Preparing for a Big Event? Get
your mind and body ready first!
by Matt Burridge
I’ve been reading a bit from my
competitors about “psyche” or “mojo” for big events or how to get
into the proper frame of mind for top level competition. As I
reflected upon what was written I realized that although the big
race is still “just a race”; the preparation for a big athletic
competition (event) is fundamentally different than regular
preparation. The actual competition may just be the final 10% of the
total effort but the competition might just be the yard stick to
measure the preparation. Clearly the preparation effort is
overshadowed but, in my opinion is the key to getting the good
“mojo” for an event.
Jim Carson is a great friend,
former team mate and mentor of mine. He is also a past international
sailing champion (Penguin Class) and perennial top competitor in the
Lightning class; he really knows what he is talking about when it
comes to competition. Jim told me a long time ago that champions
are made by their preparation well ahead of time. Although he’s
unquestionably right, that reality is often overlooked in sailing.
My personality is one that likes
to set long term goals. This is just me; I know it and try to use
it to my advantage. One of my goals always was to win a Lightning
North Americans; it just took 29 years as a skipper to do it; so I
officially qualify as a “slow learner”. However, it was a goal that
my teams achieved 2 years in a row, which I think partially
justifies my belief in unusual preparation methods.
Clearly, the most important
single factor to the teams is finding the right team mates. I had 4
sets of proven world class team mates (Dan & Tobi Moriarty; Todd &
Kristine Wake; Jeff Coppens and Jim Sears and Paul Hanson & Jen
Aljets ) who made me better and have shown repeatedly they can step
into anyone’s boat and “change the game”. They are also some of the
most ferocious competitors you can imagine. Our successes as a team
came from their boat handling, tactical skills, desire to win and
overall expertise in how we managed the big events. Much of that
preparation occurred over years and was only “blended” into the team
as we gelled for the big event. For me, the team gelling process was
a bit Zen like in terms of psychology but this was because I was the
one investing the least amount of time on the water. I
considered that cumulatively I had invested enough time over the
years to know what to do; I just had to be committed to do it
and be physically fit enough to perform in all condition ranges.
Ultimately this proved correct for my successful teams because I
learned that “training” was both physical and mental preparation
process. It helped give us good Mojo for the big events.
When we got everything as right
as we could we were “in the zone” (my perception) as I’d never seen
before. I define “the zone” as: that place where your mental clock
speed is quickened, concentration is improved and there is a lack of
fatigue (mental or physical) while handling a complex competitive
environment. I now believe being in “the zone” is a critical success
factor for big event competitive sailing. This is probably what
keeps legions of sports psychologist employed by USOC and other
institutions: getting athletes in the zone.
One design racing is usually an
effort to push the boat to its limits, and does not use the
“throttling back” technique which can be the prudent thing in long
distance offshore racing. Famous long distance sailor Sir Robin Knox
Johnson wrote that off shore long distance racing is similar to
“playing chess while doing chin ups”. If this is so, I believe one
design racing can require the ability to “play chess while running
flights of stairs” and that being fit enough to do this is an
overlooked component of success for one design sailboat racing. As
a result I incorporated “fitness” as on of the milestones in my big
event preparation routine.
Although sailing is not a sport
like football, soccer or wrestling where can be a premium on
explosive movements or bursts of overwhelming strength and speed ;
it does reward overall fitness, endurance, balance and timing but
not in every sailing condition. There are plenty of days where
sitting, waiting, and getting frustrated by other mental
distractions are all that occur. I found that for me, personally, a
good way to prepare for big events was to be over prepared
physically. That seemed to create a mental calm that helped promote
a focused “just the facts” team mentality. One benefit was that our
teams became relatively immune to mental pressure. For my teams this
was one aspect of “team mojo”, a calm, rational focus without
fatigue.
Q: What does physical training
have to do with mental preparation for a big event?
A: For me, it leads to a hunger
that is only satisfied by achieving our goals, so it sets up some
interesting motivations.
Training is an intensely
personal thing and to be effective one must find what works for
ones’ self. It could be just improving overall fitness by mall
walking in the winter or it could be an hour and a half per day off
the water fitness regimen or it could be moving to Miami and sailing
10 hours per day, every day. It all depends on your goals, level of
commitment and what your life will allow. However, once you set your
goal do not accept any excuses for not doing the preparation work
required to reach the goal.
