I talk a lot about the importance of the journey, enjoying your training for its own sake and not becoming obsessed by the final goal. However, that is not to completely dismiss the power of goals to keep us motivated.

Train yourself to see potential pitfalls and work out where your psychological fuse box is kept. It’s possible to make an intervention, step back and look at the situation, replace the fuse, and reset the system.

My questions to you are these:

a)      Are you happy to say loud and proud that you are a triathlete?

b)      If not, and this is meant not as a criticism, but purely as a challenge to stimulate thought, what would have to happen for you to be happy to say it?

Close your eyes and try to select a happy place and time. The detail is crucial though – it has to be more than, “Oh yeah, I really liked it at my birthday party last week.” Conjur up the sights, sounds and smells in your mind. The more detail, the more effective this will be at transporting you from your current situation into that happy place.