SportsPsychologist.com Blog by Dr Victor Thompson

For many athletes, as the race comes closer and closer, confidence starts to evaporate and nerves start to build. Here are some tips for what the athlete can do in the lead-up to race day and on race day itself to have a smoother and more enjoyable day. Developing race confidence: Tip 1: Prepare by going through race simulations. Set up training to practice for the event(s) you’ve entered. Make your training physically and practically similar to the event. For a triathlete, then this means that you at least once swim, bike and run: • At the same speeds as you expect to in the race • Over the same distance (or close to the distance if it is a long triathlon) • On the same terrain (open-water swim, hilly or flat bike and run courses) • With the same equipment as you expect to use in the race If you aren't a triathlete, then run similar simulations in your sports where it is practical and safe to do so. Tip 2: Use your imagery skills to visualise yourself completing your event with th...

Experiencing stress before a race is common: bad sleep the night before, waking early, difficulties getting breakfast down, frequent urges to go to the loo, worries about what might go wrong, a thumping heart while we stand still... These experiences can be unsettling. Why do they happen? They happen because: The race represents a test and we may fear that we'll fail to perform compared to others or our own standards (i.e., finish time or position), or We fear some catastrophe (e.g., getting punched in the face during the swim, losing our goggles or drowning; crashing on the bike...) When we arrive at the race site, our body's arousal is boosted further by the race environment - hearing the pump-you-up music blaring out of a PA system, or seeing lean, mean and excited (and stressed) triathletes. This increases the chance that our arousal level spills over into stress or anxiety - where it can become a problem. What's so bad about pre-race nerves? They make ...

For most (summer season) athletes this is the time of the year that we set our sights on the competitions ahead. What we will target, what performance we expect (want) and put ourselves out there to be tested. As the excitement builds, so do the nerves. So what can we do about this? 1. Set up training so you can have opportunities to practice for your events - the distances, speeds or skills you will want to execute come competition day. Nothing helps us feel confident (and to squash nerves) like real experience. So set up practice to run competition simulations. 2. Trawl your memory banks to find the experiences that show that you have done what is required for you to perform on competition day. These could be experiences from training/practice or previous competitions. What experiences show that you are prepared, or becoming more and more prepared? 3. Plan for the period up to the competition so you can see a progression to the event, in which you become more and more prepared. These...