A tournament is won over many rounds. Don’t spend every ounce of energy in round one.

Energy is the resource people forget to ration. Round one feels like the whole event because it is the only part you can see, so it is easy to empty yourself there and have nothing left by afternoon. Anything measured over several rounds, a tournament, a term, a season, rewards whoever is still functioning at the end. Pacing is a skill rather than a shortage of commitment.

Decide in advance where the hard effort goes on your next long day. Eat and drink between rounds even when you do not feel like it. If you usually fade by the third hour, hold back in the first.