The Power of the Mismatch: Understanding Stress, Fatigue, and Performance

In racing, training, and life, success often hinges not on the absolute amount of stress we face, but on something much more subtle: the gap between the demands placed on us and our ability to meet them.

Consider a race. The difference between how we expect to feel and how we actually feel mid-race largely determines whether we can continue to push or whether we begin a slow, painful unraveling toward the finish line. It’s not simply the presence of fatigue that derails us — it’s the mismatch between expectation and reality.

Similarly, pre-race anxiety is less about the stress itself and more about the perceived gap between the magnitude of the challenge and our perceived ability to handle it. When the demands feel larger than our capacity, anxiety spikes. When we believe we can manage the demands, anxiety diminishes — even if the external pressures remain the same.

These examples are part of a broader truth: it’s not the absolute amount of stress, training load, or adversity that determines outcomes. It’s the degree of mismatch between the stimulus and our ability to cope with it. For each athlete, that gap is unique — influenced by their physical preparation, mental resilience, prior experiences, and even moment-to-moment mindset.

This might seem like a subtle distinction, but it’s critical. Absolute values — miles run, watts produced, kilograms lifted — are only part of the story. Two athletes can face the same training load; one thrives, the other breaks down. The difference is not the stress itself, but the mismatch between stress and capacity.

As coaches, athletes, and competitors, our goal should not be to eliminate stress or fatigue. Instead, we must learn to manage the gap. Sometimes that means raising our ability to meet the challenge; sometimes it means adjusting the challenge to better match our current state. Mastering this dynamic is at the heart of growth, resilience, and high performance.

You’re allowed bad luck twice, after that it’s bad preparation.