Last night I ran a couple of miles with a few of my young distance
runners who will be running a 5k this Sunday, as one would expect they were
excited to race and as energetic as always; however there was also an
undercurrent of tension in the group caused by pre-race nerves. Watching these
youngsters dealing with the stress of racing got me thinking about my own
experience with pre-race stress and how I've learned to cope with the nerves we
all experience before a big event. While I am by no means a definitive expert
on sports psychology, I do hold a masters degree in the subject and feel
somewhat entitled to dispense some advice to the kids and to the reading
audience at large.
1) Set Yourself
up for Success
Setting yourself
up for success in a race is for me a two part challenge; first you attend to
your recovery in the days leading up to the race; and second on the morning of
you eat a balanced light breakfast and get yourself to the race with enough
time to warm-up properly (more on this next).
I won't touch too
much on the training aspects involved in a proper taper as that's a subject for
another time and another article, but in the days leading up to a race you will
likely be running less mileage and will have more time as a result. While this
excess time can be used for any number of pursuits the smart runner will use
this time to focus on the quality of their recovery and doing little things
like getting a massage (if you can afford it), foam rolling, preparing high
quality nutritious meals, or taking a nap when work and life allow. These
little things will vastly increase the quality of your recovery and ensure that
when race day comes around you'll be in peak physical condition and ready to
perform.
The morning of
race day is almost as important as all the training that came before; while a
good race morning will not make you any faster than your training will allow, a
bad race morning can completely destroy your chances of a successful race. The
successful athlete will eat a light breakfast of easily digestible (low fat and
high carbs works well) foods 2-4 hours before the race, and if desired will
drink a cup or two of coffee for the performance enhancing benefits of caffeine. In additional to
providing performance benefits caffeine acts as a digestive system stimulant
which will help to stimulate a bowel movement and reduce the risk of stomach
upset while racing. As with anything use of caffeine should be experimented
with on workout or long run days to test effectiveness and one's tolerance.
2) Warm-Up
I see a lot of interesting warm-up techniques whenever I go to races, and as with most things that have come to be without any serious rational thought most of what is done pre-race by the average amateur runner is not necessarily helpful, barring the benefit of routine on mental preparation. The best warm-up routines involve a healthy dose of science and rationality and as with other aspects of training and performance if you cannot give a reason for a part of your warm-up routine it is best left out the routine all together.
My personal warm-up
routine invariably begins with a brief bout of dynamic stretches (i.e. legs
swings), proceeds into a brief 10-15 minute easy run ending 5-10 minutes prior
to the event and finishes up with 2-4 strides from the line in the last minutes
before the race begins. Each of these elements has a purpose, the dynamic
stretches promote mobility without inhibiting elastic contraction of the
muscles; the easy running raises core body temperature, dilates capillaries,
and signals changes to baseline VO2 which aid aerobic synthesis of cellular
energy in the early stages of the race; finally the strides prime the central
nervous system to activate a larger number of motor units and increase the
speed of neural transmission to the muscular system. All of the changes listed
are important for maximal performance and are a key part of a good start to the
race, and thereby push back the onset of fatigue and create a better internal
environment for high-level performance. For more on the biology of warming up
see the Science of Running post on the subject.
Finally, and you
know as a psych student I have go here, the warm-up routine is a valuable part
of mentally preparing for the race. As discussed in my article on routine
replicating the same actions time and time again before a run relieves the
anxiety associated with a new experience, as well as providing a distraction
from intrusive thoughts or excess nervousness. Never underestimate the value of
mindfulness and relaxation before a race.
3) Trust your
training
This may be a less concrete instruction that the first two points, however it is not the less a valuable bit of wisdom passed down through the lines of great runners and coaches our sport has seen. It can be hard to run to ones potential, and harder still when in hunt of a PR you are trying to run faster than you ever have before, to do so not only must you be physically prepared, you also have to believe that you are capable of reaching the next level.
As runners we
train, and when in pursuit of an achievement we train a lot! Logically we know
all this training will make us faster, better runners, and when you find
yourself on the start line you need to trust in the value of the training that
you've done; the hay is in the barn so to speak and it's time to reap the
fruits of your labors. While it is always wise to trust your body and listen to
the signals it's sending you it is also wise to know that sometimes in absence
of clear physical signals you need to have faith that your performance in
practice was truly indicative of the performance you are capable of on the
track or the roads. So when you are out there all alone among hoards of runners
you need to trust in your training and put some faith in the process that got
you there... speaking of process.
4) Be process oriented
We've already touched on this concept in other sections of this post, but I think it deserves its own section. In training it is valuable to enjoy the process as much as you enjoy the result, especially as most people race rarely and train often; if you don't enjoy the process of training it will be hard to make long term progress. On race day the focus on the process is still important and beneficial to performance, this is especially true when it comes to psychological preparation and the application of a strategy for the race.
Being process oriented in a race setting will look like the follow
example: a runner wanting the result of a PR in a given race will focus on
running a specific even pace or a slight negative split. In this circumstance
the runner will focus not on the totality of the race and the outcome, but will
instead break the race down into manageable chunks which can more easily be
controlled such as miles or distinct phases of the race (e.g. the start, middle,
and finish). Using this concept a runner is able to focus on the actions
required of them in the present without focusing on future eventualities as
these belong to another section of the race plan and have already been
addressed and mentally prepared for. Obviously not all races will allow this
sort of planning, for example a championship race will be determined not by a
premeditated race plan, but by timely action based on the moves of other
runners in the field.
Conclusion
While this is by no means a conclusive guide to racing
successfully the precepts above will help to give you the best possible racing
experience, and will maximize the chances of achieving the results you desire,
whether those results be a PR or a podium finish. Happy racing and keep those
PR’s coming!
