Most athletes have a pre-competition plan that helps them stay focused before a competition.  They might eat certain foods, stretch in a particular order, use imagery to visualize their ideal performance, or use breathing exercises to regulate their pre-race jitters.  Having a structured and detailed plan helps you stay focused on what’s important before a competition, and keeps you from getting derailed by things over which you have no control.

To develop a post-competition plan, think about the things that you normally do after your competition that you have found helpful in the past.  Perhaps you’ve reviewed the competition with a coach or teammate, used imagery to review what you did right and wrong, or kept a journal of your performance (I’ll talk more about using a sport journal for performance-enhancement in my next newsletter).  Make a list of all the physical and mental things you find most valuable.  Think about what to do and the order in which to do them.  Try your plan out after a training ride.  Adjust it so it works best for you.  Practice the plan during your training until it becomes second nature.  By the time you get to a competition your plan will be developed well enough to help you review the competition, learn from your mistakes, and most importantly, put things aside and move onto the next competition.