Racing on instinct instead of overthinking it: changing the beliefs you race on, why a rigid race plan can work against you, and getting into flow.
Brenton Ford had me back on the Effortless Swimming podcast for episode 108 (my first time was The Psychology of Performance, in 2016) to talk about racing on instinct instead of overthinking it. It's one of the longest episodes he's done, and we covered a lot.
The guest
Effortless Swimming is the podcast of Brenton Ford, an Australian swim coach. This was episode 108, my second time on his show after The Psychology of Performance in 2016.
In this episode
- Self-judgment, the belief that holds most athletes back, and how to stop being defined by it
- Why your outcome is a product of your focus
- Race plans: have a rough one, then let the race unfold on instinct (and when to ignore the gel your watch says is due)
- Feel first, data second: why I'd rather set bike zones from a 40 km time trial on the road than a 20-minute test in the garage
- Swimming soft, and disappearing into the effort
- The Ironman where my goggles were kicked off at the start, and I came out of the water first
- The fear of winning, competitiveness as an inner fire, and giving kids space in sport
A few lines from the conversation
The simplest way to put it is: your outcome is a product of your focus.
You can have a rough plan, but once the gun goes off, that thing should unfold instinctively. Whatever you've trained should surface instinctively.
People often think that I'm against technology and measurement and data. I'm not at all. The thing is, it comes afterwards. Your focus can't be a product of your data.
Show notes and the full transcript are on Effortless Swimming.
Where this fits
Racing on instinct, with a rough plan and a body that has already rehearsed the work, is what the Automaticity part of how I coach is about: what you repeat in training is what turns up on race day. More on that in Automaticity.
Keep reading
- Spontaneity: trust and instinct serve you better than clinging to metrics
- Relax At Speed: how fast can you go without tension
- Taught to Win - Conditioned to Fail: more on the fear of winning
- Nine Lives: another Ironman that started with a kick at the swim start
Grant Giles hosts The Roaring Heads from Brunswick Heads: long, honest conversations about endurance sport and the mind. New episodes come with the letter, every couple of weeks.
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