Race Week Energy

MUSINGS FROM A COACH - 22 OCTOBER '24

I'm currently in Kona, Hawaii, for the 2024 IRONMAN World Championships, and I thought I'd write a bit about "race week energy" - the good and the bad. :)

If you've ever been to a World Championship or multi-day event, you know how the energy in the days leading up to the race increases to a silent crescendo. If you're not sure you've experienced this before, the symptoms you'd feel might be exhaustion and building anxiety leading up to the night before the race. No kidding!

So here are my tips I give to athletes on how to avoid the "bad" and just get the "good" of "race week energy".

First, let's talk about the good. If it's your first time or fifth time at a big event, you still get that natural anxiousness that comes with the big day right around the corner. You see the course is set, you see the vendors and signage and you see your fellow athletes arriving and getting ready. You start getting nervous. This is a good thing! It means you're getting yourself ready to perform.

It can be great to meet fellow competitors and share tips, stories and nervous excitement prior to race day. Getting an opprotunity to get in the time zone, the elevation and the weather prior to race day is also a great thing. Having some time to ensure any equipment you have makes it (if you're flying) and is in working and racing condition is also a benefit. There are a ton of reasons to arrive early during race week.

But there can also be some drawbacks. The excitement that has been building within you to race can also fuel your desire to "roam" and expend energy that should be conserved. Showing up to race check-in and packet pickup is fine, but roaming around the venue for hours on end, on your feet and potentially in the sun, can zap your energy without you even knowing it. And then there's that "energy" that seemingly surrounds and envelops us. It's the collective nervous excitement from all of the athletes combined that we can start feeling - fueling us to keep going, but sapping our energy when we finally get off our feet at the end of the day.

So here are some recommendations for race week:-Arrive early enough NOT to be rushed. If you're flying, give yourself at least 2 days before last checkin opportunity in case your luggage doesn't arrive with you.

-Be in control of your time. Have a schedule and figure out the best use of your time at the venue. If you want to shop the expo, do it 2 or 3 days prior - not the day before the race.

-Have a day off. For most athletes, taking a day off 2 days out and getting in some light training the day before the event works great. It allows the body to rest post travel as well as ensuring you've absorbed the previous block of training. Of couse this depends on travel, weather, race distance and individual preferences. -Stay out of the sun. Enough said.

-Stay off your feet. The closer to race day, the less you should be on your feet.

-Knowledge. Know that it's both normal and good to feel nervous and anxious. But don't let it consume you. Trust in yourself and generate grattitude for just having the opprotunity to do something most poeple wont or can't do.

Ultimately know that the "race week energy" will draw you in and suck your energy. Don't let it! But also don't completely avoid it. Enjoy the uniqueness of it and take all the positives you can.

Aloha,

Mark CEO Team MPI