Scottsdale Health November 2019

Avoiding
Mental
Sabotage
One simple way to get your head
in the race
endurance
/ by Lewis Elliot
Lewis Elliot is a
Scottsdale resident and
professional triathlete.
The avid hiker, skier
and mountain biker
was born and raised in
Montana. In 2012, his
first book, “7 Weeks
to a Triathlon,” was
published. He is one of
the founding members
of the Komen Tri For
The Cure and the Tri-
Scottsdale Foundation.
The former U.S.
National Team Cyclist
can be reached at lewiselliot@hotmail.com.
You’ve dedicated yourself, made a lot of sacrifices,
and focused on this event for many months. You’re
getting close to race day and becoming overwhelmingly
excited, possibly even anxious for that start gun to
fire. Now it’s time to go out there and set a personal record.
This is your turn to fly.
Preparing for races often goes well for people, and is surprisingly
repeatable through consistency and application. The biggest
obstacle many of us face is when it comes time to executing a great
race to the best of our ability. There’s an entire myriad of challenges
that competing can present, to the point that some people find themselves
physically paralyzed with anxiety and nervous energy. There
are so many thoughts that naturally creep into the mind of an athlete
under pressure, usually including fear of failure and general selfdoubt.
These thoughts are all too common and often very complex.
What is expected of us in life? What should we expect of ourselves?
While it may seem too obvious, the simplest way to think
about this is if we fulfill our potential, then we have to be more than
content with that. If things don’t go our way, what do we do? We
acknowledge the challenge, then move forward planning to do our
best from that point on. This is an inevitable reality of race execution
within all the possible variables that arise.
It may sound cliche but when comes to the big event: simply do
your best! Don’t ask for more, and certainly don’t accept less. This
ultimate pursuit of your potential usually has a calming effect on the
mind, to know that your best is enough. All the preparation, all the
equipment, all the time, the sacrifice, every bit of it is in place. Now
it’s your turn to go out there and do what you can do, to the highest
level of your ability. It’s vital not to question anything beyond that.
When challenges arise within your race, which they inevitably
will, always keep a calm head. Accept a new variable as quickly as
possible, and then commit to do your best moving forward. Ask
yourself, “What’s the best I can do from here to the finish line?”
Then execute that – you have an immediate and new goal set
from that point on. Repeat this as needed from start to finish, and
you’ve done your best and fulfilled your potential on the day.
50 ScottsdaleHealth 11/19