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The decathlon is arguably the most challenging athletic event in all of sport: 10 events spread across two days with an hour’s rest between each event, culminating in a 1500-meter run that often brings competitors to their knees as they cross the finish line. Athletes earn points in each event as their speed, power, and technical skills are tested across several disciplines.
Fritz Nugent loves the decathlon. He’s even won a collegiate Division III championship in the event. But on this day, he almost blew it. He was sitting in third place on Day 1, a few hundred points behind the leader as he went into the fourth event, the high jump. Not an event that scares Fritz—he loves jumping high, and he loves jumping far. But in his first two out of three attempts, he grazed the bar, knocking it out of place. If he missed it again, he’d score zero points for the high jump, guaranteeing he’d miss out on a podium finish. Fritz was down on himself, stuck in his head, and wanting to quit. He managed to pull off that third attempt and post a decent score but had left himself with a big point deficit and an even bigger mental hole to climb out of going into Day 2.
Fritz left the track that day and went back to his room to begin his recovery regimen and try to prepare himself for the remaining five events the next day. The physical recovery was familiar. He’d trained for it over and over again. But Fritz knew he also needed to take some time to mentally recover from the day’s emotional roller coaster—particularly if he was going to have any chance of climbing the ranks on the scoreboard. He tapped into mindfulness and mental performance tools he’d learned throughout his career, including breathwork and visualization, to begin to create the narrative he wanted to bring to life on Day 2.
When Fritz arrived for that second day, he told himself, “I'm going to eat these guys alive.” And he did. On that second day, Fritz ran the fastest 110-meter hurdle time he’d ever run and set a personal record in the discus and javelin throw.
It wasn’t just the recovery from his earlier less-than-stellar showing. Fritz attributed much of his successful performance to his ability to recover between events. After each event, Fritz said, “I would go down underneath the grandstands, and I found a pole vault pit. I always found a place to hole up and hide and just do meditation during each event.” His goal in these rest periods was to “just go somewhere dark and just calm down; try to drop my heart rate; try to take my mind away from everything that was going to happen.” By the time that final event came around, Fritz had taken a solid lead and went on to win the entire decathlon.
Fritz shared this story with me in a recent interview, and he said this was one of the proudest moments in his athletic career. “I got to jump up on that podium and take the first place,” he said, but he was most proud of his ability to come back from that disastrous Day 1 to perform at such a high level on Day 2.
As athletes, we know that winning the recovery can be just as important as winning the game. Taking care of ourselves physically and mentally is critical to being able to show up day after day and perform at our best. The importance of recovery applies to so much more than sports. As business professionals, as parents, as coaches, as people managers, we all show up as better versions of ourselves when we take the time to reset and recharge. This is especially true when coming out of high-stress, high-pressure situations. No matter what your “game” is, your performance and your experience will be so much more powerful when you’ve taken the steps to enable the best version of you to emerge.
Everyone is different, but here are a few tips to help you find what works for you to recover from an intense situation:
No matter what works for you, remember: winning the recovery is just as important as winning the game.
What do you do to reset and recharge to show up as the best version of yourself each day?
If you’d like some support in finding ways to maximize your potential, drop us a line at The Next Playbook to chat about your goals.
-Derika
P.S. To hear the full conversation with Fritz, join us at The Next Playbook Podcast and sign up for our Newsletter to hear about new posts. You can also follow us on social media via Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The decathlon is arguably the most challenging athletic event in all of sport: 10 events spread across two days with an hour’s rest between each event, culminating in a 1500-meter run that often brings competitors to their knees as they cross the finish line. Athletes earn points in each event as their speed, power, and technical skills are tested across several disciplines.
Fritz Nugent loves the decathlon. He’s even won a collegiate Division III championship in the event. But on this day, he almost blew it. He was sitting in third place on Day 1, a few hundred points behind the leader as he went into the fourth event, the high jump. Not an event that scares Fritz—he loves jumping high, and he loves jumping far. But in his first two out of three attempts, he grazed the bar, knocking it out of place. If he missed it again, he’d score zero points for the high jump, guaranteeing he’d miss out on a podium finish. Fritz was down on himself, stuck in his head, and wanting to quit. He managed to pull off that third attempt and post a decent score but had left himself with a big point deficit and an even bigger mental hole to climb out of going into Day 2.
Fritz left the track that day and went back to his room to begin his recovery regimen and try to prepare himself for the remaining five events the next day. The physical recovery was familiar. He’d trained for it over and over again. But Fritz knew he also needed to take some time to mentally recover from the day’s emotional roller coaster—particularly if he was going to have any chance of climbing the ranks on the scoreboard. He tapped into mindfulness and mental performance tools he’d learned throughout his career, including breathwork and visualization, to begin to create the narrative he wanted to bring to life on Day 2.
When Fritz arrived for that second day, he told himself, “I'm going to eat these guys alive.” And he did. On that second day, Fritz ran the fastest 110-meter hurdle time he’d ever run and set a personal record in the discus and javelin throw.
It wasn’t just the recovery from his earlier less-than-stellar showing. Fritz attributed much of his successful performance to his ability to recover between events. After each event, Fritz said, “I would go down underneath the grandstands, and I found a pole vault pit. I always found a place to hole up and hide and just do meditation during each event.” His goal in these rest periods was to “just go somewhere dark and just calm down; try to drop my heart rate; try to take my mind away from everything that was going to happen.” By the time that final event came around, Fritz had taken a solid lead and went on to win the entire decathlon.
Fritz shared this story with me in a recent interview, and he said this was one of the proudest moments in his athletic career. “I got to jump up on that podium and take the first place,” he said, but he was most proud of his ability to come back from that disastrous Day 1 to perform at such a high level on Day 2.
As athletes, we know that winning the recovery can be just as important as winning the game. Taking care of ourselves physically and mentally is critical to being able to show up day after day and perform at our best. The importance of recovery applies to so much more than sports. As business professionals, as parents, as coaches, as people managers, we all show up as better versions of ourselves when we take the time to reset and recharge. This is especially true when coming out of high-stress, high-pressure situations. No matter what your “game” is, your performance and your experience will be so much more powerful when you’ve taken the steps to enable the best version of you to emerge.
Everyone is different, but here are a few tips to help you find what works for you to recover from an intense situation:
No matter what works for you, remember: winning the recovery is just as important as winning the game.
What do you do to reset and recharge to show up as the best version of yourself each day?
If you’d like some support in finding ways to maximize your potential, drop us a line at The Next Playbook to chat about your goals.
-Derika
P.S. To hear the full conversation with Fritz, join us at The Next Playbook Podcast and sign up for our Newsletter to hear about new posts. You can also follow us on social media via Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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