{"id":5068,"date":"2017-05-19T10:30:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/?p=5068"},"modified":"2017-05-19T10:20:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:20:21","slug":"race-goes-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/elbowglitter.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/19\/race-goes-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do When a Race Goes Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Tumisu<\/a> \/ Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apparently, this past week has been a rough one for a number of triathletes. \u00a0I’ve seen a lot of people posting about how open water swims went poorly, bike workouts were struggled through, and runs were crushingly painful. \u00a0I’ve also talked to a number of people who had bad races over the past month and are feeling down about the rest of their race season, wondering if they should cancel races or drop down to shorter distances.<\/p>\n

So what do you do when a race goes wrong? \u00a0You don’t give up, that’s for sure. \u00a0Just because you have one bad race doesn’t mean that all is lost.<\/p>\n

First off, what made the race so bad? \u00a0Did you freak out on an open water swim? \u00a0Did you struggle through hills on your bike? \u00a0Was your bike or run split slower than you wanted? \u00a0Did you feel like you were struggling through your entire run? \u00a0Were there unexpected aches and pains?<\/p>\n

Then figure out why. \u00a0And remember, sometimes, it’s just not your day. \u00a0You can do everything right and still have a rough day. \u00a0It happens to everyone.<\/p>\n

How was your training? \u00a0And be honest with yourself. \u00a0Did you actually put in the work that you should have? \u00a0Did you let yourself slack off maybe a little bit too much? \u00a0When you skip a workout because you’re tired, are you really that tired or do you just not want to go running? \u00a0I’ve seen a lot of people skipping too many workouts because they’re worried about overtraining. \u00a0You have to learn to be honest with yourself.<\/p>\n

And if you’re getting in those workouts, are you doing what you’re supposed to? \u00a0If your plan calls for speed work, are you really putting in the effort? \u00a0Are you choosing to ride in a flat area rather than a hilly area? (Which, of course, is a good idea if you’ve got a flat race coming up, but if your race has hills, get yourself out onto those hills.) \u00a0Are you putting in the work at the pool or just halfheartedly swimming laps until you hit the 45 minute mark and then getting out as fast as you can?<\/p>\n

On the other hand, overtraining is real. \u00a0Are you pushing your workouts too hard? \u00a0Remember, your long runs should not be at race pace. \u00a0You should have some harder workouts and some easier workouts through the week. \u00a0If you push to your limit on each workout, you will end up injured or burnt out.<\/p>\n

I think keeping a training log is an incredibly important tool in helping you figure out if your training has been where it should be. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. \u00a0You can scribble down notes in a notebook, in a file on your computer, whatever works best for you. \u00a0Just something like “This was my workout and this is how I feel.” \u00a0You’ll start to see patterns in your training.<\/p>\n

On race day, did you follow your plan or did you go out too fast? \u00a0When I run half marathons, it’s very easy to get caught up in the pack and start out too fast. \u00a0You will see a lot of runners do this. \u00a0Hold back and stick to your plan. \u00a0You don’t want to use up all of your energy at the beginning and have to slog through the last few miles. \u00a0Plus it’s fun to start passing people as they run out of energy and you’re still going strong. \u00a0Aim for a negative split (running the second half of the race faster than the first half).<\/p>\n

Did you freak out in the water at your triathlon? \u00a0This can happen to anyone at anytime, but ask yourself – did you practice appropriately? \u00a0Did you get in open water swim practice? \u00a0Did you put in the time getting used to swimming in cloudy water where you can’t just follow a line on the bottom? \u00a0Did you do any open water swimming in a group? \u00a0Even if you’re an experienced swimmer, open water practice will help every triathlete.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the answer to the above questions, you should also formulate a plan for how you’re going to get yourself out of an open water freak-out. \u00a0A lot of people have a mantra that they repeat over and over or they sing a song in their head. \u00a0Some people flip onto their back and float and breathe for a minute or so. \u00a0Do what you have to so that you can keep going. \u00a0Remember, you are prepared for this swim, and you will get through it.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, don’t give up. \u00a0If your last race went poorly, that doesn’t mean your next race will. \u00a0Do some serious soul searching about what really happened and then do what you need to so you’re ready for the next race. \u00a0Everyone has a bad day. \u00a0And those bad days just make us stronger.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apparently, this past week has been a rough one for a number of triathletes. \u00a0I’ve seen a lot of people posting about how open water swims went poorly, bike workouts were struggled through, and runs were crushingly painful. \u00a0I’ve also talked to a number of people who had bad races over the past month and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat To Do When a Race Goes Wrong - 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