves and to satisfy their training goals.

Obviously this is not the way to go.

While it is important to log in the training miles, it is also equally important to train our brains. A sports psychologist may be more useful than a coach if you perceive that you have already reached your physical peak. Practice by visualizing the worst race day conditions, then coming up with their solutions, or by adopting a "nothing is impossible" mindset. By toughening up mentally, we will then be able to deal with our problems and challenges more efficiently and positively.

Anyway, back to me. Yes, I had quite a number of setbacks which all came at the same time. Rather than fretting on all of them all at once, I decided that I had to prioritise and adapt: Do whatever it takes to get to the startline next Sunday, then tackle the rest of the problems separately later on. With regards to training, I had no choice but to play along with the weather and my schoolwork. I trained when I could; if I could not go long I would cut the duration but increase the intensity. Well, a found-on-the-floor-and-half-eaten powergel is better than none when you're bonking right?

Hope it all ends well for me.

Forget about Zipp wheels, aero helmets, hydrophobic wetsuits or super-light shoes. The mind is really every athlete's secret weapon, and after unlocking it, a place on the podium may not seem that unreachable after all. =)