Paul Arden | Monday, 14 September 2026
A very interesting page from Rickard on Saturday about post competition blues. So I had a bit of a chat to the other athletes I work with. One is also in a small state of blues, despite winning a large number of medals and the other is in a post competition event halo… which is what I would choose!!
I did a bit of research and a similar thing can be found with Olympic athletes too. So they are all in very good company!
Firstly, what I would suggest, after these events, is to have a fishing trip. I always did that in Norway and Estonia. I think that’s a nice reset. Too late now, maybe, but I would definitely try to pencil something like that in for next time. 4-5 days fishing in a new destination is simply fun and you are not then dropping off a cliff.
However I would also look at the bigger picture. We all do it for slightly different reasons. I compete in flycasting to be at the top of my flycasting game for fishing. Of course it’s fun and I love it too. But if it wasn’t for fishing then I wouldn’t do it. That would be nuts! Similar thing with Ironman. I do this for fitness. I’m certainly never going to win an Ironman — not unless I tie everyone else’s shoe laces together! I can tell you I don’t get blues after IM. Instead I feel like I’m Yeti Invincible.
I would actually try to put it all this honed fly casting skill to good use. For me I see a small window here. It’s an opportunity. We always get ideas at an event. We are on top form now. So now is the time to potentially explore new skills and to put them in the bank. Not long sessions and highly specific. Not necessarily a major overhaul. And nothing that’s not interesting. We take our existing skills, develop them in a way that we haven’t been able to do for the past 3-4 months (because we have been honing our existing stroke/s) and now the shackles are off and we can explore new patterns. We then put what we learn from this process into the bank and we come back to it in the future, in our next training block.
[This is not an opportunity we get very often! Think about it: we are on are our very best form, and yet we have no competition risk if we destroy our form by trying crazy stroke changes, because we are going to rebuild before the next event anyway! This doesn’t apply if you have a competition coming up... for example on the 17th October]
That’s how I would organise it. If you’re hungry, after the competition, then there is work to do. If not, then very tight focus, put the ship in order and set the anchor.
I think we should always look back with rose-tinted lenses. Remember what went well. Write it down. Remember what was learned and the solutions. Write them down too.
I personally learned a hell of a lot from this event. Namely: competition cues (not just suggesting them but specifically developing them for each athlete), tapering training (it needs a plan, and it needs to involve all events), planning for airline luggage problems and preparing athletes for the post orgasmic blues!
Incidentally I’m going to switch my membership country with the ICSF so that I don’t get charged the individual €500 FU fee. I’m not officially a resident of any country and I hover over the world like a butterfly. I wouldn’t mind competing for Japan next. That would be fun. Or maybe Mongolia!
Here is some good Mongolian music for flycasting.
There is one drill for 5WT/TD that I always recommend, even during competition down-time. And that is max comfortable carry. I get on the roof of my boat regularly and I carry. Then I can be up to speed in about 6 weeks. For something like the Worlds I would of course focus training much earlier. But if you can keep carry ticking away in the background (or on the roof), then you only have to rebuild the Launch. Assuming that is, that you are not planning on a radical stroke change!
So in short: Compartmentalise. Get everything organised. Bank it. And go fishing!
Or, if the halo is shining: let’s get to work!!
The point is that you don’t stay in form for two years. That’s just not going to happen. At some point we need to put a perimeter around this block. Whether that’s quickly, by putting everything in order, or riding this skills peak out and using it to further develop, very much depends on our mood. Whichever it is we ultimately need to get all things aligned and understand how to get quickly back to where we are, so that we can progress further up the ladder next time.
Right that’s my day. I’m going swimming and fishing. Have a few things to organise as well. And a Malay lesson. But I was teaching last night and this morning. And there is a big fish out there with my name on it. Hopefully we meet while fishing and not swimming…
Have a great week!
Cheers, Paul