Your Race

Things are different for distance runners. Among their various eccentricities, they refuse to measure life in months or years. Rather, a runner's existence is noted in mile runs, weekend races, and bouts of tendinitis. There is only the simply process of wearing down the treads of countless pairs of shoes with hour after hour of perennial motion. They see life differently on foot without the ens of a car window.
Like life, racing itself is almost totally unpredictable and rarely follows a script, no matter how well you plan. Does going out too fast in the first mile(s) because you're over excited and hyped up, sound familiar? What about feeling fatigued early in a race? How about having to decide whether to stick with a competitor or let them go and hope they come back later in the race? How do you react to these race situations? Do you react with calm, calculated reactions, or panic and fear?
Your reactions to the ever changing environment of running, both before and during races, can have a huge impact on your race performance. When you react to any situation with panic or fear, your stress response kicks in. While runners need this response in optimal levels, an over heightened response can mean wasted energy and a compromised ability to make logical decisions.
When things don't go as planned, both before and during a race, you need to be able to control your thinking in order to control your reaction to the situation. When something doesn't go as planned in your running try to simply look for alternative ways to deal with the challenge.
If you get to a race later than expected getting angry and stressed is not going to give you more time to warm-up. Just tell yourself to be calm and plan your warm-up around the time you do have left. If you feel fatigued early in the race, don't panic with lots of negative thinking. Just remind yourself to relax, stay positive, and remember the sound preparation you have behind you.
When you develop any running plan whether it be training, racing, diet or mental training, be sure to include many possible scenarios in the plan.
A very important point to keep in mind for reducing anxiety and stress is to focus your attention only on things you can control. You can't control weather, other runners, or the number of hills on the course. You can control YOUR RACE! So, run it!