As the 2020 race season slowly starts to reopen here in Northern Colorado many athletes find themselves feeling anxious. Why? Because for the past number of months we’ve all been in a sort of ‘limbo’ stage with our training and racing.

Many athletes have found that their swim fitness has dwindled or their overall confidence for race day just isn’t here. How can you combat this and feel race ready for events that are starting to open up again (ie. like our July 18th Triathlon in Fort Collins) ??

Here are a few tips to keep in mind to help you stay strong:

• Remember you are NOT alone in your fitness loss. Many MANY other athletes all share the same fears and anxieties about their current fitness levels. Connect with others, talk about what’s got your nervous and share in supporting each other.
• Set SMALL goals to re-enter more typical training patters and race preparation. Don’t sign up for the biggest baddest race you can find and don’t go out tomorrow and run a marathon in training if you’ve only been doing 4 milers every few days.
• When in doubt – SLOW DOWN! The biggest factor in panicking can sometimes simply be in your head. Slow your breathing and pacing down if you find yourself struggling too much in training or on a race day to balance yourself out a bit. Train and race for YOURSELF – no one else
• If you’re really having a super tough time…pull the plug for a little while. Ditch the training and take a few days off to recover, reconnect with your family or loved ones and get out in nature for a walk or easy around town bike ride. If you have a race on the books, consider volunteering at that race instead of ‘competing’. The morning is still a ton of fun without pressure and anxiety.

We look forward to seeing everyone’s smiles at the starting line soon. 🙂