As athletes, we all have those bad days. The days where we have a
terrible practice or race. The days where we are so tiered that we just want to
give up and head home. The days where we are so nervous for the big race, that
we question why we put ourselves through the pain that comes along with the
sport. The days where we wish that we were not runners.
Everyone has had these days and been subjected to these negative thoughts
(or at least everyone I run with) but that is why it is so important to push
through and get to the rainbow on the other side. Running is a very mentally
straining sport, and one must either enjoy the sport enough, or be competitive
enough, to overcome this challenge. In a past blog of mine
(http://alikhsblog04.blogspot.com/2015/10/having-positive-attitude.html) I
talked in simple terms about the importance of staying positive. In this blog, I
am going to talk about how I overcame part of the mental struggle that
accompanies races; however do keep in mind that there is no simple cure to
dealing with nerves or racing, and I still have my bad days.
My
freshman year cross country season was a major adjustment for me. I did not run
cross country in middle school, so not only was my first race of the season my
first ever cross country race, I had to run it on varsity! That was quite a
daunting task for me to say the least and I was terrified that all of the big
mean juniors and seniors would blaze ahead of me and leave me in the dust! I
don't remember exactly how my first race went, but I remember that it was not
nearly as horrible as I thought it would be. This fact however, did not prevent
me from being so racked with nerves my entire freshman season that I was
practically in tears before each race. Clearly, this was neither healthy nor
enjoyable. My sophomore year was a bit better in regard to pre-race nerves, and
this past season was even better. I
think that I have finally pinpointed what has made my junior year so much more
enjoyable and equally as successful for me as my freshman year.
My junior year, I completely changed my outlook on running in general and
decided that I was going to have more fun throughout the season and be less
competitive and strict about it. This meant to me that I would relax more when
it came to forcing myself to drink the exact recommended amount of water or get
the exact recommended amount of sleep. When I had to skip a practice for
another commitment, I did not fret it and ran when I could by myself. When it
came to racing, I took a far more relaxed approach. I told myself that whatever
was going to happen will happen, and all I can do is try my best. Tearing
myself apart at the end of the race was not going to help anything, and it only
made me feel worse, so I always capitalized on the good parts of my race. I
came to the realization that how well I do running in high school is not going
to affect my future career or family, and though this seems counterproductive
to success, I took on the mentality that it truly doesn't matter how well I do
in any given race at all.
Now this is not 100% true, ones success during high school can help them
get a scholarship in college, and it probably matters a lot to themselves and
their coaches and teammates, but to me, it was a far better mentality to have
than my freshman year. During that season, I worried way too much about how well
I would do each race and put way too much pressure on myself, which was
probably mainly due to the fact that I was a freshman and my sister was a very
good runner whom I wanted to be as good as. My junior year however helped me
have more fun in my season because I let go of most of the burden I had felt. I
mean honestly, if you are not enjoying your life and the activities you do,
then what is the point?
Not only was I enjoying myself more, I
also had a very progressive and successful season for me. That may seem strange
seeing as I took a less competitive approach to the season as a whole, but I
still tried my absolute best each race, I just put less pressure on the outcome
of the race and raced for fun. This released me of the fear that accompanied
failure and helped me to go out and race for myself, which ultimately worked
best for me. This mentality might not be the way to go for everyone, but if you
are one that had above average pre-race jitters, just remind yourself that the
outcome of the average race is not a life or death situation and try to have
more fun! You never know, worrying less could help you feel free and achieve more in the long run!
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