Here’s a few things I’m going to be doing at the NAC this weekend, and generally will always be doing at national competitions and world cups.
1. Warm up
This one might seem obvious—and it should be—but I’ll be a bit more specific. I’m going to do the exact same physical warm up I always do at practice, combined with a mental warm up routine I’ve been practicing (if you’ve been working with me one-on-one for 8 weeks or longer, you know the one I’m talking about)
The physical warm up is necessary both to get the body ready, and to help my mind shift into a competitive mindset. It’s important that I challenge myself a bit during this part, without getting too tired. I also want to stick to something familiar, since familiarity is comforting and will help me feel relaxed and confident.
I also want to eliminate decisions and uncertainty wherever possible—another reason for keeping my warm up exactly the same as it is in practice.
2. Ignore you
Well, you and everyone else. I don’t mean to be rude, that’s just how I stay focused.
When I’m competing I like to avoid any possible distraction until I’m out. That means casual conversations, notifications on my phone, social media, texts—pretty much any communication or stimulation outside of fencing (or logic / puzzle games—Minesweeper, anyone?) In fact I’ll usually have my phone on airplane mode for most of the day, only turning that off when I need to check Fencing Time Live.
If you’re supporting a fencer, and they seem distant or standoffish—don’t be offended; they might be feeling nervous, and are just doing their best to keep their head in the game.
Eat honey
And whatever else I can between bouts or during the break.
I’ve found eating during competitions is absolutely essential for me to have energy for later rounds, or even for my last couple pool bouts. As I get farther into the competition, though, it’s harder and harder to digest real food, so I turn to honey as a quick source of energy.
It’s not the most balanced meal, but a good squeeze of honey right out of the bottle (probably 1-2 tsp. or so) helps me get through a DE like nothing else I’ve tried.
If your energy is flagging, give it a shot—just be sure to have some water handy to wash it down, or you may not be able to swallow.
If you’re going to be at the NAC, I’d love to say hello—just not until after I finish with Div I on Friday ;-)
And if you’re competing yourself—good luck, and remember to do your 5-second resets!