Quieting the Pre-Race Nerves

This Sunday I will be completing my first Olympic distance triathlon. That is a 0.9 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run. And I have to admit, I am pretty nervous!

I know I can finish each distance on their own, and I'm actually pretty comfortable with the bike and run together, but I think what is getting me the most anxious in the swim.

Before last week's triathlon, I was actually excited -- I had done the same race twice before and knew what to expect. I know the temperature of the water, the many speed bumps to deal with at the beginning and end of the bike, and the rolling hills on the run. I also went into the race with a pretty low pressure approach of just finishing, and not worrying about time, especially because of my calf pains earlier in the week.

This week, however, I have had butterflies in my stomach thinking about the longer race. I guess it is kind of like doing your first road running race at a new distance too. You are confident in your abilities, but the newness of it makes you a little more uncertain.

With all this in mind, I have been doing my best to quiet these pre-race nerves. For example, I swam twice this week including once while wearing my wetsuit. I've only worn it one other time before, so trying it out again made me feel a little more comfortable and not so constricted.

My calf has a few knots in it still, but no pain. I am taking it easy again this week with hopes of picking up the miles a little more next week. I've been stretching and rolling every day, and plan to get in some yoga either today or tomorrow.

Otherwise, I am focusing on having a positive mindset and confidence in myself that I know I can complete the swim. I am picturing myself being comfortable in the water and finishing the swim strong, then crushing the bike and the run, and having lots of fun! The mental preparation always helps me a lot the week of a race. Dreaming of happiness at the finish line, like this:

Do you get nervous before races? How do you calm those pre-race nerves?

Running a Half Marathon Relay

Tomorrow Ryan and I will be racing in the Elk Grove Half Marathon Relay.





I've never run a half or full marathon relay, but it seems like there are some good benefits of it. Some reasons I see to run a 2 or 4 person relay are:

1) If you are working up in distance, a relay would allow you to enjoy a longer race without having to run the whole event.
2) A relay could give you a chance to run faster -- of course you could do a shorter race on your own like a 5k or 10k  -- but it's another option
3) To race with other people! Even though you aren't racing next to the person the during the race, you get to have teammates who are counting on you. Plus, running with friends is awesome.

At the Running of the Elk race tomorrow, Ryan will be running first for 7.5 miles, and I will be finishing up the second part of the race (5.6 miles). We are looking forward to racing a little faster than our recent half marathons, especially since we feel like we have been improving on our paces recently.

The last few days have been busy because we had a friend in town. Thursday we went out to the opening night of the River Cats (local minor league baseball team), and Friday we checked out a bar called the Pour House.

{turned out to be a nice night to watch some baseball after the rain cleared out}

{yeah, this bar was awesome -- the booths had taps right at the table!}

Tonight we are looking forward to getting to bed earlier in preparation for the race. I'll keep you guys posted on how it all goes down tomorrow! My goal: hold around an 8 min pace.

I know a few of you have run the longer large team relays based on my last post, but have you ever done a half or full marathon relay? What did you think of it?