Reflect. Recover. Relax.

I’ve been speaking to a few athletes who have completed big races so far this season but have more to come later this year.

After a big race, it’s important to do the three R’s

Reflect
Recover
Relax

I see many athletes trying to jump straight back into training before they’ve taken a little time doing the above.

1️⃣ Reflect on your race. A day or two after the race, in the cold light of day, think how it went. I advise my athletes to write a race report, telling the story of the race and reflecting on positives, negatives, learning points, things they would change for their next race. Often a cathartic exercise, which provides a closure to the race, positives and negatives that may not have been obvious without reflection, as well as some great learning points for future races.

2️⃣ Take some time to recover. Mentally and physically. Let the body recover and heal. Don’t rush into the next block of training when you have deep fatigue. As importantly, athletes have been focusing on this one race for months, using a lot of mental energy preparing for their big day. When it is over, it’s difficult to switch off and change focus to a new goal immediately. Motivation can drop. The thought of preparing for a new race is daunting. Spend a little bit of time recovering and refreshing, so when you do switch focus to a new goal, you are fresh, motivated and ready to go!

3️⃣ Relax. Depending on when your next big race is, spend some time training easy, doing sessions which are not physically demanding, sessions you enjoy. Jumping straight back into hard intervals, or sessions that are mentally and physically taxing, can lead to burnout, resentment, low motivation. Keep things moving, train frequently, but relax and let the desire come back to you rather than chasing or forcing it.

The words above come through personal training and racing experience and through coaching many athletes achieving big goals.

Reflect.
Recover.
Relax.