Race day nerves

Clearlier · 27-07-2015 4:17pm #1

I'm seeing this discussed in more than one training log at the moment and thought that there might an appetite to discuss it in the main forum.

So, tell us about them

How do they manifest themselves?
How do you deal with them?
Are they a help or a hindrance?

I get different stages in the lead up to a race. The bigger the race the bigger the nervous feeling. In the days leading up to a big race I'm told that I get narky and develop tunnel vision. On the day itself I'll wake up and be awake much more quickly than normal.

On arrival at the venue for the race start I'll be getting butterflies in my stomach. I'll put off going to the toilet for as long as possible or I'll be in every 5 mins.

In the last few minutes before the race in contrast to my normal fairly quiet self I often find myself talking rubbish to whoever is unfortunate enough to be nearest me (whilst silently wondering why I don't shut my mouth).

The moment the race starts I get a huge jolt of adrenalin which momentarily drains all of my energy away and then the nerves are gone as I focus in on everything that allows me to do the best that I can do in that particular race.

To paraphrase a lamented former boardsie - how do you do yours?

Chivito550 · 27-07-2015 4:35pm

Ah race day nerves. Can’t live with em, can’t live without em. They make you hate the sport, while at the same time help you to run fast, which consequently allows you to love the sport. Definitely a love/hate relationship with them.

For me, I’d get more nervous ahead of a 400 than I would any other event, because that’s the event I’ve trained for. In addition, when I haven’t had a 400 for a good while (perhaps the first 1-2 races of Indoor season, first 1-2 races of outdoor season, or first race after maybe a 3 week gap) I get extra nervous, and start pumping with adrenaline the day before even. Thankfully, the benefits of racing regularly mean that this type of nonsense goes away the more you race, and you end up only getting nervous a couple of hours before a race. But I’ve also been guilty of getting my hopes up that I may be on for a PB in an upcoming race, and get extra nervous again. Then there’s the weather. Because the weather is so bad here of late, when you do get a cracking day, you start to feel more pressure, along the lines of “I better take advantage of this fine day and run a PB, as it might be the only one I get here”. Thankfully, with the amount of racing I am doing now, the nerves are a lot more controlled towards the latter stages of the season. I don’t enjoy the pre-race routine, but am able to deal with it. It usually consists of swallowing down food that seems to have lost all form of taste, hundreds of trips to the jacks etc etc. Then there’s Nationals, the one day that you truly do enjoy the pre-race routine, because it is a privilege to get to compete in the same competition as the best guys in Ireland.

For 100s and 200s, I do get nerves, but I’m not half as nervous as they are not my main distances. They are almost a break from the routine. But once I’m in the blocks, those pre-race nerves and adrenaline have arrived.

For 800s on the other hand, I do get very nervous, despite it not being my distance. The same logic doesn’t seem to apply to 800 as 100 and 200 because 1) I am not trained for the event so you really develop the fear beforehand, and 2) It’s nowhere near as much fun as racing a 100 and 200.

Whenever I do long jump, I don’t get nervous. I just really enjoy the act of running fast and (trying to!) jumping long. But then again, it’s not my main event so this may have something to do with it too.

Nerves essentially come from self-inflicted pressure. It’s as simple as that IMO.

Enduro · 27-07-2015 5:09pm

Chivito550 wrote: »

Nerves essentially come from self-inflicted pressure. It’s as simple as that IMO.

That's exactly it. So the simplest solution is to not inflict it on yourself. Easier said than done, I know, but still I think the key.

Definitely agree that doing more racing has got to help. The more you race, the more you get used to racing. Even for ultra-long distance runners like myself, where I can do a maximum of 2 or 3 key races a year, there is definite benifit to be gained (and skills to be honed) in racing frequently, even if way outside target distances.

I very rarely ever get pre-race nerves. One thing that work for me is to keep perspective. It's only a game really. A hobby. It's not that important. Certainly not life and death! You're doing it to enjoy yourself in the end, so relax and embrace the experience.

Having said all that, some of the best racers (broadly speaking, going beyond running) have suffered from pre-race nerves, but are good enough racers to either not let it affect them, or channel the energy into the race.

average_runner · 27-07-2015 5:16pm

Race day nerves for me:
- Shoe laces, redo them, stand up, bend down and redo them again, stand up, bend down and redo them again

Marathon Nerves
- Ah crap i feel tired, maybe its the flu etc.

