It can be hard to stay focused on race morning even if the vibes are great! Tips to stay in your mental lane on race day:

🚗 arrive early. Make sure you have enough time to get set up, eat, use the bathroom, etc. race morning can be very distracting and you’ll want to leave room for error.

👯‍♀️ if you’re racing with friends, talk through your strategy. It’s great to have someone drive with you but maybe you really need to focus once you set up transition. You might want to practice swim alone, or you both might prefer the company. If it’s a running only race, decide if you want to stick together or if you’re ok with separating. Sometimes even your best friend’s race day energy can uproot you- so agree on a plan!

🎧 consider bringing music if you really need to focus ahead of lining up.

✍️ write a timeline on a post it, your wrist, your phone notes, whatever works! Try to stay true to it.

🤐 ignore random advice or chatter. You’ve planned for this- you’re ready! It’s ok to ask questions but be careful where you get passive advice.

📣 once things get started, repeat your mantras! Stay as true as you can to your race plan. Use the people in front of you as motivation to persist, and don’t worry about who is behind you.

🧠 avoid getting sidetracked by comments of competitors. It’s ok to observe the challenges of others and even relate to them- but you don’t have to share the same result! Acknowledge the hard things and then put them aside. Stay positive. Cheer for others on the run if it helps keep you in a good mindset.

📚 and finally, don’t write your race story before it’s over. The narrative isn’t done until you cross the finish and you get to decide your plot twists. If you had a bad swim, leave it in t1. If you had a bad bike, leave it in t2. If you’re having a tough run, remember why you’re out there and that all you have left is to finish!