Over the past week, I heard a few people say they can't believe it's less than a month until their goal Spring race.Pre-race nerves are starting to settle in for a lot of people.I feel like I have become the queen of pre-race jitters.In fact, I'm writing this at 4:22AM because I just woke up from a race nightmare.My dream was that I was running a trail ultramarathon and could not find the trail.In parts of my dream, I was actually running the course in reverse and could not figure out how to go the right way!While your nerves may not be as extreme as mine, please know that any type of nervousness you experience is COMPLETELY NORMAL.

Being the queen of pre-race jitters, I have a lot of experience getting over the nerves.  The following tips are things I use to conquer my nerves.  Feel free to try one or all of them!

The first thing I do is try to accept that the nervousness I am feeling is okay.  I know, easier said than done.  My natural tendency is to try to fight it.  "I just need another hill workout and I'll be better".  "If I ignore this feeling it will go away."  Some of the ways I work through the nerves is to journal.  I take out a piece of paper and write out everything I'm feeling.  It's my version of mental vomit.  (Sorry for the grossness of that expression) It's a way for me to get all of my feelings out of my head.  Some other ways are to meditate or go for a walk.  Do something.  Try to get your mind off of it.

The next thing I do is listen to my power songs.  What's a power song?  Do you have 4-5 songs that put you in an amazing mood?  Do you have a song that makes you want to get up and "dance it out"?  That's a power song.  It will change our mood and a bring a smile to your face.  I have a playlist specifically for my power songs.  But, here's the trick, you CAN'T listen to this playlist all the time.  Only listen to it when you absolutely need it.  Remember when the Frozen movie came out and everyone loved the song, "Let it go"?  Do you also remember how eventually everyone got tired of listening to that song?  If you listen to a song too much, it won't have the same impact on your mood…and can even put you in a bad mood.  So, create a playlist with 4-5 songs that pump you up and use it sparingly! 

Mantras.  Mantras. Mantras.  Mantras are single words or phrases that you say to yourself to control what you are thinking about.  A google search will give you lots of examples of mantras.  Find something that speaks to you.  One I saw this week was "I'm Fit. Fast. And Fierce". It doesn’t have to be long or very descriptive.  It just has to speak to you.  When I have a good mantra, I will write it down and put it everywhere!  I'll write it in dry erase marker on my bathroom mirror. I'll put it on a few sticky notes and put one on the fridge, on my car dashboard, at my work computer…everything I look at throughout the day. 

Finally, remember that you are ready for the race.  A lot of people will say that their training did not go perfectly or that they need to get some more workouts in.  Trust me, you are ready.  You got up each day and did your workout.  One of the popular phrases is that your head will give up long before your legs will.  Your legs know what to do. Trust them.  And, no one ever has a perfect training season.  Please know that you are ready.

I hope you find one or several of these items are helpful.You've got this girl!