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So I won had my first ever moto win yesterday and I gotta say it was wicked cool. The only problem is once I made the pass for first, my nerves took over, my stomach started flip flopping REAL hard, and I began to ride kinda crappy. Once the race was over and I got my bike back to my truck, I handed it off to my dad with no words and straight up puked from how hard my stomach churned due to my nerves. I guess my point is, how can I prevent this from happening in the future besides "get more experience leading?" I felt like a total jackass, I mean who wins and then pukes from nerves? This might be a dumb question, but any help is appreciated.
TL;DR: How do I prepare to keep calm while leading a race?
TL;DR: How do I prepare to keep calm while leading a race?
Also, more wins / laps led will drastically help.
Congrats on the win!
You can prevent this from happening again by, "not winning"?
All I can say is, wish I had a story like that.
The Shop
Still happens to me if I haven't raced in a while or can't get my head right.
Don't worry though once you stop puking because of nerves, you'll start puking from exertion. So there's that.
Congrats and may you splash your boots and spew puddles under your lawn chair for many years and motos to come!
Anxiety and worry are the biggest performance problem for young competitive athletes.
Anxious athletes report the following:
--“I play so well in practice but mess up in games.”
--“I’m so nervous in games that I get sick to my stomach.”
--“I become so anxious in competitions that I can’t concentrate.”
--“I always fall apart when the game is on the line.”
--“I get so nervous that I don’t even enjoy my sport anymore.”
Performance anxiety wears on athletes, which can create a host of negative physical and mental issues that can hurt your performance.
Do you or your athletes experience physical changes, such as racing heart beats, difficulty breathing, tight muscles, upset stomach, jumpiness and an inability to produce smooth or fluid mechanics?
While the physical symptoms are difficult enough to deal with, it’s the mental worry that triggers the physical changes.
Negative thinking, fear of failing, inability to deal with adversity or uncertainty, problems with focusing and the overwhelming need to be perfect are the mental trigger that can lead to performance anxiety.
To make matters worse, athletes often stress our over their inability to manage the choking response.
These young athletes feel isolated and believe themselves to be the only ones negatively affected by anxiety.
Truth be told, even Olympic and professional athletes can become overwhelmed by anxiety.
To help you overcome anxiety and fear, you can't just do relaxation training. This is simply a band aid and does not address the real issue, which I find is often related to fear of failure.
Tips for managing competitive anxiety:
Underneath the tension and worry you feel is something else you might NOT be aware of, such as the fear of embarrassment.
To overcome performance anxiety:
1. Understand what the ultimate fear is all about. Are you afraid to disappoint others, for example?
2. Challenge the rationality of your fear. What's so important about it?
3. Learn how to embrace competition pressure rather than fear you will fail or feel disappointed.
4. Understand the reason you put in hours per week of training is to have fun and trust your skills in competition!
-Dr. Patrick Cohn
http://www.peaksports.com/
Focus on your perfect lap. Try to hit your lines and focus on your riding and JUST your riding.
Or, say it like this, do your own Kenny Roczen impression.
Most of us never get to win a moto.
OP just keep racing, it'll get better. And remember, it's just a race. Getting that worried is a sure fire way to leave in an ambulance.
Btw congrats on your win!
I had the same thing happen when I was a kid when I first stayed racing BMX. I was winning, and beteeen trying so hard and being nervous, I would hold my breath, basically hyper ventilate, and then sometimes puke.
Made that victory Sloppy Joe from the concession stand that much better.
Keep up the winning ways, and always remember how good it feels.
More racing and being up front...a lot of the sickness will go away. Might still get the serious butter flies ....but that's normal too.
Won't help you much during a race though. You are a much better racer than me, I didn't have the skill to think about winning or losing the race I had to focus on just staying up and trying to be fast. Keep that in mind, you are good! You are leading or challenging for the lead - you got talent!
As I got older and more serious about racing, I would carbo load the night before with Pasta and protein, because I knew I couldn't get more than a granola bar in between Motos without feeling sick. So I would drink plenty of water and stay hydrated as well as a protein type drink or even a Coke for the sugar to get some sort of calories in for the second Moto. After the Motos all was good, and couldn't get to the snack bar quick enough.
27 years into racing and I can eat just fine, cause I don't care anymore about my results.
Pit Row
What 51xc says about breathing is spot on. Good luck and have fun.
it happens even to very experienced athletes. when portugal won the soccer eu title just recently one of their most experienced players pucked right on the pitch infront of everyone after the game was finished.
I use to get nervous, real nervous before a race, so much so that I didn't race for years. Got back on the gate this year after 17 years. 4 moto wins. I was determined to beat the nerves, it came from really doing what I know how to do and what I work on in my riding.
I can tell you my good buddy which is tiny bit better, could get behind me and make me crash every time. It would piss me off so bad. Well I made stupid mistakes because my focus was on him and not my riding. You will drive yourself crazy worrying about 2nd.
Only time I worry about a rider behind me is the last turn of the last lap.
Choose what puking means to you. Certainly not being a jackass. Being a fricken' RACER that won a race !!!
Follow the great advice above, but don't EVER see yourself in a negative way by JUDGING your action or your reaction.
Quite frankly, I admire the fact that you gave it your all. If it happens again, it will be because you put it ALL out there, champ.
Well done.
Worth a shot.
The cold water always seemed to upset my stomach if I had it right before a moto. I never threw up but I could tell it was bothering me.
So I had some cold waters in an ice chest and a separate small ice chest with no ice and waters in there. Just so they didn't get super hot.
That worked for me. Now, I don't really care so I just deal with it.
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