Triathlon Mindset: How Do You Build Mental Toughness?

Get Fast Podcast, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly

Focus on what you can control, and build the habit in training. Gerard prefers the term "mental control": your ability to control your emotions, keep things in perspective and execute what's in your hands. Whatever you do in training, he says, you will replicate in the race.

What does it look like in a race?

In an Ironman in 1988, Gerard passed the standout swimmer 30 to 40km into the bike. He then spent about another seven and a half hours by himself, with no power meter or other data.

On the run, he was told he had a four-minute lead. He had to decide whether to push the gap out to bluff his chasers, or run his own pace. Doubts came up every kilometre. He reminded himself this was what he had dreamt about.

When does toughness go too far?

In one road race, Gerard broke away on the final climb on a hot day. With about 5km to go he came to a standstill and fell off his bike. He started walking up the hill without it, and told his brother in the follow car he was finishing the race.

He rode the last few kilometres, was passed in the final 300 or 400 metres, and fell off again at the line. He remembers little of it, and spent the next two or three hours in an ambulance.

Jordan asks the fair question: is that mental toughness, or "stupidity"? Gerard puts it down to single-mindedness. It proved to him he couldn't go any harder, and he knows it can work against you.

What happens when doubt creeps in?

At Kona, Gerard came off the bike in fourth or fifth, confident because running was his strength. About 30km into the run, a TV crew asked how he felt. His first response was "how far behind is the next person".

Looking back, he says he should have been thinking the opposite. He started cramping at around 38 or 39km and lost 10 places in the last kilometre and a half. He kept going.

Does your mindset change for smaller races?

"It doesn't and it shouldn't," Gerard says. That goes for hard training days too. You're at your limit on a climb, you can see the top, and it's easy to tell yourself it's only training. He wants you to say, "Come on, 20 more seconds." You don't want to be "practising poor performance ever".

When is it smart to back off?

Not every session asks for your limit. On hard sessions Gerard gives a range, so you can decide based on how you feel.

If you're physically tired from a hard effort, go to the bottom of the range or skip the intensity. That's smart. Simply not feeling like it is different. Being honest about which one it is can be hard, so talk it through with your coach. Resting heart rate and the TrainingPeaks fatigue chart help.

Jordan's 10K time trial moved from Thursday to Saturday because his fatigue wasn't coming down. Despite shocking weather he ran a PB and broke 35 minutes.

How do you prepare on race day?

You can worry about the heat, the wind and who else turned up, or you can focus on what's yours: your preparation, your warm-up, your emotions and your race plan.

Gerard's mindset was "the harder it is the better it is for me", because he knew others would be worrying.

What do you do when it hurts most?

Expect it. As Jordan says, every race will hit that point. Gerard's question to himself is, "Am I gonna curl up in the corner or am I gonna embrace this situation?"

What if you aren't racing to win?

The same decision applies. Most of Gerard's athletes are competing against themselves, whether the goal is 12 hours, top 10 in their age group, or just finishing. He says the regret from a weak mental decision is more disappointing than a physical problem.

Has Gerard ever given up?

Yes, as a kid. He raced at state and national level at nine to 12 and hadn't lost for three years. By 13 or 14 he'd had enough and didn't want to run another race. He regrets it now, but team sports gave him a renewed zest for competition.

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