Feeling Nervous Before The Big Race? Me too!
My process for getting to a semi-sane place before the big day (or days).
It is 18 days out from my race and now the willies are starting to creep up. Creep up in the form of niggles, the slight aches and pains that shout “I’m here to wreck your plans- heheheh,” the harbingers of a race ending injury. In reality, most niggles are made worse in our heads by their appearance in proximity to the race. If they happened any other time, the normal reaction would be to wait and see, but when it’s less than three weeks until a race it’s seems more like triage time i.e. countless hours on the internet researching causes, remedies and freaking out that you may not be able to run the race.
In the grand scheme of things, niggles are kind of a good thing. If you have the right mind set, they force you to take in the big picture. Your knee might hurt right now, or perhaps your achilles is a little tight. You probably just came off the most intense part of your training, so a little soreness and achiness is pretty likely. But a little time off or cross training will give the parts that need it some rest and you’ll be just fine come race day because at this point the miles are in the bank.
Niggles have always been a thing for me when it comes to a big run, but this time I’m dealing with something new. This time, what has been creeping up has literally been creeping up… stomach issues. I feel like I can only eat half of what I was eating just a week ago or else I’ll be vomiting into my mouth all day. Seriously, I’m freaking hungry with all this running. I need my calories! But, at the same time I’m bleh and the thought of tasting nut mush with a hint of stomach acid…well, it’s not my favorite. Where is this coming from? Can’t I at least have a reliable and predictable freaking out period before my race? I guess not:-/
Maybe I shouldn’t be totally surprised. This is the biggest event I have taken on and maybe it’s getting to my head (and stomach). Running for 30 hours in what will likely be very cold, snow packed and windy conditions is less than ideal. Fighting sleep over a stretch of 14 hours of darkness in the woods with an average of 100 ft of elevation gain per mile will not be a walk in the park (haha- it actually is a walk in the park!). The Morton’s Neuroma that has brought tears to my eyes seems to be reacting well to recent adjustments, but I know that the pain will likely be there during the race.
It’s times like this I need to remember my why. With the exception of the neuroma, all of the above is the same as the day I signed up. Thank goodness I wrote them down the first week of training! Below is what I wrote when I started, with one little edit…because I felt a little uncomfortable about what I wrote.
Why Race?
⁌Challenge
⁌Up all night
⁌Feel the pain, feel the pure exhaustion
⁌The right kind of focus for right now
⁌Because I can be a badass but can’t/won’t say it out loud without seeming like a deplorable human being, so this is the closest thing to saying it out loud without actually doing it. Edit OK- I’m a little embarrassed I wrote this 😬. I didn’t intend for it to be viewed by others, but it’s my truth, so I guess I’ll own it😉.
What Not To Do
⁌Don’t worry about increasing base speed (over the training period). If it happens, great, but time on feet is priority
⁌Do not compare to other runners. This is your run with your background, genes, etc.
⁌Do not compare today’s run to tomorrow’s race. By the time race day is here, the work will be in.
⁌Do not worry about weight. Eat when you are hungry.
What To Do
⁌Listen to your body. Tired muscle pain is good, tendon/bone pain is bad. One or two days of rest to get rid of pain is better running with pain for weeks, and/or needing to take weeks off.
⁌Enjoy the runs
⁌Work on efficiency
⁌Be happy for others on their journeys.
Remember
⁌You have been up for two days straight before
⁌You can walk forever
⁌People have done this before and survived
⁌Pain is just a conversation between the mind and body
⁌Throwing up is okay
⁌This will suck, embrace the suck
That’s right -EMBRACE THE SUCK. I like the “suck” even though it is uncomfortable and painful. I like it because it I think that on a super subconscious level, it is me seeking out the edges of what it means to live. Niggles be damned, I am healthy enough to run!
So this is what I say to my stomach issues (as if my stomach will listen)…In 18 days I will run the TARCtic Frozen Yeti. It will suck, but I like the suck. I enjoyed the journey so far – the race is just the icing on the cake.
Now, I need to work on my playlist….
Happy Running!