Triathlons are a demanding sport. People think it’s bonkers enough we have to remember to turn up to a race with THREE sets of kit and THREE sports skills on our persons. But that’s not the real battle in my eyes…
It’s the rest of it. Life. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the demands of training, competing, and balancing it all with work and family life. But you’re not alone. Lately, I’ve been getting calls and messages from plenty of age group athletes who are all struggling with the same thing. We’re talking about overwhelm.
But taking control of your overwhelm can help you perform better and more importantly, get back to enjoying the sport rather than seeing it as yet another thing to shoe-horn into your life and identity.
My top tips for beating overwhelm as an age grouper…
1. Prioritise
Most people write a basic “to-do” list and tick things off they go. It usually involves ticking off the easy things first, which often leaves all the gritty horrid tasks to the end…and often leads to them spilling over to the next day. Don’t do that. Instead, try this: Eisenhower matrix. Essentially, it’s about prioritising what’s urgent, then important and trying not to live life constantly in the “urgent” box, which sadly, is where most of my clients are at when they come to me. You end up feeling overwhelmed by trying to complete too many things at once and actually the result is doing a rubbish job of everything.
2. Set Achievable Goals
I don’t like to rain on people’s parades. But too often, people come to me asking for my help to take over the world, when they actually only have five minutes a week to spend on world domination. It ain’t going to happen… You might THINK a sub-11 Ironman is important to you, but if you’re telling me training time is tight because you have kids and a wife you’d like to see a bit more, then actually, what you mean is that your family is your priority. And that’s great. But if it means you don’t have the training time available for the race you want to achieve, then actually, you might need to change your goals to suit your priorities. Once you’ve done that, go check out this episode of the podcast for a bit more advice on how to set goals and why it’s important.
3. Get a grip on your self-health
Get enough sleep, get enough headspace, get enough down time. No, that’s not training time, it’s not family time, it’s not work time, it’s time dedicated to YOU. It’s movement outside of training, it’s eating for health, it’s sleeping for eight hours a night, it’s avoiding “life hacks” and being alone with your own inner voice for a change…
4. Learn to say no
Set boundaries. Prioritise the things that are important to you – and your own time! Say no to non-essential tasks and stop trying to please everyone. You can’t help the world and you’re even less effective at the things you do want to do if you’re constantly bending and compromising at your own expense to please others.
5. Delegate
Who can help you with stuff? Family? Team members? Is there anything you can outsource? Can you split chores and tasks more evenly in the household? Stop being a control freak and ASK FOR HELP. Ask advice from those around you in similar situations who might be managing a bit better – what are their ideas and lessons? Speak to people who have more experience working with athletes or in the sport – what lessons can they teach you? What do they know that you don’t? It’s amazing what free value you can pick up from those around you you’re already working and hanging out with.
Feeling overwhelmed is a common experience for age-group triathletes. However, taking control of your overwhelm is not only possible, but essential to ensuring triathlon doesn’t become an albatross around your neck, and remains the sport you wanted it to be when you started out – adventure, thrill and fun.