Before races?

I've never had a problem just competing for the sake of competition. It is the training that is tough to deal with. I suppose I run my best in races to try and set a new personal record.

I think about the competition. I know that they have not put in as much work as me. I know that I have sweated, and fallen (literally), and hurt so much to get to this one point. I know that I DESERVE IT. And they, they want to take it all away. All my hard work and pain. They want to say that they can beat me. But in my head they don't deserve it. They haven't seen how much I have worked and sacrificed.

That is what i think about. It seems really mean but its what I have to do. I have to get upset and angry before races and then I race so much better. My sophomore year I told this to my teammates, about how much we had worked and how we deserved it, in our huddle before the district xc race. We all started crying and it was really emotional. Then everyone had an amazing race where our split was less than 20sec. and we placed 2nd to get to regionals. I think less than 10points behind 1st.

It really works.

i always get mad before i race. mad about anything. mad about nothing. just mad. i don't need a reason to be mad i just have to feel mad and get mad at the next person in front of me. once i pass them i usually have someone new to to get mad at. sounds kind of stupid but i don't really care. for training if i'm not in the mood to run i just tell myself how much fun i'm having (ex.: this is so much fun! i live for this! i'm so lucky to be able to do this!) and eventually you believe it. Sometimes i also just let my energy and passions just 'whoosh' all the way through me. that sounds dumb to but it seems to help me push myself a little more.

I just pick something that I always and only do on race days.

For me, I read the motivational letters I've received from my teammates.
Then I listen to Rollin' by Limp Bizkit. I only listen to that song before races... the first line always gets me pumped up....

"alright partner keep on rollin baby... you know what time it is"

If you have something that you only do before races, it gets you in race mode and gets you pumped for the race..

I do what twigger does mostly. Think about all you've put in 5am long runs before school, long hard intervals, etc. Make sure you make it worth it. ENJOY the race, feed off the competition, and you will do well. Read some quotes to get in the zone, listin to rap, but don't freak out. Sometimes I even listin to country just to stay chill before the race. Put fear of pain out of your mind and focus on wanting it worse than the opponet. Good luck.