If your season is like most in North America, races are winding up, injuries are being addressed and naps are much longer. Hopefully, at some point this fall you will sit down with your coach, discuss ‘08 goals, decide what your limiter was for 2007, and how you can improve it. For most people this is limited to physical training, but what about something more fundamental? What about challenging your mental approach to training and racing?

All year I have been very aware of the reality my athletes create for themselves, the reality I create for myself, and how our interaction affects the actual experience. The truth is that many athletes ignore this and focus so much on "training" that they miss an essential element to success.

Most triathletes are very driven, competitive people. Honestly, not much happens in our day that we don’t plan, so why not plan for success with a positive attitude? The truth is that most dedicated athletes will achieve many of their goals sooner or later. If we step back though and explore our mindset in that pursuit of success, it is often flooded with negative thoughts of self doubt, pity and reasons why this won’t happen. A common goal of very successful athletes is their ability to internalize success before it even happens. They create in their brain the belief that they deserve to achieve their goals.

Once you make yourself aware of these negative thoughts you will be able to address them. A great way to experience yourself is to run a 5k all out. About 5 minutes into the race you will begin to challenge yourself to create a positive experience. It is incredibly hard in a 5k to stay focused on succeeding, positive and absent of self doubt. At some point you begin what I call a ‘negotiation between the mind and body.’ Clearly this is an extreme situation where you are very uncomfortable, but it is an example of smaller situations that occur everyday.

The truth is that no matter what you think during the 5k, you are likely going to finish. The question is what is the experience that you have created? In one scenario you fail to meet your time goal. In that case what does it hurt to be positive? In the other scenario you succeed and meet your goal. In this scenario positive thinking makes it that much better.

This fall I hiked Pikes Peak, 30 miles top to bottom with a 30-lb pack. This gave me ample opportunity to explore my thought process and how I cope with discomfort, pain and self-doubt. The difference between this and a 5k is that in the hike all of those thoughts creep up very slowly, more like an Ironman. "My back hurts…", "I'm tired…" "My knees are aching…", "I have blisters…", "I want to sit down for just a minute…", “There is no air and I can't breathe…". The thoughts rushed my mind but turning around was never an option, so the real challenge was the experience I created for myself and those around me.

It’s normal to explore all of these feelings and push yourself beyond that comfort zone, but with keeping the thoughts positive creates a whole new experience. "I only have 29 miles to go…", “What a beautiful mountain…"," I am going to take a moment to stretch out…", “This air is so clean and refreshing…", there is little doubt the goals you set for yourself next year will be achieved. What’s left for debate is the actual attitude you adopt and the experience you have on your path to the top.