It’s easy to get freaked out when you are running your first race ever (or first race distance ever). All these questions rolling around in your head:
- Am I prepared enough?
- Will I be the last person to cross the finish line?
- Do I have everything I need?
- and the list can go on and on IF you let it…..
So my quick advice for you, whether it’s your first race ever, or your first distance ever is to follow these three tips (works for me every time!)
- Don’t stress out! Getting a bit nervous about the unknown is normal, trust me! But don’t let that bit of nervousness get you so worked up that it consumes you so you don’t sleep the night before and you use up so much unnecessary mental energy you won’t have any for the race. There is no need to get yourself worked up!
- Don’t go out too fast! One of the most common mistakes for a first time race is to get excited that you start out way faster than you should. Your adrenaline is pumping and so is everyone else’s and it’s easy to get caught up and rush out too soon. Let everyone go because you will see most of them later. One of my other tricks is to start nose breathing as it immediately slows me down or just start in a nice warm up pace. Once you are half way through the distance, you can check in and if you are feeling good, then you can speed it up. Trust me, it feels worse to go out too fast and then get half way through and feel like shi*t…your mind will start playing tricks on you and the negative self talk will start. I’ve learned this the hard way!
- Be present! You only get your first time once! Enjoy every single moment and stay as present as possible. You are going to PR it (have a personal record) so make it a point to have fun and enjoy it! Thank the volunteers and the people cheering on the side line, meet people on the course, and take pictures to capture your first time experience.
More than likely if you are reading this, you are not an elite athlete, an Olympian or someone who is going to win the race. So just go out and have FUN! You want to have a great experience so you can do it again!
This video pretty much says the same thing 😉