Post Race Blues

Hello triathletes!!

So for some of you, your 'A' races are coming round fast, for many of you they may have already been and gone for this year.

With that comes a sense of “what now”?

You’ve worked hard on this triathlon goal of yours and now you are a little lost. It becomes addictive working on your goals, and you seek more challenges to get that high again, but you are also really quite jaded!

And I wouldn’t be surprised if other commitments in your life are starting to say “time for me now”

Here are some tips below to help you relax, reflect and refocus. Hopefully it will calm your mind, and body, and give you space to discover what it meant, and how you will move on from this amazing experience.

• Take time to relax. Really relax. You no longer have this nagging feeling you should be doing more, working harder, out on the bike, getting in the pool, reading up on swim technique etc. Only when you truly relax will you be able to look ahead with total clarity. So make time to sit in silence, read a book or go for a few solo walks in the countryside to free your mind.

• Give your self ample time to recover. You will be chomping at the bit to train again, you are possibly the fittest you’ve ever been and resting seems like you're wasting your hard work. But this is where injury can rear its ugly head if you don’t allow your body (& mind) to come down from such pressure and hard work.

In a triathlon I use the rule of resting for 1 day per mile of your run. So if you did a sprint tri, thats 3 days rest (3 mile run) or if you did a half ironman you rest (or at least don't run) for 13 days. Just so you can properly get the race out of your legs.

That doesn’t mean you can't do some exercise in that time, you can do easy swims and bikes, some yoga or pilates. Just give yourself ample time before you strap your trainers on again as it's demanding on your body. 

• Write down what went well, and what you would like to improve. Ask yourself if you would like to do the race again, or a similar one. Don’t let the fact that the race has opened up for entries again sway you into booking if you're not 100% sure, they do this as a sales technique to capitalise on your ‘high’ from finishing the race so make sure it is truly what YOU want.

• Take action on your lists. When listing what went well, and what didn’t, add another section on who can help you with your improvements. Are you needing to see a bike mechanic, a coach, a strength and conditioning expert, a nutritionist? Are you needing help from a book or blog on a certain topic. Or do you need to join a club or group to help you with consistency in your training. Or a bank manager to find out how to pay for all the races you would like to do now!!

• Celebrate! Go out with your friends, family or clubmates to celebrate your success. These opportunities don’t come round that often and you need to make the most of them. Lots of commitment, sacrifice and energy goes into a race, for you and your loved ones, so make sure you celebrate. 

• Do the things you couldn’t do when you were training and committed to the goal in sight. Do things that are not related to swim, bike and run. Refocus on those things around you that you have overlooked, maybe try new activities. My friend and I, when training for long distance triathlons, would make a list 4 weeks out from the race of all the things we wanted to do after the race. Such as sit on the beach and eat ice cream, go for a surf, go out for dinner with family, go to the cinema etc.

• So now you have rested, reflected, made notes on how well you did, and how you can improve, it's time to decide if you want to race again. If it's not for you right now then no worries. Keep hold of great memories and hopefully you will come back to it one day. If you are ready to think about your next race, this season or next, then have a great time researching races. I swear it's one of the best parts of doing triathlon!

Whichever you decide, be sure to keep at least one photo of race day for memories. Maybe your race number and medal too! 

We are sending you big congratulations from Mojo for getting to the start line of your race. And if you got to the finish line then even more KUDOS to you!

Wishing you the best of luck with your new goals, and please let us know if we can help in any way. 

Have a great day