What worked for me since fall of
2004 is a combination of Physical Preparation, Mental Preparation
and simulating the event (with a tapering period) that begins about
a year before the big event.
Physical preparation is closely
tied with them mental preparation because so much of the sailing
game is mental:
- Focus your
efforts on the top flight event and work your fitness plan to
“peak” then. This does not mean limiting ones’ self to one
event; but have the psychological architecture to see that it
all leads up to the one big event. This sets the internal
motivational bar very high.
- Goal setting -
Work up to your limits and then extend the period of time where
you can perform at that limit. This approach usually results in
excellent fitness. For me this led to 6 work out sessions per
week (weight training plus hundreds of hours and nearly 1,950
cumulative miles per year of cardiovascular training on a Nordic
Track Cross Country Skiing machine over ’06-’07 campaign).
Improvement in strength, flexibility and endurance without
injury are always my goals.
- Strength –
weight training 3–4 times per week. Start light with high
reps and work the resistance up keeping the # of repetitions
high. Use exercises that are pulling and “suspending” rather
than pushing. Stretch and progress slowly and deliberately
to the next levels.
-
Scientifically work up to a minimum 10K (maximums per day
became a half marathon or 13.1mi or about 21.1 km) “skied”.
The Nordic Track is a great machine and exercises the key
muscles for one design sailing, arms, back legs, etc. There
are several excellent running articles on how to
“scientifically lay out a schedule to work up to running a
marathon” (paraphrasing a type rather than a specific
article) I used that methodology only had different goals
(target times for each mile and then sprints, etc later in
the process).
- Stay
mentally sharp – Don’t turn your brain off when you are
exercising, you wouldn’t do that during a race, would you?
Use the training as “race simulation” by watching videos of
sailing while you work out.
- Motivate
yourself – Use a straight forward system of punishment and
reward to keep yourself honestly appraising performance and
stay motivated. Learn what an unacceptable performance is
(greater than a 8::00 mile rate, for example and have it
mandate a punishment, such as; you have to stay on the
machine until the time per mile average is better than
that). Consequently reward a great time with an additional
favorite healthy snack (ice cream ?), since you are going to
burn nearly 7-800 extra calories with this approach each day
you can eat more just to maintain your weight.
- Realigning
the targets/goals so that slow, steady improvement results.
i.
Mentally you are establishing a culture of progress
and achievement of your goals
ii.
Slow and steady minimizes the risk of injury
- The only
“forgiveness” variable in the scheme is the pace of
improvements has to be reasonable given your age, base
fitness level and other personal factors. If you give
yourself a year that should be enough time, right?
- Set artificial
“exams” to gauge progress. Make one week be a “simulated event”
where you push for across the board personal records in weights,
reps and lower times and greater distances each day for a week.
During an “exam” pay attention to answering the question, “is
this good enough to win the big event?” Be honest and live with
your answer and make adjustments.
Mental Preparation – use
training time to solve problems and envision sailing tactical
situations or your team’s executing the perfect roll gybe, over and
over again. Seeing it in your mind’s eye actually get the muscles
and nerves ready to “feel” what it is like to “get it right”.
- Mental
visualization – watch video of sailing while you work out so
that your mind is working on “sailing” while your endurance and
strength are being improved. This really helps the focus stay on
the sailing and the training is just a vehicle to improve the
sailing.
In
competition I choose to de-personalize things so that racing becomes
a “territorial grab” not a game to “beat the other guy”. I know that
guy, like that guy and if I do beat that guy I wan to be respectful.
Sailing is a chess game but I want to be in that space in front of
him (or in front of where I am now on the race course). This allows
me to “let the energy spring uncoil” no matter who the competition
actually is. It also allows me to relax with competitors after the
day’s racing since it is not personal, I just wanted their space.
This helps a lot because good people skills are required for success
in life and it can become insufferable on land with your cohorts.
Make sure your team mates know this about you so they are not undone
by perception of Jekyll and Hyde behavior patterns between “game on”
and “relaxing” modes.
