Competitors - The presence of other athletes,
providing a threat to you achieving what you
want to, produces stress and adrenalin. This
can affect you well before, as well as during,
the race, particularly if you have to warm up
in a confined area with everyone discussing how
well they have been running.
Hanging Around waiting to start - Usually
when training you will start within a few minutes
of arriving at your venue. Whilst competing you
often have to wait for a variety of reasons:
registration, previous races running late, in a
track situation - waiting for your second race
of the day, etc.. Be sure you don’t spend the
entire time "pumped up" or you will be exhausted
by the time you start.
Crowds - Having people watching you can
add to the sense of pressure, particularly, if
there are more people present than you have raced
in front of before.
Pressure from Team mates - An extreme
example may be a road relay, where at the start
you are told by team mates that you HAVE to catch
the person in front. This may lead to you starting
too fast and fading badly.
Acclimatising to unknown conditions -
On race days you want to avoid external pressure
as much as possible, so make sure you know where
you are going and allow plenty of time. You don’t
want to waste energy worrying that you won’t make
it. Also, when at a meeting it can be useful to
find a quiet place away from the hussle and bussle
to warm up - this can make it feel more like a
normal training session. The required adrenalin
will come when you assemble near the start with
everyone else.
