Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #153: Gill1918 Presents Katie Follett Conquering Pre-Race Anxiety Powered by Coach O

Transcript

#153: Gill1918 Presents Katie Follett Conquering Pre-Race Anxiety Powered by Coach O · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

0:00
Welcome to the Gill 1918 Project, a podcast series by
0:03
coaches for coaches, powered by Gill Athletics.
0:05
Think of it as the Ted Talks of track and field coaching.
0:08
Short, insightful, and packed with valuable strategies to help
0:11
you grow as a coach. This episode is part of the
0:13
Youth and Beginner Series, brought to you by Coach O.
0:16
In this series, we focus on topics relating to coaching
0:19
youth athletes, coaching beginner athletes of any age,
0:21
and supporting brand new coaches as they find their way.
0:24
With that in mind, let's grow. Hi, my name is Katie Follett
0:28
with Elevated Performance and today I'm going to be talking
0:32
about pre race nerves. Now, this is a subject that I am
0:37
very personally familiar with and has spent a lot of time
0:41
talking with athletes about. And so I know how important it
0:44
is. And I kind of just want to start
0:47
with this. I always tell athletes you're
0:50
never going to not feel that feeling of anticipatory
0:55
excitement because it means that you care about what you're
0:59
getting ready to do. And you spent a lot of time and
1:02
energy getting ready to go out there and perform your best and
1:06
you care about performing your best.
1:08
So I always kind of start with this challenge, like, can you
1:13
reframe what you're feeling from anxiety or I'm so nervous to I'm
1:20
so excited my body is getting ready to do something really
1:24
special today because that feeling is actually really the
1:28
same. That feeling of adrenaline and
1:31
all of those stress hormones that we can think are bad are
1:36
actually kind of what we need to perform our best.
1:39
Our body is created to respond a certain way when we get in those
1:44
sorts of situations. That's why you would actually
1:46
want to be feeling that way. If you came around a bend on a
1:50
hike and there was a Mountain Lion standing there, your body
1:52
would switch into putting all of those hormones into your body
1:58
really quickly so that you can do something you can't normally
2:01
do when you're at rest. So I always kind of start with
2:05
that like, hey, it's going to be there.
2:08
And it's actually not necessarily a bad thing.
2:11
When it gets bad is when we can't control it.
2:15
And so we're going throughout the day and we're constantly
2:18
feeling that and it's like we're constantly putting our foot on
2:21
the gas pedal and just using up all this energy that we actually
2:25
want to be able to use when we get into the warm up routine and
2:30
the race. And so I'm just kind of going to
2:33
go through a few things that I find myself often coming back to
2:38
that seem to be helpful. Because I think at the end of
2:42
the day, feeling confident, feeling like you can handle
2:46
anything that's thrown at you in the race comes from feeling
2:50
prepared. And there's a lot of different
2:53
ways to prepare before you get to the start line.
2:57
And if you want to check out some of the previous episodes
3:01
that I have done, I actually talk about several of these
3:05
skills in more detail. I talk about self talk in
3:09
episode 58. I talk about having this
3:13
competition mindset where you stay really in the moment.
3:15
In episode 94 and in episode 73, I kind of address how broad or
3:21
narrow are your goals and are they too lopsided on the side of
3:25
performance and not taking some of these other more purpose
3:28
process driven things into account.
3:33
So one of the first things that I think can just be really
3:37
practical to help an athlete stay in the moment and stay
3:41
focused on what they can control is having a routine that they
3:46
know works for them that they do before every race.
3:49
Because a lot of times I see that anxiety before a race comes
3:53
from the athlete getting out of the moment and actually getting
3:57
2 far ahead in the future and thinking, Oh no, what if I don't
4:01
feel good in my warm up? What if I don't have a good race
4:03
today? What if, what if, what if?
4:06
Or being afraid of things that have happened to them in the
4:09
past. Like oh me on the last race was
4:11
not good and I didn't run this time and I got beat by this
4:14
person and that felt really bad and I don't want that to happen
4:17
again. So I think having things that
4:20
help the athlete stay really in the moment and in a problem
4:25
solving mindset is helpful. So just the the physical warm up
4:30
that they do every time before a workout, having that be the same
4:36
before a race with maybe a little bit of extra time if it's
4:40
really busy and they might need a few more minutes to wait in
4:43
line at the porta potty or something like that.
4:47
And that also goes to fueling and hydration, just like having
4:52
a meal that they know settles well in their stomach, knowing
4:56
how much water they generally drink when they feel good, just
4:59
keeping things predictable and the same.
5:04
And then also I think with that, they should have some good
5:07
contingency planning. So sometimes it can be anxiety
5:13
can come because there's just so much unknown and so many things
5:17
that are outside an athlete's control actually in a neat
5:20
environment down to you actually don't really have control over
5:25
when the race is going to start because maybe the schedule is
5:28
not going to be on time or maybe there's going to be a weather
5:32
delay. So having things that the
5:35
athlete can use to problem solve in different situations.
