DEALING WITH EVENT DAY NERVES
Signing up for an event is an act of courage. It’s a vote in your future self, that you will be ready to take on the challenge. You’re committing money to it when you sign up, plus future travel costs, along with the time you allocate for the event and all the training you plan to do.
To make the most of it, and to minimise event days nerves, sign up in plenty of time. Not only might you benefit from early-bird discounts, but you will also give yourself more time to prepare. You can’t cram fitness. It’s much better to approach your event with a well-planned training programme.
Your next step to reducing event day nerves is to draw up that training programme and follow it. Be realistic about what you can do, start conservatively and only increase your training volume gradually. It’s much better to do it this way around than starting with too much and risking burnout or injury. Then, keep a record of your training, ideally in some easily visualised format. Imagine each training session as another brick in your fitness wall. Build as strong a wall as you can given your circumstances. Use your visual record to boost your confidence as event day approaches.
Find out as much as you can about your event. Look for event reviews, check out videos and pictures from previous year, and read any information from the organiser. Make sure you know the rules - you don’t want to turn up to a wetsuit compulsory race without one, for example. Contrary to making you more nervous, finding out more about the event, and seeing people like yourself enjoying previous iterations, will reassure you that you’re not doing something crazy.
Approaching event day, write a timetable: what time do you need to wake up, when do you need to eat and set off and register? Give yourself a generous margin. Nothing cranks up your stress levels more than running late.
Separately, make a list of everything you need before you start packing, and check the list again before you walk out of the door. Pack so you can find everything you need for the event easily. Consider bringing spares, especially for essentials like goggles and your swimming costume.
Also, write a plan for the swim. Are you going to start front and centre and sprint from the start or will you take a more measured approach? When will you start cranking up the pace? This is a good time to think about everything that might go wrong. But rather than let your worries overwhelm, write down what you will do if each of them comes to pass. For example:
• If my goggles fill with water, I will roll onto my back and empty them.
• If I find myself boxed in and being jostled by other swimmers, I will calmly make my way to clear water.
• If I get cramp I will rest on my tow float. If that doesn’t ease it, I will raise my arm and call for help.
• If I feel myself starting to panic, I will roll onto my back, scull gently and focus on breathing out.
Finally, if you can, take a good look at the course before you swim. Think about any landmarks that can help you navigate. Make sure you understand any places you need to change direction and what the finish looks like, and whether it’s in the water or on land. Envisage what it will look like from the water. Also, check the position of the sun and consider how that might impact your sighting and navigation.
Entering swim events can be a great way to improve your fitness and have fun, but
“Approaching event day, write a timetable: what time do you need to wake up, when do you need to eat and set off and register?”
they can also be daunting. Do your training and follow the tips above to reduce your nerves and make the most of the experience. Remember the courage you had when you signed up. You thought you could do this event then. Now you can.
International events are a great way to combine a challenge with a holiday!