45 minutes before my race, my team and I start warming up, and this is when my anxiety kicks in. I start having very irrational thoughts about my potential performance in the upcoming race. Some of the thoughts range from the starting gun going off, and me freezing in my spot on the line, to feeling too weak to have a quality race.
I soon began to realize that having these thoughts will hinder my performance, being too focused on what could go wrong, I felt like these things would happen. I realized my anxiety was foolish not after hearing my thoughts, but while comforting my teammates while they felt anxious. I told them, "You have no reason to be nervous, because the outcome of your race depends on the hard work you put into it."
And from that point on, this phrase was something I would say to myself when preparing for my race while our adrenaline is rushing, in the spray painted boxes. As long as I feel I put all I can into my races, I am satisfied with my performance, and with what place I finish in my races.
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