I also
work at being able to compartmentalize things on the race course; it
helps me forgive myself and focus on recovery if mistakes are made.
Have role models, it is really healthy. My role model in this regard
is Greg Fisher. He is as intense, skilled and accomplished
competitor on the water as you can find yet he is always willing to
lend a hand offer an observation, etc. When I grow up I want to be
more like Greg!
- Fun – Year
round training can become really dull. Dull is pretty
un-motivating so you have to keep it fun by doing something else
rigorous that aids fitness. I like to set goals and see if I can
meet them, I am also accused of being a bit out there. Recently
I set a personal goal to return to the wrestling mat after a 21
year hiatus. My physical training regimen is more or less how I
trained in the off season for high school and college wrestling,
only without the mat work. I was curious if I could do the mat
work again at age 48, as a fitness benchmark, so I did. Maybe it
was a mini-mid life crisis without the “comb over”, gold chains
and a new sports car but it was harmless and fun. Wrestling is a
very personal battle, so if I wanted to be a warrior on the race
course why not practice wrestling? Even if I embarrassed myself,
so what? It ought to still be a good work out physically and
mentally.
I also
made a point of finding fun and active things to do to prevent
“workout boredom”. The videos of sailing were great but for long
pacing rides on my Nordic Track Classis Skier I’d watch the Tour De
France with the beautiful French Alps in summertime. It also helped
motivate me by watching professional athletes pedal their guts out
on a patch of vertical asphalt when all I was doing was staying fit
in my basement hand crafted gym. “If they can do that, then surely I
can do this” was my mindset, it kept me on the machine doing what I
felt I had to do.
Cross
training also mixes it up and increases the fun. Wrestling is a very
different thing than sailing, although both are great sports, in
wrestling you are truly alone against an opponent and there is no
hiding behind conditions or excuses. You either prepared or not, win
or lose and losing can be very painful and humbling. Both sports
require mental toughness to be successful but wrestling is very
intense and taxing. If one design sailing is “playing chess while
running stairs”, at times wrestling feels as though you are “playing
chess while carrying someone and running stairs at altitude.” It is
an awesome way to measure your fitness level.
I had
heard an axiom that a high school wrestling work out burns about
1,000 calories. There is no way to measure it except by comparison
to other exercise known to burn 1,000 calories. So, I went wrestling
to see how hard it was with my current fitness level, and age. For
the record, the high school wrestling practice I went through was
WAY more difficult than doing 10 miles on a Nordic Track machine
(the 1,000 calorie work out variety at a steady pace). Wrestling is
also more fun and interesting too, but pretty exhausting. These are
not the muscles and type of training required by sailors. However,
I challenged myself and was pleased with the results by surviving
without getting hurt. It also refreshed my motivational level during
the off season.
- Motivation –
Play tricks on your self to stay motivated. This works “in
competition” too. I think there can be a high degree of
“intramural gamesmanship” that serves as a motivator. I recall
reading a quote by Neal Fowler that said of the time he sailed
with Steve Benjamin (and they won everything in 470s) “I just
try hard not to be the biggest wimp on our boat”. Neither Neal
nor Steve are wimps but a friendly competition keeps everyone
sharp. My Lightning team mates may not have known it but I was
just preparing to avoid being the weakest link on the boat.
Two other things help your mind
and body get ready for the big event:
1.
Simulating the big event in your training
2.
Tapering you work outs before the actual competition.
Simulate “big event” atmosphere
to get mentally used to competition:
- I would try a
5-6 weeks with a new exercise station or number of reps or
intensity and work up to 6 work outs per week with the new
component. The individual work outs would be mapped out in
advance to accomplish certain measurable objectives (break 30
minutes for a 10K, for example, or increase resistance on a
certain exercise by X number of pounds).
- After finding
a formula that appeared to achieve the objectives, I’d stay with
it for 5-6 weeks and then do one entire week set of 6
consecutive days with weights and cardio to simulate the
”big event”.
- After the
simulation I’d take 2 days off to stretch, recharge then repeat
the cycle. During the winter I’d do a 1 week long taper before
the simulated event.(Christmas to New Years typically) to let my
body heal. After the simulation I’d take 3-4 days off and only
stretch and map out the next phase of the training depending on
how much time was left before the big event.
