On Keeping Your Head Up

Triathletes don't keep their heads up.

Head down.

Endurance athletes in general tend to muscle through intense pain, heads down, hearts pumping, mind focused. We go deep inside, when we're competing. We move mostly straight ahead for anywhere from 45 minutes to 17 hours, and we maintain constant intensity. For us, it's more productive to go within, to block out external stimuli. It's like meditation. And the people who win are those who are most capable of blocking out everything that's going on and dealing with the present pain.

Head down.

Rugby players can't do that. We have to be aware, hyper-alert of our surroundings. With your head down, you can't see your teammates in support. You can't see the gaps opening up in a stretched defense. You can't see the overload that leads to the breakaway down the touchline. And you can't see the defender gunning for you.

Head down.

It's a transition, for sure, going from an internally-focused sport to one in which you have to be aware of your surroundings. I've gotta learn to keep my head up, though, or else . . .

Smack!

Excellent rugby players? Heads up. Fully aware. That's my goal.

Okay, so obviously we don't always have our heads down . . .
Cyclists especially have to be aware of their surroundings. We definitely
develop tunnel vision in competition, though, especially on solo
efforts, when the pain gets really intense.