Race Week - Self Management or Self Sabotage

by Ron Tribendis, D.C.

While following the Olympics in the beginning of the month, I found myself wondering how the athletes who competed in the final days handled the weeks leading up to their events without being distracted by the excitement, hype, and hassle of travel, the Olympic Village, the media and every other disruption. Certainly the seasoned, more experienced athletes have mastered self-management during race-week. Just as certainly, there were some athletes that experienced “self-sabotage” in the weeks or days leading up to their events.

Self-management during a competition week is critical, but it goes back even further than that. While race week is a very important part of the overall success of the "A" race, I like to think the last three weeks can be lumped together in a “race block” than can make or break your event. Sometimes the taper can actually be harder than the training.

Over the years I’ve developed a few techniques to optimize the last few weeks and avoid self-sabotage.

Don't overwork in your key sessions - The key sessions are intended to fine tune your race plan and workout any kinks. They are not intended to build fitness. The last three weeks are about dropping the fatigue and absorbing your training.
Don't overeat - Eat normally but remember you aren't putting in a high volume of aerobic hours. Your diet needs to be trimmed to match your output.
Get extra sleep - You heal when you sleep. Your body needs to repair in order to go into battle the day of your race.
Get body work - This means massage, ART, etc. Use the extra time you have now that you aren't training as much to get your body 100% niggle free.
Hydrate - This is always important but for races like Kona, it is very important. A day before the race isn't enough time to hydrate properly. For Kona I usually start a week to 10 days out.
Manage your thoughts - This is inevitably the time when your children will get sick, your spouse will be nearing the limit of his or her support and work will be on overload. You may start to wonder if you’ll even make it to the starting line, much less the finish line. Recognize and dismiss any dramatic, snowballing negative thoughts. To conquer this, schedule some quiet time each day visualize your success. Be still, focus and vividly picture yourself executing the perfect race.

Ron Tribendis, D.C., is a member of the Endurance Corner coaching network. He has been competing in triathlons for 10 years, qualifying for Kona and the 70.3 World Championships. He has also coached multiple athletes to Kona and Clearwater. He currently lives in Frisco, TX, where he operates a sports medicine chiropractic clinic, North Texas Performance Chiropractic. He is a USAT Level 1 coach and active release (ART) full body certified.