Pre ______ Jitters

[JazMan]

I am sure I am not the only one, so was wondering how anyone else handles the Pre- ( trackday, raceday, school day ) Jitters ?? I know that for me I have a hard time sleeping the night before , my stomach is in a up-roar , my mind is racing etc. etc. I used to think that it was because I was usually rushing to get everything ready !! I am no longer in that mode as I have done it enough times that everything is ready ahead of time. The thing is that 5 minutes into it all is great , never have had a real problem and always finish the day with nothing but grins !!

[Cobie Fair]

If you figure this one out, let me know!

 

I figure it's just part of the price of admission to an exciting sport! There are some other things I do that get and hold my attention for sure, but as I've gotten more knowledgable and capable about those, the jitters have gone down too.

[Jasonzilla]

Wish I could say. Besides drugs, I've got nothing. It's especially bad when I'm doing a new track (when I went to Vegas, the first time I did Inde) or one I do infrequently, like Chuckwalla. If I'm going to Firebird or Inde, I do them so frequently, that it's just another trackday. I sleep well.

[johnnyrod]

I get this too. The day before etc. I have no trouble with though, if you're worried you haven't done/prepared/brought everything, make a list and tick it off. As for the day, I find I'm nervous anyway, but when sitting in the holding arear lined up to go onto the track, the smell of the petrol fumes makes my heart race. Something borrowed from karate is a relaxation technique, just relax in the seat, drop the tension out of your shoulders, breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, at a natural pace. While you're doing this, think about else, for example I was first told to imagine yourself as a pot of water, the water turns to vapour at the bottom (your gentlemen's area, if you like) and rises inside you as you breathe out, then condenses and trickles back down as you breathe in again. Sounds a bit hippy perhaps but you just do this, shut off everything else around you, and in no time you're calming down. Maybe you want something different to think about, just whatever works for you, imagine yourself as a balloon perhaps. Needs practice to find your groove, but can be made to work.