Triathlon Toughness - A Champion's Mind Dissected for the Triathlon Beginner

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Braedan_Lalor]Braedan Lalor
Triathlon tough, what does it mean? Triathletes have awesome bodies, but what about the stuff between their ears? What about their indomitable will? What does it mean to be triathlon tough and how can a triathlon beginner get there?
Let's start with a general understanding of sport mental toughness, and then we'll talk more specifically about triathlon. Toughness begins with two root attributes. First, knowing who you are and second, knowing what you want.
Are you surprised that these are so important? They are beyond important, psychologists would consider them essential. Here's why.
First let's cover knowing who you are. An endurance race is, at it's core, a test of one's ability to endure discomfort. In medicine, we would call anything uncomfortable, a noxious stimulus, with the word noxious meaning painful or damaging. Withstanding discomfort willingly, is only possible when the motivation is powerfully rooted in our identity as a person. Also, it is essential that the identity is strong. Some might call this a strong self image.
If our view of ourselves is weak and wavering then we are certain to let ourselves off the hook when faced with the discomfort of an endurance race. After all, does it really matter whether we complete our race or whether we get the time that we want? Does it matter so much that we will endure hours of noxious stimuli? With that in mind, will we even put in the training?
Now, I also said previously that knowing what you want is the second pre requisite to triathlon toughness. By knowing what you want, I mean having a real goal. I would define a real goal as one which you are prepared to give something up for, in order to achieve. That's really the difference between a person liking to have something and actually wanting to have something.
Here's an example, we would all like to succeed in school and achieve our PhD's, that would be nice, wouldn't it? Having a nice PhD degree hanging on the wall in our home office gathering dust, and saying at dinner parties, "Um, actually it's Doctor Jones." If given a choice of having the degree or not, everybody would certainly like to have it.
Of course, there is the other side. Many people would not mention getting a PhD as a goal with their full conviction behind it. That's too risky, and they would sooner hedge their statements with some maybe's, and "I'm thinking about getting..." However, while it's true that most people hedge, the person who states their goal clearly and means it, really wants it - thus it's a real goal.
So what happens to the triathlon beginner without a strong self image and a real goal? There is only one outcome possible, at some stage in the training or the race, Tanking will occur. Tanking is essentially giving up, but is often expressed more creatively than that, because nobody wants to show themselves to be a "quitter."
So they make creative excuses. They may use an injury, or blame their shoes, a poor night's sleep, or the way the earth is revolving on it's axis, whatever it is, it gets them off the hook with their fragile pride intact.
Sometimes tanking even occurs before the training begins, and is evident in the excuses that we make, hedging against an imperfect outcome. It may be in the form of ridicule, perhaps by making the statement, "Ironman is for weenies, sprint triathlon is where it's at," or a denial that finishing the race or the training even matters, for example "I'm just as happy when I don't complete the race." Really? Just as happy?
If you find yourself verbally hedging your goals, you need to ask yourself if the things that you are telling people is the honest truth. Even though those words are spoken early in the process of training or deciding on an event, if deep down you are lying to yourself, it is still tanking.
That provides an introduction to the topic of triathlon mental toughness, which is important for competitors at all levels, but this article is primarily meant to inform beginner triathletes, so that they can practice good mental principles at the onset of their training. Since this is an introduction, it would stand to reason that there is more information on this topic that can help you. I hope, however, that as a triathlon beginner, you give some thought to the content covered above, and recognize for yourself the powerful advantage which you can gain from honing your mind as you hone your body.
Braedan Lalor is a sport scientist and former Ironman physical therapist with huge experience working with athletes of all levels in a wide variety of sports. His Triathlon Beginner blog is full of practical advice, as well as wonderful insights on how to boost your training and your health through the application of simple sport science. For more on the champion triathlete's mind, click this link to his mental toughness post. http://www.triathlonbeginner.org/ http://www.triathlonbeginner.org/triathlon-beginner/triathlon-beginner-dissecting-the-champion-triathletes-brain
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Triathlon-Toughness---A-Champions-Mind-Dissected-for-the-Triathlon-Beginner&id=6420054] Triathlon Toughness - A Champion's Mind Dissected for the Triathlon Beginner