Get ready for it! You have your first big race of the year coming up and many crazy thoughts are likely to creep into your head the weeks before, the days before and on race day.  Can you say nervous wreck? Just reading this your heart rate may be spiking thinking about the nerves to come….

• I hope I don’t get sick with a cold or flu!
• My dang knee and foot have to feel better by race day!
• How much water to drink leading up to the race, the day before and right before the race?
• Should I eat the morning of the race?
• What and how much food the day (s) before?
• I sure hope I can sleep!
• I know I am not going to sleep!
• How will I feel in the morning?
• I hope I can go to the bathroom before the race?
• I hope I do well!
• I hope I don’t stink it up!
• I can’t start too fast!
• Should I drink and fuel during the race? How much?
• What pace should I run in this heat?
• I should’ve trained more!
• I hope I don’t run late or get stuck in traffic!
• I sure hope the starting area has enough Porta potties!
• Dang, I gotta pee again and the gun is in 10 minutes! No!!!

Sound familiar? I have seen and have gone through much of this mind frazzle in my 300 races over 35 years and have learned to manage pretty well BUT….not one race goes by where I feel like I have completely figured this out.  The butterflies are always there, but I embrace them and control them with techniques.

Please realize, some nervous energy is normal and a good thing. It means you care and want to do well. It also stimulates adrenaline and on race day this hormone can help if you can harness it. BUT, if you can’t manage these nerves and your hyper adrenaline response, your performance can suffer.

Here is how I teach runners to manage pre-race jitters:

1. GET IN SHAPE and train appropriately. Duh!! Right? Hire a coach or follow your structured training plan religiously. Fear of failure is a HUGE part of our nerves. In high school or college or at work, would you do a presentation in front of the group without preparation? No, because you don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of everyone. So, don’t race if you feel you are significantly under prepared or at the very least adjust your expectations and pacing.
2. If you have a big GOAL RACE ahead then sign up for some other smaller races in the weeks beforehand to get accustomed to the race day experience. Live races help you practice the routine and the race discomfort. This will toughen you up a bit….what I call getting RACE TOUGH!
3. RACE REHEARSAL. On the weekend (s) before the big event do a Race Rehearsal day (s). Eat the same food the day before, drink the same and on the morning of the race…get up at the same time, fuel, eat, drink the same etc. Practice your game plan. Then do your warm up jog and first 2 miles of your training run exactly the same pace and effort as race day. It should feel too easy. Controlling your start is huge. Muscle and Mind Memory will help your confidence. AND, don’t overthink or do too much of the eating/drinking the morning of race day. Just don’t! AND for longer events (like marathon), practice your fueling and fluids in longer training runs for weeks to avoid the unexpected race day. Again, more confidence gained.
4. VISUALIZE. The week or weeks before your race visualize your ideal race day. Close your eyes in a quiet area 1-2 times a day and see it….how you want it to play out in a positive way. See yourself in the race each mile, pacing properly, battling and finishing strong with a smile. Include some hurt too and battling through it….that’s ok because it’s real. Get this programmed into your DNA. You gotta see it to be it.
5. THINK POSITIVE. Just do it. We always have self doubt. Just stop it. You WILL do well. You WILL do well. You WILL do well. Believe it!

So….don’t panic as nerves are fine race day and before. Your goal is to view them in a positive way and as an ANTICIPATION OF A STRONG PERFORMANCE. Doing the techniques above is a SMART APPROACH. You will be ready, armed, confident and dangerous to your competition who are not so wise.  Get ready to thrive from your excitement, anticipation and adrenaline. Try to have fun.