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Coping with nervousness and anxiety
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 2010-06-07 10:57 AM |
Member  127  |  Subject: Coping with nervousness and anxietySo, do any of you have extreme nervousness/anxiety before the race... like days before the race? I just completed my first triathlon of the season yesterday/third of all time (a sprint). I couldn't eat anything before the race - got up at 5 a.m. and didn't race until about 9:30... absolutely nothing - a bit of water. I barely ate on Saturday because I was so nervous. Maybe this will get better, but any advice in the meantime? I really like the atmosphere of a race - I like the people - I love the way it feels to finish, but I'm not sure I can deal with the way I feel for a few days before the race. I'm definitely don't have the energy I would if I could eat/sleep and be myself. A little background. I'm bad swimmer - not afraid of the water, but just need to get a lot more time in. I also just got a new road bike which I was only out on once before the race... so I'm pretty apprehensive on that still. So that might have added to it for this race, but I'm like this no matter what soooo.... Thanks for any input. |
| 2010-06-07 11:09 AM in reply to: #2905180 |
| Veteran 263 | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety Can you identify what is actually making you nervous? You said it could have been the new bike, but then you said you are like that all the time anyway, which indicates that it wasn't anything to do with the new bike. Have you ever done any other sporting events (running races etc) and experienced the same thing? |
| 2010-06-07 11:14 AM in reply to: #2905180 |
Member 127 | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety I've done duathlons for a few years, and I'm always nervous at those too but not as... so maybe it's the swimming. I have put more time into swimming this year, but I'm still really bad at it and once I get off my rhythm I can't get it back so then I'm in trouble for the rest of the swim and usually resort to breaststroke/backstroke. I'm kind of just wondering if there is something that helps people stay calm and relaxed... I need to calm down. I'm kind of a nervous person anyway, and racing accentuates it. |
| 2010-06-07 11:48 AM in reply to: #2905180 |
 Lafayette, CO | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety I think the calm is going to be something you have to explore for yourself. Maybe it's getting out and doing an easy jog the day before. Maybe it's going to see a movie. Maybe it's yoga or meditation or anything else. When you are nervous or stressed in other parts of your life what do you do? For me I like to have a my day before a race be pretty calm, a light workout, laying out everything I need to have in the morning, and make sure to eat well the day before. The morning of I do have a hard time eating but I make myself do it because for me racing on an empty stomach would be a disaster. |
| 2010-06-07 11:50 AM in reply to: #2905180 |
| New user 88 Central, NJ | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety My wife gets it before races or rides or things sometimes. We went on a cycle trip, the last day was a huge climb up a mountain. At the base of the mountain, after sitting for 20 minutes eating lunch, I looked at her HRM and it read 148....... She's run half marathons at less than 148!!! |
| 2010-06-07 12:40 PM in reply to: #2905180 |
| Regular 79 | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety I have bad anxiety, even it is playing poker with some guys or an organized basketball game, my anxiety always makes me rethink my decisions to do these things. Before the swim of a tri, I feel like I'm going to puke, but the worst thing is I can not pin point why I feel this way. My last tri (6th overall and an Oly) I decided to over rotate each breath and look straight up into the sky, and I was going to start to the left of the pack. Without stopping or backstroking I finished it in 24 minutes and I'm now excited to do my next race with minimal nerves. I even thought about quitting tris it got to me so bad. Stick with it, it only takes one good swim for you to get over this anxiety. |
| 2010-06-07 1:29 PM in reply to: #2905180 |
Member 127 | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety Thank you for the tips. I'll keep trying  I don't want to quit because there is so much about it that I really enjoy. Hopefully if I can be calm at the start of a tri - I'll be calmer with all things! Thanks again. |
| 2010-06-07 1:45 PM in reply to: #2905180 |
Master 1736  Midcoast Maine | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety There is a school of thought that if you do the thing that causes you anxiety over and over and over again, you become desensitized to whatever is causing you anxiety. I used to HATE public speaking - then had to do it for my job (every day for a couple of years), now I am comfortable talking to crowds and don't give it a second thought. Keep trying, keep exposing yourself to the environment and see if it becomes more comfortable the more you do it. |
| 2010-06-07 2:12 PM in reply to: #2905180 |
Master 1603 Connecticut | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety I have done hundreds of races (of various sorts) and I still get anxious. Generally, I think about it more as an anticipatory excitement than "nervousness." I consider it all that stored energy that is loaded up and waiting to be turned in to kinetic energy during the race. Frankly, the physiological expression is the same (fear or excitement), it's just a matter of how we label it. I aim to have my energy centered and focused just before the race, but I would not describe it as "calm." A cat stalking a bird may be just as still as a cat lazing in the sun, but their energy level is entirely different. |
| 2010-06-07 5:37 PM in reply to: #2905254 |
| Veteran 263 | Subject: RE: Coping with nervousness and anxiety It sounds like it is definitely the swim that is making you nervous. And you are definitely not alone in that. Most beginning triathletes find the open water swimming thing VERY difficult to get used to. It definitely helps to do some training in open water, but I understand that is not always possible. I think you could benefit from some relaxation techniques, such as sitting down and closing your eyes, placing your hands in your lap, and taking deep breaths (breathe in for a count of 3 and out for a count of 7). After a couple of minutes of doing that I think you will feel more relaxed. Also, remember that nerves are natural before a race, and are necessary for you to be able to perform at your best. The trick is to feel that those nerves are a positive rather than a negative thing. As I read somewhere, it's good to have butterflies in your stomach - the trick is to make sure those butterflies are flying in formation. |
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