Dubgal72 · 27-07-2015 8:22pm

I think they help. For me, they go hand in hand with the adrenaline that floods as the gun goes but you have to be able to control them. If I find myself dwelling too much on a race in the week before I 'put them away'. For me, this means visualising a box, putting them in and closing it. Otherwise, it's energy wasted. Ultrapercy commented on a log today about 'negative emotions'. Nerves, adrenaline and their love-child, fear, all make up a happy little family for me when racing

and yes, in a way I embrace them. Like Clearlier tho, not sure my real life happy family embrace my pre-race narkiness :pac:

clear thinking · 27-07-2015 11:57pm

Swearing can help increase your fight-or-flight mechanism, but it can be overused and become ineffective.

So if you are not a swearer and have a bit of confidence, start swearing like mad at the start of, and during, a race. It'll increase heart rate and reduce pain perception so you'll be able to go quicker.

Swear box for the rest of us to capitalise on this.

Slow_Runner · 28-07-2015 11:49am

Toilet visit every 3 minutes for 2 hours before the start, makes for a long car journey if travelling to a race:o.
Don't get the nerves as much as when I started running, perhaps that's why I'm still slow!

ultranewbie · 28-07-2015 1:53pm

This may seem like a joke but i honestly find a good shag/ **** the night before does the trick

robinph · 28-07-2015 2:30pm

Trolling re-reg banned.

glacial_pace71 · 28-07-2015 10:34pm

If you're doing the longer distance races then all the over-hydration can combine with race day nerves to leave you in the loo queue.

However, for some distance runners the "nerves" are not necessarily the sole problem, (otherwise cyclists would have something similar to "runner's trots"), i.e. they're regularly diagnosing Ischemic Colitis in distance runners:
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/crigm/2012/356895/ and
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1478906/

I suppose it stands to reason: the colon takes about 20-30% of heart rate activity, so if it' starved of blood then there will be other "complications".

However, most "nerves" are self-inflicted from loading one's self with too great a weight of expectation. Unless you're in the Over 100 category you shouldn't need to think that each race will be your last ever chance of the season to do this or that. It's better to have the "buzz" of doing well after the race rather than be wound up with too much pre-race tension.

unirunner2 · 29-07-2015 12:40pm

Race day nerve are my most hated part of running. especially when its a half or a full.

but when i start all the nerves go away. and when i finish i often wonder to myself why all the nerves.. the only person who will be interested in my time is myself. and if you are a few minutes slower than normal or even a few minutes quicker, it wont be making any headlines...
We all get caught up in our own race, our own time. wanting to do better..when we should be going out and enjoying it.

When i did my first marathon for some bizarre reason i wasnt nervous a bit. felt over confident and needless to say i messed up and hit the wall at mile 16..and finished like an actor from the walking dead.
the next one i was nervous and so on, but ran my best ever race , went with my game plan and it worked.
i do get more nervous for short races as i tend to struggle at them, as i go out too fast and die!!
my nerves will always be their, i would love to be the person who could go to a race and just get on with it without any trace of nerves..

the few days before a big race, i don't eat very well..which is never good for long distance...its something i have to mange!!

aero2k · 29-07-2015 1:01pm

I've varied between feeling very laid back and extremely nervous before races. I can relate to the multiple loo visits and re-tying laces. I've never made a diary note on the subject, so I'm going by memory, but I can't find any real pattern in the nerves, except for marathons. That may be down to the fact that with one exception they've been goal races that I trained specifically for. I always find I'm progressively more uptight over the 2-3 days leading up to a marathon. However, once it gets to about 30 min before, it's a sort of pleasant nervousness, the sort you might feel before a big exam where you know the questions are going to be very difficult, but you're well prepared and confident that you'll have (most of) the answers. Actually the exam analogy might be a good one: I've heard it's common to dream of leaving cert disasters and I've had dreams of turning up at a marathon start only to find the race was over, and other such mad stuff.

For shorter races I actually find the nerves are more intense as it gets close to the start time - I think that's down to the fact there tends to be more of a melee, any delay is harder to make up over a short distance, and the race pace is more uncomfortable.

I can't give any scientific proof but I believe that a certain amount of race nerves must help performance - I certainly find I can run a few sec/mile quicker than in training for the same perceived effort and I put that down to the amount of (natural) performance-enhancing substances in my bloodstream.

Race day nerves

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