Pre-race anxiety doesn’t have to slow you down – Canadian Running Magazine

Pre-race anxiety is one of the most common experiences for runners. Even professional runners experience it and have to learn how to deal with anxiety. Many runners think they need to get rid of it completely, stay calm and focus on race day. What many runners don’t realize is that anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That makes sense, and there are ways to use it to improve performance. Many athletes suffer from this condition, but by understanding how to deal with it, you can turn pre-race nervousness into performance improvement.

What is pre-race anxiety?

Pre-race anxiety is the nervousness you feel before a race, usually after months of training to run. When you’re all set up in a flash, you might feel overwhelmed, especially if you don’t know how to deal with worrying thoughts. Anxiety tends to cause physical reactions. Your heart rate increases, your muscles tense, your breathing quickens, and your fight-or-flight response is triggered, leading to panic.

in London, Ontario natasha weshA certified mental performance consultant and Canadian certified counselor, says there are two reasons why anxiety surfaces on race day: the importance of the event to you and the uncertainty of the outcome. “If it’s important to you, you’re going to feel anxious, and that’s natural,” Wesch says. “There’s also the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen after the race starts (which can be scary).”

It’s natural to feel anxious

Anxiety is an emotion that is closely related to excitement and gives us energy. Runners typically think of anxiety as a negative thing that needs to be eliminated, but Wesch wants athletes to know that how they view anxiety can determine whether they use it to their advantage or jeopardize their performance. “Anxiety gets a bad rap,” Wesch says. “Feeling anxious before an event is 100 percent natural, because it’s your alertness for what’s about to happen and your body’s readiness to perform.”

You can harness the adrenaline and excitement that comes from your fight-or-flight response, and by slowing down your breathing, you’ll feel more relaxed and confident and ready to run. Anxiety is preparing your body for the race, so use your excitement to your advantage in performance.

connection between mind and body

You can’t completely eliminate anxiety, but you can learn how to use it. Train your mind just like you train your body. If you want to go faster, run more. When anxious thoughts arise, Wesch recommends changing your perspective and confronting two reasons why they occur: importance and uncertainty.

“Be realistic about the importance of your race. If you don’t meet your goal time, it’s not the end of the world. It’s okay,” Wesch said. “Don’t downplay race. Race is still important, but make it more real.

You can’t control everything, so focus on what you can control. ” she added. I ran far more kilometers in training than in the race. ”

To manage anxiety, it’s important to be prepared. There are so many things you can’t control on race day. The best way to prepare for future anxiety is to learn to focus your thoughts on what you can control. As well as training physically, you also need to work on your mindset. “What can you do? What are you good at? What have you done?” Wesch said. “It trains your concentration, allowing you to direct your thoughts instead of letting your brain jump from place to place.”

Now you can harness the adrenaline of race day and focus on your performance instead of all the things that can go wrong. Just like any sport, controlling anxiety requires practice. Spend time understanding what your mind is excited about and why, and use that awareness to focus your thoughts on the task at hand and help you improve your personal best on race day.