The Voice from the Pacific Northwest Newsletter

Learning How To Race...continued

So many times I have stood at the start line in the early morning hours, hardly warmed up and wondering how I could possibly skate the race, let alone win it. Filled with doubt, nervousness, and even fear, I would inch my skates toward the start line, amongst all those fabulous athletes. A zillion thoughts would race through my mind uncontrollably. What am I doing here? They all look so strong. Oh no! Got to go to the washroom! What was my strategy? I have to change it. Maybe they’ll cancel the race. I could not quiet my mind and focus on the task at hand.

I entered the race with such disquiet that I felt exhausted before the race even started. I knew I had to do something about this insane behavior if I wanted to continue racing. I read self-help books to learn the road to success theoretically, with other people’s words and experiences. No matter how many affirmations and visualizations I repeated, things didn’t change much.

Until one day I found myself at the start line on a road bike. I thought ‘I am going to fall off this thing’ and felt like exploding in anticipation and fear. To my astonishment I actually made it through my first grueling 80km road race, including a crash during the sprint a mere 400m to the finish line. I got up so quickly I hardly knew what happened, I desperately wanted to cross that line to capture the gold that was eminently pending for me. I made it! The gold was mine, including a bunch of stitches on my elbow.

After that race I put the books away and stopped writing my training journal. Instead I spent my time on the bike racing, four times a week: crits, hill climbs, road races and time trials. Everything was available to me. Unlike inline skating, road and off-road biking events were a dime a dozen in the pacific-northwest. I knew the mental and physical training was a perfect complement and cross training for inline skating.

A season of bike racing passed before I reached a level of confidence I had never experienced before. I felt fit and happy. Racing has become a habit and I crave that adrenaline in my veins. Most importantly, as a result, my appreciation for the human body and mind is growing steadily.

Here are some preparatory race measures that work for me:

Adequate sleep
Proper hydration
Right timing of food intake starting several days prior to the race
Do not listen to other people's stories prior to races
Have everything ready for race day well in advance
Stick with the plan

Keep on rolling!

Conny

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