I learned that each time I’d go
through a cycle I could reach a new plateau of # of miles or times
or weight lifted. If I took my time I could get stronger and more
fit without sustaining an injury (a big concern at age 45+ since I
don’t heal very quickly anymore). Using this approach over the past
3 years I was never injured beyond mild muscle soreness (to be
expected).
Taper - The week before the
actual big event, just go through the motions on physical training,
reduced weight lifting, relaxed times, increased stretching and
increased hydration (our muscles are about 80% water, so dehydration
is very bad). This approach will help ensure your body is fully
healed and hydrated while your metabolic rate and work capacity
remain high before for about 2 ½ weeks after the taper begins. This
is why the technique is used so successfully in competitive
swimming, for example.
Last thoughts? Now that you’ve
done all of this, don’t blow it at the last minute, pay attention to
good habits during the competition. Make sure you get superior
nutrition (consult experts), appropriate hydration and adequate
sleep; they are all vital to a good performance. Save the “pub
crawls” and “bar closings” for letting your hair down at the awards
banquet after the event. Maybe you will have more to celebrate.
Q: Does it work?
A: It did for me and my team but
the actual regimen is very personal. I consulted nutritionists,
various instructors and coaches from my past that provided
significant guidance but by and large I was my own “project manager”
for the year. Through trial and error I discover what worked well
for me. This approach is not a silver bullet, but in general I felt
better, thought more clearly on the race course and enjoyed my time
racing with my team mates much more. We also achieved our big event
goals.
Q: Was it fun?
A: Overall, a big YES! Was every
second of it fun? No. But seeing all the hard work rewarded by
achieving our goals is more fun than can be imagined. There were
other hidden benefits that were realized but that would vary from
person to person. It was enormously fun and satisfying to feel as
though we were sailing the regatta of our lives, again. The above
preparation helped make that a possibility.
Q: What if it is light air, why
do all this?
A: Yes, it might be light air
but what if it blows a hurricane? There are some conditions that are
not as demanding as others but no one can forecast conditions with
100% accuracy, so why not be prepared for a non stop week of sailing
in very heavy air. If you actually race in an entire series of heavy
air, you’re golden; if not, you are probably still better physically
prepared than your competitors. It may make a big difference over
the course of a week’s worth of racing to your benefit. Make the
preparation much more difficult than the actual big event and avoid
bringing a “slingshot to a gun battle” both mentally and physically.
Q: What’s this about hidden
benefits?
A: One hidden benefit for me was
that I wanted to be worthy of my excellent team mates and their
investment in time, money and preparation to achieve our team’s
goals. I gained a new respect for their hard work though my own.
Another one was I placed a higher value on our goal because I was
paying such a high price to achieve it. In the final analysis the
goal just meant more to me than before and these were among the most
“tight” teams I’ve ever raced with.
Q: What are other methods of
doing this?
A: On training techniques and
exercises that are maybe more specifically tailored for sailing I
suggest the excellent articles by Betsy Allison and Scott Ilke over
the past years in Sailing World’s archives on the
subjects. They are both great writers, outstanding coaches, smart,
respected and accomplished competitors who both know how to improve
performance on the water through team fitness. Anything those two
champions write, I suggest you read and consider.
Good luck and Enjoy!
Matt Burridge
14834 – Yeti
Credits - These fine people all
assisted me with this regimen and article:
- My team mates
2004-2007, Dan & Tobi Moriarty, Todd & Kristine Wake, Jim
Sears, Jeff Coppens, Jen Aljets and Paul Hanson. They are all
fantastically brilliant, seasoned, competitors, athletes and the
best team mates I could ever hope for.
- Young wrestler
/ warrior, Rainey Johnson (Middlebury ’09) who returned to the
wrestling mat with me, a quirky, 48 year old former wrestler. He
taught me some great newer moves, did not mind my rusty “old
school” technique and did not break my old bones or my nose. He
reminded me what true fitness is, thank you, it was fun and
humbling.
- My wife
Christine and sons Patrick (12) and Timothy (9); who inspire me
daily and allow me the time to train and then leave for a week
without them to compete. With out their support I would not be
able to prepare as I do and achieving our goals would not be as
meaningful.
