by Mimi Winsberg, M.D.

After spending months preparing for our A-races with laser-like focus, we toe the line and give it our best effort. A great outcome can make for a big rush of excitement, and a less than desired outcome can leave us with regret or disappointment.

With successful results the euphoria might last hours or even days. But, regardless of outcome, there is a point when the post-race buzz fades and we are left wondering, “OK, now what?” In considering how our minds work, this is probably a pretty typical response.

The Satisfaction of Success is Short-Lived
Most of us are wired to strive after goals and rewards. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores “The Progress Principle” in his book “The Happiness Hypothesis.” He explains how we work hard to succeed in life by achieving goals, fostering friendships, finding a partner and raising our children to do the same. From this it seems like we should be able to bask in a long lasting feeling of contentment from succeeding at an important goal. But if we look at how our brains perceive reward, it turns out that reinforcement of our hard work happens in much smaller and more immediate steps.

Making progress towards a goal results in a very pleasurable feeling. This is associated with active engagement of an executive part of our brain -- a region called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Increased activity happens in this region during planning related to action. Not surprisingly, decreased activity of this area is associated with depression.

With a big accomplishment, we get a fleeting sense of satisfaction as this area of the brain reduces its activity once the goal has been realized. The reduction in activity generates a sense of relief rather than ongoing pleasure.

What matters, and what brings pleasure is the journey not the arrival. So expecting the post-race euphoria to last beyond the sweet sensation of putting your legs up after the marathon leg of an ironman may be unrealistic, and what is left is a lingering desire for more challenge. This may explain why we drag ourselves out of bed the next morning to stand in registration lines for next year’s race.

Before rushing headlong into the next goal, reflect in the calm after the storm. This moment offers a rare window of perspective, and often overlooked, it can help us realize our potential.

How to Approach the Post-Race Period

• Reappraise Goals and Process: Just as our muscles need recovery to absorb training load, our brains may need time to absorb the race experience. Bodies adapt with recovery, and so can our minds reorganize for greater potential.

  Arguably we learn more from a challenging race than a seemingly effortless one. A tough race, much like a life crisis, can send us flying off the proverbial treadmill and force us to re-consider: get back on and resume previous patterns or try something new?

  With a life crisis, the window of opportunity for change is larger -- it can last weeks or months. With a tough race, the window is small. Still, it is there, and when that moment presents, goals can shift in their sense of importance, and come into sharp focus.
  

• Learn from the Race: Those who make sense of their experience, and ask themselves “why did this happen?” and “what can I learn from it?” are more likely to improve.

  Writing a race report becomes a useful tool. Understanding the day allows us to see more clearly what we can learn from it. Any available data (such as a ride file) help complete the picture, and lend objectivity to an otherwise subjective memory of a day that rolled forward while we were operating partially on instinct.

  Psychologist Carol Dweck outlines in her book “Mindset” the difference between a fixed mindset (judging: “I’m slow on the bike”) and a growth mindset (learning: “How can I improve?”). Using reflection to develop a growth mindset has been shown to increase motivation and performance.

  Getting feedback from others post-race also fosters success. Better than feedback, to borrow a term coined by Marshall Goldsmith, author of “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” is “feedforward.” Feedforward focuses on the promise of the future rather than the mistakes of the past. Gordo practices feedforward -- he knows how to get people thinking.

  A good coach can be an invaluable source of feedback, but a network of people is even better -- such as the one provided by Endurance Corner or other network-based coaching programs. Rather than a leader-centric approach (athletes connected to the coach like spokes on a wheel), EC takes a web-like approach to coaching (athletes connected to one another and multiple sources of coaching expertise) that inherently builds capacity for learning.
  

• Developing Confidence: My first attempt at ironman resulted in a DNF. Two years later, when I qualified for Kona, I wrote: “I’m glad I had the experience of getting a Kona slot, in the same way that I'm glad my first attempt was a DNF. It's good to see both ends of the spectrum and realize that neither outcome is really that important or life changing. Obviously the DNF felt bad, and the Kona slot feels good, but either way the race is just a vehicle for personal challenge.”

  In the long run, results always seem to matter less than we think they will. But getting through a tough race is a card to pull out when we need a reminder we can do something hard. The enduring thing that we take from a race is less about outcome, and more about confidence to tackle the next challenge. Confidence is clearly a critical ingredient of success.

Whether we have a breakthrough race, and dig deeper than we ever thought we could, or whether the day gets the better of us, and we chalk one up for experience, we still have the opportunity to take a big step forward and learn something about ourselves.

Mimi is a psychiatrist, multiple-time Kona qualifier and Endurance Corner team member. This is the first edition of her continuing EC column focusing on sports psychology. You can learn more about Mimi in her recent athlete profile.