The Unfair Advantage #38: Masters Mindset Series: Mastering the Art of Staying Competitive

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The Hook

I am an 11x time Kona qualifier. 3x Boston. Sub-3 hours marathon PB. Epic past self.

I finished sub-9 hours at the Leadville 100-mile mountain bike race in my first attempt.

Then rode a 135-mile gravel race in Steamboat Springs…the next weekend (because, epic).

Last year, I rode more than 700 miles in a single week, including 194 miles around the island of Mallorca. In a single day.

I love epic. I am epic.

Today, I rode for an hour. On Zwift. In zone 1.

My EGO was not impressed. What is wrong with me?

The Problem
As master’s athletes, we often find ourselves struggling to reconcile our past achievements with our current abilities and future goals.

The question arises: Can we still compete at our best?

How do we balance our “epic past self” with our “epic future self?”

Let’s dive into the Faster Master Series, where I explore the wisdom gained from over two decades of endurance racing.

The Solution
Balance “past epic self” and “future epic self” ON current self.

This is the mindset shift I made as a Masters athlete:

I call it the “Complete Compete”

It is overcoming the past epic self ego and accepting where you are, right now.

We can do epic stuff. We just can’t do it on a daily basis.

We have to pick our “compete” moments.

And we have to be “complete” in our preparation.

Here are the protocols I use on myself and with our other Master’s athletes to “Complete Compete.”

Rest

All of our training plans prioritize the rest days. That’s right prioritize the rest days. Protect the rest days. And each workout is written with several levels in order to give flexibility for execution on that particular day.

Strength, and Mobility:
If you’ve ever gone to the physical therapist as a master athlete, they don’t have you doing crazy work with a leg sled and 6,000 pounds.

They’ve got you doing simple work with a band or balance work or single-leg work.

It’s very easy to do all of that at home. You only need a ton of equipment: yoga mats, bands, and maybe a kettlebell. Keeping up that functional strength and muscle activation will help keep you healthy outside of your everyday training.

Masterminds
This is the social aspect of it being able to check in and having someone with experience to talk to about these challenges.

It can be really hard to sort of piece these different pieces of the puzzle alone. Particularly when you are fatigued but (1) you don’t actually really know what the problem is or (2) what the direct onset is.

When you have a group of athletes and coaches that have a Masters Mindset, you get to take advantage of their collective experience. And figure out what works for you now.

Too Long Didn’t Read (TLDR)

Coach Patrick talks the Mindset Shift to Becoming a Faster Masters Athlete: Listen here!

The Bottom Line
For over 17 years, we have been helping Masters athletes like you navigate their own training. We have a Master’s Mindset and can help make the shift too with tailored plans and community of athletes. You too can balance your “past epic self” with your “future epic self,” by starting with us and your current self!

Our training plans have default rest days, default workout options, and variety – diversity of training options and race options. Do you want to do a triathlon, marathon, and gravel race this year. Yep, we can help you with that!

We provide more detail and insights inside our community.

P.S. Have questions or need personalized advice? Drop me a message on social media, and let’s chat about your training journey!