Consistent Performance
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I often get the question, "how are you always there?" In the past
9 years I have only missed a top 5 World Cup Overall position once. This doesn't mean I don't have bad days, I just try to keep them as few as possible.
When things
go off the rails it is usually, unsurprisingly, for one of two reasons.
Your
training
Your head
space
Training
Some
rider’s battle for consistency is less about them not working hard enough, but
working too hard, too inconsistently or with an unbalanced approach. Rest days are important for both your brain
and body. A yearly plan with a consistent
routine of structured training stress and rest is critical.
Develop a
good plan with your coach and trust in it.
Don’t rush your training. Be
consistent week to week, month to month.
Focus when you need to focus, relax when you don’t. Have fun.
Know when more is more and when less is more, but do the work.
If you do
not train with consistency throughout the year, you cannot expect to race with
consistency.
Head space
A strong
head starts with knowing your goals. Why
are you doing this? What lights your
fire? What do you need to do to get where you want to go? How long will it
realistically take? Are you willing to commit the time?
If you know
why you love pushing yourself, what you get out of racing and what you need to
do to reach your goals you will have more focus, commitment and less
self-doubt. You’ll know the work you did
to get you to the start line, why you are ready. You’ll have hit smaller goals
on your way to that bigger one. You’ll
be calm, confident focused, prepared.
Keep in
mind that consistent performance doesn’t necessarily mean winning, it means
finding your best repeatedly. It is all
too easy to only remember our best performances and under-appreciate the good
performances we have worked hard for. Value
a good performance, let it build your confidence, let it show you how to also
have the occasional great one.
Stay
Positive. I have never met a pessimistic
successful athlete. To find your best
you have to believe achieving it is possible.
You have to be able to spring back after defeat and stay focused on moving
forward. You have to be able to keep
hard days in perspective. You have to make
your goals come true, no one else is going to do it for you.
Despite a
lot of success, I have also had some pretty disappointing races. When I think back on them and the months
leading in it is usually pretty easy to identify a change in my mental or
physical preparation. Sometimes I didn’t pay enough attention to fatigue
warning signs and back off. Sometimes I focused too much on my top end and let
my base erode or I skipped a planned rest.
Sometimes I didn’t know what I truly wanted out of my race so didn’t
find it. Sometimes I didn’t respect the demands of the race or my competition
sufficiently to enter properly prepared.
I have let media or others set my race goal and what results have value
rather than deciding for myself. I have focused on a result, not execution of a
performance, and enabled myself to get derailed when off target and I will
probably have one of these catch me out again.
I’m human.
The London Olympics was far from a dream ride and the hardest disappointment to bounce back from |
But to
prevent this from happening too often I prepare mentally and physically for the
demands of each race. I try to value each performance I worked hard for. I trust in my
team, my coach, mechanic, manager that they have all done their jobs well. I don’t stress about my competition or the
weather; I prepare for them. I know what
I want and the work that I have done and why that work and desire can make me
successful. Even though I’ve done a hundred races I set new specific goals and
plans of attack for each one so that when I line up I am calm, focused,
confident, prepared.
It’s a new
year, a new season. Make the most of
it.
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