5:38
So I always say OK for weather, like make sure that you have
5:43
everything that you would need, all different layers for the
5:47
elements in your bag. If there was a delay, what are
5:52
some snacks and do you have fueling in your bag that you can
5:55
use to adjust and that you know are going to help you feel good?
5:59
A little pack of applesauce, a banana, some Gatorade, some
6:03
Cliff blocks, and even some athletes I've worked with have,
6:09
you know, the anxiety gets to the point where they're actually
6:11
throwing up before a race. And then that causes a lot of
6:14
anxiety. Like what if something like that
6:16
happens? So just even having a
6:17
contingency plan, Hey, I have these Cliff blocks or this
6:21
Gatorade in my bag. And so if that happens, I'm just
6:24
going to refuel with this. And and so I'm not going to be
6:28
totally racing with an empty fuel tank.
6:30
I think as much as the athlete can feel like I know how to
6:33
solve this problem, then they are going to feel prepared for
6:37
kind of some of those unexpected or expected obstacles that might
6:43
come up at a competition. Another thing that I noticed
6:48
showing up often with pre race nerves is kind of this fear of
6:53
the pressure or the expectations that they're feeling from other
6:59
people are the expectations that they have from themselves.
7:03
And so this is a little bit of a deeper one, but I think this is
7:06
something that the athlete can really think about beforehand.
7:11
They can think about what's their definition of success?
7:14
Is it too narrow? Can they broaden it by having
7:18
more layered goals? And So what I mean by that is
7:23
performance goals are good. They can be really motivating,
7:27
you know, going out there and beating this person or having
7:29
this PR. But the danger in having that be
7:33
the only goal for the day is that the athlete can get into
7:36
the race. And then if they see that goal
7:38
slipping away, then they can really easily go to a place of
7:41
what's the point and just kind of give up or check out or shut
7:45
down. And so if this is something that
7:48
the athlete feels before the race and just is kind of fearful
7:53
of, then I would just encourage them, hey, balance out your
7:57
performance goals with really some more purpose or process
8:01
driven goals. So the athlete is focused on
8:03
bringing who they are to what they do versus having what they
8:09
do be the defining factor of if they're successful or not.
8:13
Because if the athlete is focused on bringing who they are
8:16
to what they do, then when they make a mistake or something
8:18
doesn't go quite right, it comes back to more of the question, is
8:23
this strategy working and do I need to make an adjustment
8:26
versus I'm a failure? This is work isn't working for
8:29
me. I don't have what it takes, and
8:32
it keeps them in a place where they're really more able to be
8:36
present and solve problems. So a layered goal might be, I
8:42
want to run this time, but if I can't, then I want to stay with
8:46
this lead pack no matter what. And if I start falling off, then
8:51
I want to race with resilience and grit and fight to the end
8:56
and give 100%. Or even outside of the race.
9:00
How are they showing up as a teammate for a leader?
9:04
You know, sometimes a successful day at the track has nothing to
9:08
do with performance. And so the perspective just
9:11
needs to be more zoomed out so that they can see, hey, who I am
9:15
and how I'm impacting others around me is actually just as
9:18
important as, or I would actually argue maybe more
9:22
important really, right then how fast they can run in a circle.
9:26
So really just things that emphasize other things that are
9:30
successful for that athlete, that align with their strengths
9:33
and their values and what's important to them and who
9:35
they're becoming. Another thing that I noticed
9:39
causing and contributing to pre race anxiety for athletes, and
9:43
this is one that I personally dealt with a lot, was they've
9:47
experienced some sort of a negative outcome that has
9:52
started repeating itself and almost becoming like a self
9:55
fulfilling prophecy and contributing to some sort of
10:00
negative self talk. So this is something that I
10:05
think is really important to deal with regularly outside of
10:10
the moment. Once I started to realize, hey,
10:16
when I get to the state meet in high school, for example, I'm
10:20
extra nervous because I've had experiences where the state meet
10:23
hasn't gone well for me before. And all of this self doubt comes
10:29
up once I started to actually feel more prepared to handle
10:34
that as it came up in training, in practice, and I was running
10:40
through how to challenge some of that negative self talk.
10:43
Then I felt prepared when I got into the race, like, oh, I know
10:47
what statements that I need to use the kind of point myself
10:51
back to the truth, a mantra or some sort of a compass statement
10:55
that helps me quickly remember, hey, this is the belief that I
11:01
have. I understand where it's coming
11:03
from. I understand what's true about
11:05
it. I've experienced this before,
11:07
but these are times where that thing hasn't been true.
11:10
And these are some things that are actually kind of more true,
11:14
less black or white, less fortune telling, less
11:17
catastrophizing, less disqualifying, the positive,
11:20
less comparison. I talk a lot about these these
11:23
thinking traps in the self talk episode.
11:26
Can we can we take those goggles off?
11:28
Can we give our ourselves a more realistic, balanced view of
11:33
reality? So we can take away some of that
11:35
fear, some of that false evidence appearing real.
