FEAR - Its Crazy Really

I still get nervous before every race thinking I'm going to drown. And I can't stand riding bikes on open roads. All that fear disappears once the gun goes off, though. You have to just go do it and not let your fear get the best of you.

You can be the thermostat or the thermometer.

Before races as before we left the wire in Iraq, I'd tell a few jokes, talk to people who looked nervous, and try to acknowledge the nerves to let those who were nervous know they're not the only ones who were nervous.

I'm a pretty confident swimmer and a big guy so I don't mind the contact, but I still get some nerves about having to exercise continuously for an hour or 6 or more when I set out on some other event.

It's funny what happens to a bunch of nervous people when you give a shout of a movie quote of some kind. Like "Together we will rape the horses and ride off on the women!" You inspire some energy into a nervous group and the life just comes back to them.

Since I'm in the Clydesdale wave for a lot of races, it's a smaller (by numbers not by pounds) group than the men's AG waves and the crowd tends to be less jerkish when you interfere with their prerace jerkishness. Most races usually put Clyde's with the first timers as well so it's a fun crowd.

Bottom line: you'll be fine. Don't let the fear get you. Go out and kick it in the junk!

There's the standard dream where I'm late and miss the start of the race. I don't think I've ever had a week before a big race where this hasn't happened.