You’ve signed up for an upcoming local race. You are all excited because it’s a challenge that you are looking forward to taking on. Maybe you’ve raced before and want to do better. Maybe you’re looking for a personal best.
Then, you start to wonder how fast you will finish the race. Slight self-doubt starts to creep in and you begin to worry about how you will do.
Sound familiar?
Yup. I call this pre-race anxiety. A little bit of nervousness before a race is fine, but it becomes an issue when performance starts to suffer because of it.
Pre-race anxiety happens for a variety of reasons, including: self-doubt, fear of embarrassing yourself, fear of not finishing the race, pressure from people around you and worrying about other circumstances that surround your taking part in the race.
Sometimes, the mental aspect of “racing” is much more challenging than the physical preparation required for that race. Even during training, the mind gives up before the body does.
For example, one day I set out to run 40km because I was 5 weeks out from the Vancouver marathon. However, I ended up stopping after 30km. It happens to everyone.
Even the elite runners sometimes have a bad training day or a bad race, so please don’t beat yourself up over it and please don’t think that one bad race is a reason to quit-it’s not.
Yes, I posted a good time on those 30km, but the bottom line is, I just stopped. Stopping had nothing to do with my inability to physically do 40km, especially because I’ve ran distances longer than that many times.
Sometimes we have good training and race days and other times not so much. Some people said to me that I appear very relaxed and composed before races, but the truth is, I too have pre-race anxiety.
With that in mind, I learned how to keep it at bay (most of the time).
1.Sometimes it’s good to forget about pace. Yes, you’re racing a few weeks or months from now, but remember that sometimes the most important thing is to just get out and run. It’s very healthy to go for runs without your watch and take in your surroundings.
You should have easy days where you run to clear your head and calm yourself down. Don’t always put pressure on yourself. Just run and log in the miles and stop stressing out about the upcoming race. If you put in the mileage, you will be good.
2. Remember, you will not be last. If you’ve been training, there is a good chance that you will not be last, so quit worrying about embarrassing yourself. Yes, you will run against some people who are faster than you, but at the same time you should know that there is a 99.9% chance that you will finish faster than some others. Also, remember that you are running for you and don’t worry about everyone else.
3. Focus on what you can control and run your own race. You can’t control who will be at the race or what the other runners are doing. You can’t control the weather, the traffic on your way to the race or the fact that the line-up to the restroom is too long. The only thing you can control is your own pace and mindset.
I’ve noticed that every time I focused too much on other runners, I’ve run a worse time than if I just focused on myself. If that’s your first race and you’re a beginner, focus on finishing within your own time goal. If you’re trying for a personal best, then focus on that.
4. Prepare yourself. Hopefully, during your training, you had a chance to experiment with different foods so that you know how your body responds to them. That way, you know what to eat and what not to eat the morning of the race.
Also, it’s good to prepare your pre-race meal, outfit, shoes and other things you need for the race the night before so you are not scrambling in the morning of the race.
5. Visualize success. By focusing on the positives, you will do much better in your race. Remember all the hard work you put into the training and preparation for your race and therefore you are bound to succeed. Picture yourself excited at the start line and hitting the perfect pace each kilometer.
Imagine yourself achieving your time goal and finishing the race strong. Imagine not only achieving your personal best but also making great friends at the start line who share your interest in running.
I hope that you found this article helpful. Please share this with your runner friends if you did 🙂 Good luck in your upcoming races!