Pre-race jitters: how evolution failed us

The body is an amazing contraption, full of natural instincts like “fight or flight” and “blink" instincts that make all kinds of intuitive and rational sense. Pre-race nerves, however, make no rational sense: explain to me how the sensation of molten lead for blood, mental numbness, and a vague sense of nausea contribute to “survival of the fittest.”

If lions readying for the kill felt this way they’d have gone extinct years ago…

Of course, maybe I’m just the prey…