It has been a busy last 3 months, I re-evaluated my life. I
quit my old job as a Network Administrator because it was very demanding on my
work/life balance. I wanted more weekends available to race. I decided to go in a completely different
direction for my job. My day time job is now being an Associate Consultant II,
it’s basically being a business analyst for data center migrations.
It was really interesting meeting my new co-workers and
telling them I love racing and one day I want to become a professional racer.
The first reaction I get is surprise then I get the question, “Isn’t that
scary? Aren’t you afraid?” And for some reason I never equated speed= fear, I
have never been afraid to race. For me racing is about getting the adrenaline
rush, the speed, and having a blast! It
is almost alien to me that people find speed scary, I’m like…“What planet do
you hail from?”
But that made me think about how psychology affects your racing.
For some reason it reminded me of the times I have sat in the passenger seat of
newbies. I saw how scared, anxious, and stressed they were. I felt how jerky
their movements were while racing, the car yelling back at the driver, “You are
pushing me in all the wrong ways!” I
compared it to sitting in the passenger seat of an experienced racer. They were
confident, the car gripped in all the right places. The car was smooth it never
yelled at the driver.
Reflecting back a couple of years I have been in both
positions at different times. I noticed if my state of mind was not right I would
have a bad racing day. For example, I remember getting to AX late because my
stupid GPS got me lost. I was frustrated and on the verge of tears thinking the
club wouldn't let me tech late after I have been driving for 2 hours to get
there. But luckily they were really understanding and let me race that day. But
the whole morning I couldn't shake of my frustration. The car understeered like
crazy, squealing, and yelling at me to slow down but I wasn't listening. I
wasn't listening because I let the frustration get to me; I let it consume me,
not allowing me to focus.
I finally had to let all my emotions out by having a good
cry at lunch. In the afternoon I felt so much better, I took a couple of big
breaths to help calm me down. I noticed the car didn't have understeer, it
stopped yelling at me. I improved my time by 2 secs the first run, then 1 sec
the second run, and then another. I didn't beat anyone in my class that day.
But I was pretty happy that I was able to bring down my time and get myself
together.
It was a very important lesson for me that day. I learned
the calmer I am the more focused I am, the more focused I am the more in the
moment I am. When I am in the moment or “in the zone” I don’t worry about
anything, not even my time. The minute I tell myself I have to beat my time I am
not in the zone and usually hit a cone or something. If I just enjoy the race,
I relax thus I am not tense so I can guide the car in and out of cones
smoothly. Remember smooth is fast!
I know it seems crazy to not think about being the fastest,
but trust me it really works. Just tell yourself you are the fastest and
everything else should fall into place (positive affirmation). Based on my
experience focusing should feel weightless, easy, calm, and peaceful. Our cars
are great indicators of what our state of mind is. If you are fighting your car
on every turn, back off and be kind to your car and yourself. If you feel that
racing your car is easy then you are doing right.
The following is a list of things that have helped me keep
me focused and sharp for racing:
- Getting plenty of rest the night before
- Drinking lots of water the day before and the day of the race
- Meditating in the morning before the race, have a mantra for the day. (Deepak Chopra has some really good mediations on YouTube)
- Doing some yoga hip openers, back, and shoulder stretches (i.e. pigeon, frog pose, etc.)
- Not drinking caffeine—this will just elevate your level of anxiety especially for those easily prone to stress and anxiety
- Not drinking alcohol the night before
- Eating a good diet like Paleo or GAPS diet—eat good fats (i.e. coconut oil, avocado oil, don’t eat vegetable oil), reduce carbs, and take out sugar (sugar has been snuck into everything we eat today). The following links go into depth of how foods cause various psychological issues like stress: