Handling Race Nerves and Performance Anxiety

Podcast

June 9, 2020

Feeling sick on the start line robs you of energy. How to handle race nerves before an Ironman or any triathlon. Get Fast Podcast.

Get Fast Podcast, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly

Some nerves are normal, and Gerard counts them as a good thing because "it shows you care". They ease when you've prepared well and when your attention is on how you'll execute your race. They do damage when you fill your head with things you can't control.

Why do you get nervous before a race?

You care about the outcome. Gerard compares it to an exam or a job interview, and he'd find it unusual if you had no nerves at all.

The size of the nerves follows your preparation. In Gerard's words, "the correlation between my preparedness and the anxiety is undeniable". The same feeling can show up before a hard training session, if you doubt you'll complete it.

Where do race nerves come from?

They come from outside and inside. Outside: you've told people about the race, they expect you to do well, and some are coming to watch. Inside: your own goal, like winning or holding a set pace or power number.

Gerard finds internally motivated athletes handle nerves better, because they're focused on execution.

What should you think about before the start?

Think about your race plan. Jordan points out that a question like "how am I going to perform" has no answer yet, so it only feeds the nerves. Run through what you can answer: your pace for the first five minutes, and how you'll finish.

Gerard's picture is two footballers with a shot at goal to win a grand final. One keeps telling himself he has to kick it. The other goes through his routine: run-up, ball drop, follow through. The second is more likely to kick it.

He reads Michael Jordan the same way. He demanded the ball in the last seconds "because he was thinking about the shot rather than the result".

How do you make a big race feel familiar?

Race more. Less important races still give you the day before, the preparation and everything that goes with performing.

Familiar doesn't mean ordinary. Gerard wants you to embrace the big day and say "bring on the day because I'm ready".

What does good execution look like?

Gerard tells a story from a national time trial with a fast downhill in the opening minutes. He and another rider agreed not to overdo the start. Both had their lowest power in the first five minutes and their highest in the last five, while others faded. The other rider won.

A purpose for the race took their minds off the nerves.

How do nerves hurt your race?

They waste energy. Jordan has been too nervous before a race, spent his energy wondering how he'd perform, then raced poorly. He found looking back on it frustrating.

They make you hesitate. Athletes often tell Gerard they felt better than expected and didn't go with a move because they lacked confidence. He wants you confident without being overconfident, and willing to trust a gut call built on your training.

What if your nerves feel too big?

Jordan is clear that "we're not psychologists". His point is that fight or flight is a natural response, and an extreme version before a race isn't needed.

Gerard's answer is to reframe it. Ask what the race means to you today. It's one event in something you enjoy, and you're there for fun and to execute. If it keeps feeling like too much, he says to rethink why you're doing it.

What should you do after a nervous race?

Work out why. Gerard's questions lead to answers like "I was so nervous because I hadn't prepared properly", or that you lacked confidence, or were worried about other people's performance. Then look for the next event. Jordan says that after a race like that, you can't be bothered spending a second on nerves.

How do you keep nerves down during a training block?

Live in the moment. Gerard's example is a 16-week program: you only have 16 Tuesdays, and some are taper or easy days, so today's hard session counts. Hit today's numbers and let the end of the block take care of itself.

Be patient too. You don't want to be at your highest race level in week four of 16.