Results Reflecting Training

There are exceptions to every rule. Statistical outliers, freaks of nature and randomness too. Especially for competitive sports where nature is part of the outcome (surfing, surf ironman, ocean paddling, windsurfing, etc). 

Most of the time though our performance is a reflection of the quality of our training. Plain and simple. 

Come game day sports people perform to level of their preparation. 

I’d had this discussion with an athlete a couple of months ago. He’s been improving rapidly physically and technically in his sport the past 12 months. The next step was consistency on race days. 

His email debriefing his most recent race included:   

“I felt that I handled the race nerves really well on Saturday, I definitely took comfort in know that my race will just be a reflection of my training. I have been using this mantra a lot lately and think I’m actually starting to get it. It’s good to realise that results are not a reflection of my capabilities  as an athlete/person, but a reflection of the training I have been doing.”

He gets it.