11:38
And we can also remind ourselves of what were the specific
11:45
factors that did contribute to some of those poor performances.
11:49
And what are the things that I've been doing differently to
11:51
prepare myself for a different outcome and use both of those
11:56
things together to be like, this is what's true.
11:59
This is what I've done to set myself up for a different
12:02
outcome. So when that boogeyman shows up,
12:05
it doesn't really take you off guard.
12:07
You're kind of like, yeah, I know that.
12:09
For example, when something specific happens to me in a
12:13
race, it triggers kind of this negative self talk or it
12:17
triggers this thing that I do that I don't want to do, like
12:23
giving up or shutting off. Yeah.
12:25
Like when I'm towards the end of the race and someone passes me
12:28
so I can come up with something that's more true in that moment
12:33
to remind myself of of hey, like some, it's not always true that
12:39
when I get past, I can't come back and repass somebody.
12:42
And this race isn't a waste. Even if this person beats me,
12:46
like I can show up, I can give 100%.
12:49
I can race with grit. I've, you know, practiced for
12:54
this, I've prepared, I've done it before, I can do it again.
12:57
Like, hey, I can run a 200 and this I can do it.
13:00
And kind of refocusing on what are the things that are more
13:04
true, not getting caught off guard when those moments of
13:07
negative self talk or negative doubt arise.
13:10
But just hey, those are the boogeyman moments.
13:12
And I know exactly what I'm going to do when those show up
13:17
because prepared equals confident.
13:20
And then finally, sometimes athletes are just nervous for
13:24
the pain that they are going to feel during the race.
13:27
So for this, I found that it can be helpful for the athlete to
13:31
remember that, hey, I've prepared for this feeling.
13:37
This is what I go through in practice regularly.
13:41
There's not something that's more different or scary
13:44
necessarily about the pain that I feel in a race versus the pain
13:48
that I feel at practice. And I can relax and I can trust
13:56
my body and I can turn off my brain and I can just let my body
13:59
do what it's prepared to do. And I can almost kind of just
14:03
like relax into the pain. Maybe use some sort of a mantra
14:08
or a grounding statement. Like it's supposed to feel this
14:11
way. Everybody is feeling this way.
14:14
And anything that the athlete can notice that helps them just
14:19
relax and get through a hard portion of a workout or a hard
14:24
or anytime they're feeling that feeling, help them to just like
14:30
notice those things and then be prepared to pull those things
14:34
out when it's happening in a race.
14:36
So sometimes, I mean, you get to the end of a race and it's just,
14:38
it's, you're physically shutting down because you are giving
14:41
100%. And so maybe in that moment,
14:43
even just using some sort of a kinesthetic cue that can
14:48
increase the body awareness or that can redirect to what it
14:51
feels like or what you want to be doing can be really helpful.
14:56
Like sometimes when I was at the end of an 800, there was really
14:59
nothing much I could do because my body was just tying up and
15:02
completely lactic. So the only thing I could put in
15:05
my mind was like staccato steps that was reminding me to get off
15:09
the ground quickly and not just be heavy and into the ground or,
15:14
you know, chin down, lean forward, relax the arms, like
15:18
things that I knew that I needed to do when I was tying up that
15:23
were just going to help my body move correctly in those periods
15:28
of pain. So, so some really helpful cues
15:33
and mantras that the athlete can kind of use in those sorts of
15:36
situations as well. So the overarching theme in this
15:42
that I'm going to end with is just be curious, you know,
15:47
always asking what is going to help you or the athlete feel
15:54
prepared to handle whatever is thrown at them, expected or
15:58
unexpected distractions. Because that feeling of
16:02
confidence comes from, you know, feeling prepared the best that
16:06
they can and, and staying in the moment and being able to have
16:12
the right perspective. So anyways, I hope that some of
16:15
this was helpful. Thank you so much for listening
16:18
along. You could find more resources on
16:21
my Instagram at fall at KB. There's a free resource in the
16:26
show notes or on the elevated performance website.
16:30
You can always e-mail me at Katie Kat i.e. at elevated
16:36
performance dot RUNI really do love to get questions and hear
16:43
from people. And finally, thank you to GAIL
16:45
Athletics. I just so, so appreciate the
16:47
opportunity to hop on and speak to something that was a big part
16:55
of my own athletic experience and that I know it's, it's not
17:01
weird. It's not unusual for athletes to
17:04
be dealing with this. So I hope that you have a
17:08
wonderful rest of your week. Thanks.
17:10
Bye. Hey gang, Mike Cunningham here.
17:13
Thanks for joining us for this episode in the Youth and
17:15
beginner series Powered by Coach O Powered by Coach O is more
17:18
than a platform. It's a movement to benefit track
17:20
and field by supporting coaches, athletes, parents, officials and
17:25
event directors in countless ways.
17:27
Find out more and get yourself plugged in to the Powered by
17:30
Coach O by visiting coacho.com today.