3 Strategies to Maintain Mental Focus and Toughness on Race Day

As endurance athletes, our time is mostly spent focusing solely on our physiological preparation for a race or event:  building our aerobic base,  pushing our V2 threshold, building power, dialing in technique, etc. However, we many times neglect the mental side of performance, in particular our ability to stay focused and push hard through the end. There are times when we just crack and struggle to get to the finish, and times when we feel strong, and  smash our goals. In most cases, this inconsistency isn't indicative of a lack of fitness, but a lack of focus. 

Yet just like swim stroke technique or run gait, with practice we can build our mental skill set- our ability to say focused while under pressure.  One way is to build mental toughness. Regardless of the specific endurance event, there will be times that are incredibly difficult, where we may consider quitting, stopping, or allowing the demons of self-doubt creep in. However, with the right mental tools and techniques, we can combat this. Here are 3: 

1) Use verbal cues that help us stay engaged and motivated during rough patches

We want to periodically work on becoming more mentally tough through some intentional work, combined with some tools to help us overcome these mentally challenging workouts. One tool to develop our internal dialogue, or the ‘story’ we tell ourselves during race day, are specific verbal/mental cues, we employ when things get tough. Consider a few key phrases that will be beneficial to race day success: a mantra, and a few positive affirmations. Write them down, commit them to memory, and repeat them when things get tough/dull/boring during the big day.

• First, a mantra can keep you motivated. It can be “Your Why”, or something similarly powerful for you to remember and repeat when things get tough on race day (or in training). In the past I’ve used the phrase, “For My Family” to get me through grueling race experiences, which reminds me of the sacrifices my family has made on my behalf, and by not putting forth every ounce of effort, I would be letting them down. I have others who have raced on behalf of family members who are sick, or friends who have passed away. It can be literally any short saying that resonates with you and gives you the motivation to keep going when things get tough. But whatever mantra you adopt, it should be short in words, but long in power. 

• Second, positive affirmations can be highly impactful during hard spells on the course. It’s easy for us to get negative: “I’m so far behind, I don’t belong here", or “What am I doing, these athletes are way fitter than I am”, or “I’m a terrible swimmer”, or “Everyone else is so much faster than me”. And we know from mountains of research, that the voice we listen to most of all, IS OUR OWN!  So, if we begin to talk in a negative light, we start to believe the negative, and things spiral downward. However, if we have a few POSITIVE affirmations we can employ, then it’s easier to keep energy and positivity up. These could be: “I belong here, and I’ve done the work”, or “Keep it up, I’ve got this!”, or “I’ve trained for this, it feels hard because it is hard”, or any number of other things we can tell ourselves to help us reframe our experience in the moment. 

2) Use “intentional suffering” efforts in training, designed to help us employ mental techniques and hone our ability to suffer

I’m a big fan of David Goggins, who famously says, “Do something that SUCKS every day!" I agree with him- intentional suffering not only adds character and sharpens discipline, but it allows us to PRACTICE the skills of resilience, toughness, and mental focus which are so critical on race day. As such, we want to execute a few ‘harder than they need to be’, race-specific, mentally-taxing efforts to help us hone that mental toughness and hone in our ability to stay focused when things get dicey. And yes, it is very much a skill to be suffering while continuing to push hard, stay focused, and not quit or significantly reduce the effort. We practice mental toughness and focus, just like we practice swim technique or a golf swing.

A few examples could include:  

• If training for a flat course (IMMD, IMFL, etc.) we can do a long ride (4+ hrs.) on a trainer OR on a short, flat, outdoor loop (>5 miles). With those training for hillier races, do those rides on a short, hilly loop).  Here we have to deal with boredom, monotony, and muscular fatigue of staying in the same position. We have to combat the urge to let the mind wonder, and stay focused through the constant repetition of the same scenery for hours on end. 

• For the weekly long run , we can run on either a treadmill OR a track OR .5 mile outdoor loop, for 2+ hours. For the same purpose as the ride, we are forced to constantly fight the monotony, boredom, and fatigue while continuing to push. 

• For a long swim, we can swim continuously for 45-50 minutes in open water or a pool. Normally we don't do these types of efforts in the water to control for form breakdown, but this is the exception as we fight to maintain focus and continuous effort across a very long session.

These and similar mentally taxing efforts will truly test your ability to stay focused, and NOT let your mind wander. On race day, your mind will become your BIGGEST asset. Your fitness will be there. But your mind controls your execution. Stay mentally tough here. 

3) Use mental checklists designed to assess ourselves mid race, and keep the mind occupied

While swimming, riding, and running, we can easily let our mind wander. We've all 'hit auto pilot' on long runs and rides, and just cruised. letting the miles tick on while being checked out. However, that  distraction can be detrimental to our progress (I've crashed out of a race that way), allowing ourselves to steer away from our race or nutrition plan,  or simply slow down without realizing it. Instead, we should be keeping our mind occupied with constantly assessing a few metrics. By constantly assessing these aspects of our race day, we can stay present, and minimize the risk of neglecting an important piece of our race plan. We can ask ourselves the following critical questions throughout our long training efforts and later, during the race: 

• What is my effort level? (What's my wattage, pace, and RPE?) How does my body feel as a result? Do I need to pull back/push harder? Am I still racing my plan and racing within my capability? 
• How is my form? Am I able to swim, ride, or run any more efficiently (relax more, increase cadence, get more aero, etc.) without expending any more effort ?
• How is my nutrition/hydration plan going? When do I need to eat/drink next? 
• How is my gut handling my effort combined with the heat/humidity/ and my nutrition/hydration? 
• Where am I on the course? Are there any landmarks coming up I can mentally “check off”?
• How much am I hurting? Is this pain a danger signal or just the painful part of racing? A danger signal might be severe cramping, dizziness, lightheadedness, etc. which would necessitate a reduction in effort, however most times that it not the case. What can I tell myself to keep pushing on? (repeat a mantra, recall a specific race simulation workout accomplished in training, reflect on the aggregate of months of training designed to  prepare for race day, use the positive affirmations, etc.). 

Reviewing these and other metrics/mental checkpoints, we can not only ensure we are EXECUTING our race plan by being disciplined and methodic, but we can keep our mind engaged and keep out negative thoughts. If we can practice using verbal cues, practicing intentional suffering, and using our mental checklist,  we'll be well equipped to maintain focus and remain mentally tough on race day.

Good luck!