Every race season, as peak training hits its stride, I see it start to creep in—the doubt, the restlessness, the “what if I’m not ready?” spiral that shows up right when runners are putting in their hardest work.
It’s predictable, almost rhythmic. Training peaks, nerves peak. And no matter how seasoned the runner, that little voice questioning readiness always shows up. I tell my athletes all the time: anxiety isn’t a weakness. It’s a natural response to doing something that matters.
When the Pressure Builds
By the time runners hit their biggest training weeks, the body is tired, the mind is overstimulated, and motivation starts to wobble. Fatigue can masquerade as fear. Self-doubt sneaks in under the disguise of “logic.”
Add in the weirdness of taper—the sudden drop in mileage that feels wrong after weeks of high output—and it’s no wonder anxiety spikes. Your body is recovering, but your brain is spinning, trying to make sense of the slowdown.
That’s the irony of peak training: just when your fitness is coming together, your confidence can start to unravel.
What I Do as a Coach
The first step is normalizing it. I tell my athletes, “If you’re nervous, good. It means you care.” Every elite runner I’ve worked with or learned from has felt that same tension. Nerves are energy—they just need direction. When you learn to reframe them as excitement, everything shifts.
Then we talk control. Because when anxiety rises, control often feels lost. So I bring the focus back to what’s actually controllable: effort, attitude, preparation. Weather, competition, and race-day chaos are noise. What matters is the work that’s already been done. I remind them that fitness doesn’t vanish during taper—it consolidates. The hay is in the barn.
Visualizing Confidence
I use visualization with nearly all my athletes leading up to race week. We walk through what the course will feel like—where it’s tough, where it flows, what they’ll say to themselves when discomfort hits. It’s not about pretending the race will be easy. It’s about rehearsing their response so the hard moments don’t catch them off guard.
Breathing work is another piece. Sometimes, the simplest act of exhaling slower than you inhale is enough to tell your nervous system, “We’re safe. We’ve got this.”
Adjusting When It’s Needed
Peak training is about pushing, but it’s also about listening. If I see an athlete unraveling under the stress, I’ll pull back a workout or adjust the plan. Confidence grows from consistency, not exhaustion. A well-timed adjustment isn’t weakness—it’s strategy.
And when anxiety spikes, sometimes a small, controlled “win” in training—like a short, fast workout or a strong long run—can rebuild trust in their body. It’s less about the fitness gain and more about reminding them: you’re ready.
Building a Library of Wins
When doubt creeps in, I point my athletes back to their receipts. Training logs. Strong sessions. Comeback moments. It’s easy to forget progress when you’re in the pressure cooker, but reflection reinforces confidence.
I encourage my athletes to track those small victories in writing. There’s something powerful about looking at weeks of consistent work and realizing: you’ve already done the hard part.
Keeping Perspective
At the end of the day, racing is a privilege. It’s not a test of worth or identity—it’s an opportunity to celebrate the work you’ve done. One workout, one taper week, one finish time doesn’t define your capacity or your value as an athlete.
The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety—it’s to understand it, channel it, and keep it in perspective. The nerves mean you’re invested. And that’s a good thing.
If race-day nerves are something you wrestle with, I can help you build a plan that includes the mental side of training—so your confidence grows with your fitness. Let’s chat about coaching and strategy.