Isn't technology the coolest? Here you have a dandy little watch that keeps up with your pace, heart rate, cadence, distance, stroke count and a ton of other bits of analytics. This is great stuff to know however, is it causing you subconscious problems? Are you beginning to use it as a “security blanket”? If, during your race, you lost all analytics, what would happen? Would you freak out?

Here is the thing…Analytics are powerful, no question about it! With that said, it is a measurement of the past. If, during your race, you look down and see low numbers, what do you do? Do you begin to focus on it? Do you overexert yourself trying to pick up the pace? Do you start negative self-talk? Training is where analytics is most important. Provide your coach with the data, don’t focus on it. Let them hone in your training program to get you were you need to be. Your race goals should be what you are training for so that when you race, you just… RACE. You should trust your training and your preparation. Through training, I bet you can almost tell your cadence or even your pace. This is where you really want to be. In fact, cover up your watch or other analytic technology and just train. In fact, there is good chance that when you just FEEL it, you will actually outperform expectation. We have a tendency to underestimate our abilities. You don’t have to do this every time however in doing so, you begin to listen to your body. It is speaking to you. It will tell you everything you need to know. This also helps you mentally prepare to not rely so heavily on the use of analytics during the race. As I have said many times, what you focus in on, you create more of. If you see bad numbers while racing, there is a high likely hood that you begin to spiral down. Your mindset must be right, it is critical to the success of your race. Do not let analytics choke you. Keep your focus on your training, your breathing and/or anything else your coach has worked with you on. Frustrations, fear, negative self-talk will cause you to under-perform. Next comes regret to who you didn't do well. Instead, trust your training, Trust the process, Trust your coach and....just RACE! Get in the zone and be the champion you know you are.