Nerves, Adrenaline, Heart Rate - Oh My!!!!

First race in a week and a half. I've heard about newbie athletes burning out early in a race cuz of nerves and adrenaline. Get caught up in the moment and going out to fast and all that. My question is, to those who know, how do you control your heart rate before the race even starts and I'm going to assume that during a race your HR is higher anyways cuz your pushing harder in a race. Do you eventually calm down and settle in to your own pace or stay wound up the whole time. Sorry for babbling.

You might want to leave the HR monitor at home for your first race. You'll have lots of things to think about, and looking at your HR monitor should probably not be a priority...

Good luck! That's exciting!