A number of years ago, at the beginning of her senior year in college, a swimmer contacted me with the following problem: She hadn't gone a lifetime best time since she was a senior in high school. Do the math, folks — she hadn't gone fast in almost four years! To make matters even more frustrating for her, she was physically stronger than she had ever been in high school and it showed in her college practice times where she'd consistently go faster than when she raced. 

Here's a guiding principle to help you understand what she'd been doing wrong mentally all these years: Your races are won and lost before the start! What does this really mean?

What you think about and focus on behind the blocks before your races will determine how nervous or calm your are, your level of confidence, how well you handle last-minute negative thoughts and doubts, and therefore, how well you'll eventually swim. 

Here's what she told me about her pre-race routine.

She's get behind the blocks 10 minutes before her races, cover her head with a towel so no one would bother her and then think about her race. First, she'd go over her race strategy and remind herself of all of the things that she needed to make sure she did in order to swim fast and all of the things that she shouldn't do. Next, she'd tell herself that she needed to have a fast swim because she hadn't gone fast since she was a senior in high school, and as a result, was letting her coaches and teammates down. She had been recruited as a butterfly swimmer with fast times and she wasn't living up to her potential. By the time she was finished with all of this thinking, she was a nervous wreck!

I then asked her what she used to do behind the blocks back in high school when she was swimming fast, like her “old self.” Her answer at first caused me to chuckle — she said, “Oh, I used to dance!”

When I reminded her that she was not at a dance and was instead behind the blocks pre-race, ready to compete, she said, “I had my ear buds in, I was listening to my favorite playlist and I was moving and grooving to the music! My teammates would be laughing at me. Their parents would be laughing and we were all having a grand old time! Then I'd get up on the blocks with no thoughts in my head and just swim fast!” 

So I said to her, “Let me get this straight: in high school you used to dance before all of your races and, as a result, you used to swim fast. But then you went to college and stopped dancing behind the blocks and instead started overthinking everything about your race and suddenly you started struggling performance wise, right?” To which she replied, “yes.” 

So then I said to her, “Let me ask you another question. Why on earth did you stop dancing when you got to college?” And her answer was stunning and highlighted the very common mistake that she and a lot of swimmers make before their big races! “I stopped dancing because I was now performing at a much higher level and this was way more serious than high school and club swimming!” 

Here's the thing that you need to keep in mind if you really want to be able to compete at a higher level: if you make a meet or race too serious or too important, then you will make yourself nervous, tighten up physically and consistently underperform! In order to swim fast when it counts the most you have to have fun first! You have to enjoy the dance, so to speak. When you're having fun you'll stay loose and relaxed and the secret to swimming fast is you have to be loose!

Keep in mind that people don't dance to get from the beginning of a song to the end, they don't dance to get from the left side of the dance floor to the right, they dance because it's a blast! They love the rhythm, the movement and the fun of it. As a swimmer, you need to learn to “enjoy the dance!” You need to embrace everything about the meet and your races: The challenge from faster swimmers; The uncertainty as to the outcome; The physical challenge of your specific event, etc. 

If you make this meet or race too serious, you will tighten up, get flooded with negative thoughts and doubts and then swim poorly. Seriousness is only for your commitment to your training and how hard you work in practice — seriousness does not have to belong on the deck with you and at the front of your mind when you're about to race. Go out there and have fun.