It may seem like common sense to resist trying/buying food on a whim at your race venue, to write down your thoughts on a piece of paper for a better night sleep in the 48 hours before your race or to remove yourself from energy suckers on race week but you'd be surprised how many athletes become someone else on race week......especially when this anxious and nervous athlete arrives to the race venue and begins to doubt their own fitness and preparation.
I see it and I hear about it all the time - the athlete who has a fine-tuned race and nutrition plan and then changes everything on race day for no good reason other than "Someone else suggested that I should do this instead" or "I don't know what I was thinking."
It is important that you not only have a plan when it comes to minimizing pre-race jitters, anxieties and nerves but that you trust your plan. With self-doubt that your plan may fail on race day, you may find yourself "trusting" what another athlete is doing and essentially, "racing' another athlete's pre-race and race day plan.
For many athletes, the pressure to succeed or to perform well on race day is so intense that performance is negatively affected before the race even starts.
Have you eve experienced a pre-race fever or sickness that comes and goes in 24 hours or less?
Emotions can run a gamut of position to negative, sometimes swinging both ways in a single second.
For many athletes, the pressure to succeed or to perform well on race day is so intense that performance is negatively affected before the race even starts.
Have you eve experienced a pre-race fever or sickness that comes and goes in 24 hours or less?
Emotions can run a gamut of position to negative, sometimes swinging both ways in a single second.
Your thought process is likely a mix of irrational and rational thoughts relating to your goals and expectations for race day.
At worst, when racing anticipation peaks, straight up fear of failure can crop up - stemming from uncertainties, doubts and worries.
Although pre-race jitters are normal, they are commonly associating with disturbing symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, elevated heart rate and nausea.
The way you deal with pressure on race week is extremely important to your health and overall race performance and experience.
At worst, when racing anticipation peaks, straight up fear of failure can crop up - stemming from uncertainties, doubts and worries.
Although pre-race jitters are normal, they are commonly associating with disturbing symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, elevated heart rate and nausea.
The way you deal with pressure on race week is extremely important to your health and overall race performance and experience.
In this article, from Ironman.com, I discuss some helpful ways to reduce pre-race anxiety and to feel more at ease when racing under pressure.