Nerves

I raced the Frosty Toes RR back in February but that was like a pre-season game. The fitness level of the field was pretty low and nobody pushed the pace until the final lap. The night before that race, I slept like a baby and had minimal anticipation. But this weekend, there's RATL #1 (which I am skipping), and the first Covered Bridge Race, which I'm doing, and I am feeling the nerves.

I'm not sure what the source of pre-race jitters is. I don't get nervous about the Westlake Training Race, for example, even though I want to do well. But I am usually nervous about the weekend races. The pain level is about the same for a weekend race and Westlake, so it can't be that. Maybe it's just some monkey fear about the possibility of bad outcomes in the weekend races. There's generally more terrain to contend with, and higher speeds. Maybe it's a deep fear of failure. No matter how I try to construct my view of the race in positive terms, like just trying to do my best, the idea of wanting to win, and therefore, the a fear of failure is still there.

One of my main goals for these early season races is to relax a lot more during the early part of the race. Try to pedal as efficiently and little as possible. Not to react in panic at moves at the head of the race, rather, do the minimum to close gaps and stay in the top 5 or 6 places.