It’s the moment you’ve been training for. There are just three miles to go in your first Ironman. If you keep up your pace, you will not only finish the race, but narrowly beat your goal time. If you slow down at all, however, you’ll miss it. The miles have taken a toll, and you’re tired. Your legs are screaming, and you wonder if you can close well. Athletes pass you on your left and right, and it feels like you’re running in slow motion. The sun is beating down, and seeds of doubt start manifesting.
How do you respond? Would you feel threatened by potentially missing your goal time? Would the heat and athletes passing demoralize you? Or would you be able to reframe the situation and interpret it in a productive way?
The answer relies upon your ability to leverage cognitive change.
What is cognitive change?
Cognitive change intentionally shifts how we think about or interpret a situation, experience, or thought. It involves recognizing unhelpful or negative thought patterns and actively replacing them with more constructive ones. The ability to do this is trainable with deliberate practice. For endurance athletes, this means constantly working on cognitive changes in training.
Four cognitive change techniques endurance athletes can implement can implement immediately.
Cognitive Reappraisal: Reinterpret a stressful or negative situation to see it in a different, more positive light. For instance, view pre-race nerves as excitement rather than fear. Consider the last three miles of a challenging Ironman as a welcome test of grit and strength. View pain in training and racing as a sign of effort and commitment.
Positive Self Talk: Identify and replace negative or self-defeating thoughts with positive affirmations or constructive feedback. Rather than think, “Oh no, everyone is passing me,” think, “my competitors are pulling me along, making me run faster!”
Decatastrophize: Squelch your tendency to expect the worst by putting things in perspective. Instead of thinking, “If I don’t hit my target, I’ll fail,” reframe it to, “Even if I don’t hit my goal, I gave it my all and learned something valuable.”
Focus on what you can control: Shift your focus from uncontrollable aspects of a situation (like hot weather or how your competitors are doing) to controllable ones, like attitude, attention deployment, and fueling. This is where having process goals can help (check out the last nugget email for an explanation of process goals).
Cognitive change doesn’t erase the challenges of training or racing, but it empowers you to approach them with resilience, composure, and confidence. In both life and athletics, the ability to consciously shift your mindset can make the difference between giving up and achieving your goals.
By reframing discomfort, setbacks, anxiety, and physical cues as opportunities for growth and sources of strength, you can transform your mindset, perform better, and enjoy the journey. With practice, cognitive reappraisal not only becomes a key part of your mental toolbox, but also fosters resilience that goes far beyond sport, enriching all areas of your life.
Conrad Goeringer is an Ironman Certified Coach based out of Nashville, TN. He is the founder of Working Triathlete and author of the book The Working Triathlete. His passion is helping athletes of all levels and with all schedules achieve their endurance goals. Reach out to learn more about coaching packages and for a free consultation.