The other week the Switched on Media team made the 1.5 hours trek out to Eastern Creek Go Karting track to get our adrenalin pumping. I’m not going to lie, I was freaking out on the bus and felt like fainting when I watched the so-called safety video that just showed all the terrible things that could happen, like rolling your go kart ten times and having a massive crash. Awesome, great video guys.
We got suited up and allocated go-karts. A special ‘extension’ was screwed onto my accelerator because I’m a little vertically challenged but I was too busy thinking about what all the different coloured flags meant. Is black slow down and red pull over?! Aah, I’d forgotten before we had even begun.
What I noticed before we all left was everyone was mentally preparing themselves in different ways:
- All the boys were talking themselves up. A lot.
- Some even looked up the track route beforehand, printed it off and studied it on the bus trip
- The girls were comparing notes on why we would be the aboslutely worst driver. Ever.
- I emailed a friend who was a go-karter for some ‘hot tips’ – they mostly consisted of when to turn in a corner and how my ’secret weapon’ is the fact that I’m light.
Mental preparation seems to be essential for all ‘athletes’ – elite or beginners. How do you mentally prepare before a competition or sporting event? Do you wear ‘lucky’ undies, have a cheeky spew before the big game or enlist the help of a sports psychologist? Go on, spill your secrets.
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