Mental Toughness is for Wimps : trifuel.com

Mental Toughness is for Wimps

Breakthrough Triathlon Training Chapter 3 Excerpt �Mental Toughness is for Wimps�

It seems that most triathletes think the key to success is to follow a consistent training schedule, have the best equipment and develop the mystical �mental toughness� skills that enable them to persevere when things get difficult in workouts or races.

Mental toughness and confidence are things that fall into place naturally. You can�t buy them or rub them on like a temporary tattoo. They should not warrant the consideration that most triathletes pay to it. Sure you can exercise a stubborn will out on the lava fields (or any race course that seems like lava fields in the latter stages!) and drag your battered body to the finish line. What�s the big deal? For all but a small percentage of athletes at the back of the pack for whom merely finishing is a true peak performance, finishing a race for the sake of finishing can often become more obsessive than honorable. It could be hard for many readers to agree with this.

In the rat race, someone who takes on the competition, increases market share, brand awareness and profit margin is considered a hero. Fight hard, never give up, be mentally tough and kill your opponents. This stubborn will concept seems to be the main theme of the business world and the self-help motivational books, audio tapes, seminars from today�s leading gurus. Consequently, it also seems to be the main redeeming quality and character lesson from triathlon. This is thanks in no small part to the heavily dramatized TV programs of triathlon and other sports.

It was quite dramatic to see two-time Ironman defending champ Tim DeBoom pass a kidney stone on the run course of the marathon during the 2003 Hawaii Ironman TV program. I guess that tactless close-up shot inside the ambulance makes for good TV, but it is not relevant to his career as a champion athlete. He should be lauded and celebrated for his victories, not his struggles. The same is true for Julie Moss. Her crawl to the finish in the 1982 ironman finish put the sport on the map and is burned in the memory of triathletes everywhere. However, the most powerful memory I choose to have of Julie Moss not her sprawled out on the pavement in Kona, it�s her storming to the turnaround on the run course of the 1989 World Cup Australia tri, on the way to her biggest victory and most amazing run of her career.

While it is powerful and inspiring to see triathletes struggle against the odds and cross the finish line successfully, I don�t think that struggle and suffering should be the central element of your triathlon experience or the triathlon ideal. Most of the people who are driven enough to get themselves into a predicament like running 13 or 26 miles after several hours of swimming and biking don�t really need to hone their stubborn will skills.

This misuse of mental toughness may be a contributing factor to the mediocrity epidemic. Apply mental toughness and a stubborn will to conducting workouts that are intuitively wrong will fatigue you and sabotage your fitness. Applying mental toughness and a stubborn will to struggle to the finish line can often scar you long term. Few will forget Mark Allen in the 1987 Ironman, where his 4-minute lead at mile 22 of the marathon evaporated and he struggled across the finish line 10 minutes behind Dave Scott, looking dangerously exhausted and emaciated. He was suffering from internal bleeding and rushed to the hospital, where he spent several days recovering.

If your compelling purpose in life is to win the Ironman, climb Mt. Everest or make an NFL roster, it is definitely necessary to compromise your health on the path to these goals. Few are inclined play these high risk games. After all, the 5 people that die for every 100 that attempt Mt Everest (*MtEverest.net) is a real buzz kill. If triathlon had a similar mortality rate, would you still be a competitive triathlete? Even the most serious world-class amateur competitor will hopefully agree that athletic pursuits are not worth risking or compromising long-term health.

In the early 80�s, a triathlete acquaintance of mine went to a race in Mexico, where he pushed valiantly to finish an extremely difficult course in steamy tropical conditions. He was overcome by heat stroke at the finish line and hospitalized. While he lived to tell the story and race another day, he sustained permanent damage to his body. In future races where even moderate heat and humidity were present, his cooling system would malfunction and his body would shut down. His finishing the race in Mexico was a brilliant display of mental toughness � deserving of an award. But who wants to receive an award from a hospital bed?

When I asked Lance Armstrong about his mental training/mental preparation for competition, he revealed that he gave this little thought! To Lance, the important thing is to do the physical work on the road and live a life that is congruent with his purpose of winning the Tour de France. If most triathletes were to take notice of this message, they would likely suffer less in the races and perform better. This would allow them to learn the important lessons of competitive excellence and discard the superficial ones � like how to struggle and push on with a stubborn will.

When you train and live correctly, racing becomes less of a suffer-fest and more of a peak performance experience that it ideally should be. This revelation came to me at the very beginning of my endurance athletic career. At the age of 14, on a whim, I entered a local 10k road race. Armed with a handful of 20-minute training jogs, I toed the line and raced flat out for 6.2 miles. While I finished in a respectable time of 38:47, I was shattered by the effort. For most of the day, I was flat on my back suffering from an endless wave of stomach cramps and nausea. This happened after several more races, including during my first year as a high school cross country runner.

As I learned more about running and mixed with some elite athletes, I was astonished to notice that they could race a flat-out 10k and then go for a 3-mile cool down jog within minutes of finishing! I had a similar amount of competitive drive to the elite runners, but my experience of racing involved more pain and suffering of the wrong kind. Only when I escalated my training and commitment to an athletic lifestyle (like not eating a huge breakfast an hour before races!) was I able to approach the sport like an athlete.