Races are exciting. They’re the perfect platform to test our limits, face our competitors and celebrate what our bodies can do. But races don’t always go as planned. The pressure to perform can help or hinder performance, depending on how you handle it.
Creating a personal race day routine is an excellent way to manage race day jitters and compete at your best. Intentional, repeated practice and behaviors leading up to the big day can be immensely helpful for newbies and professional athletes alike. These behaviors can include everything from what you eat to how long you warm up, cultivating non-attachment to your goals and positive self-talk.
Why do we need routines? Because when it comes to race day stress, it’s easy for bad habits to take over. Perhaps nervous pre-race energy causes you to eat too little or too much, lose rest or ignore the need to plan out logistics. Some of us get snappy with loved ones or go down a path of negative self-talk. Your routine can be a personal security blanket in a time of stress by redirecting uncertainty into a place of healthy habit and routine.