Racing Fears

Hammer Nutrition's September 2010 magazine has an interesting and well-written article called, "Embracing the fears of racing" by Shane Eversfield, a Total Immersion Master Coach. Here are some quotes from the article, along with my own comments;

"If we knew ahead of time exactly how the race will turn out, or how our lives will progress and end, we probably would not bother training-let alone get out of bed each day".

"...we are drawn to racing-at least in part-by the wonderful elements of mystery and uncertainty".

"on race day, a great asset for transforming fear into acceptance and peace is gratitude". Be grateful for ..."family, health, this day, arriving at the starting line safe after training for however long to complete this distance".

The other common fear in racing is pain. Through your training there is self-discovery that takes place in whether the pain felt during hard sessions is detrimental or a stressor that will make you stronger. You also learn how to deal with the pain that may develop during a race, hold the pace longer through some distress and carry on to the finish line. Pain can be an ally in a race, ..."remain calm physically and mentally in the presence of pain, without complicating it. It is a powerful asset for our most challenging races and our lives".

Let's see if I can remember some of this for the rest of my races this fall.