I chased enduro points for a few years. A friend, and (5 time?) ISDE rider Billy Burns, gave me some great advice. "Just keep moving."
My 1st few races I'd "blow my wad" early in a tough section that turned out to be a "points taker" that got tougher and longer than I had reserve for. There were times I stopped on the side of the trail. That costs you HUGE amounts of time. Better to creep along at any speed you can while you recover and work your way back up to speed. Don't stop. "Just keep moving."
Oh, and when it gets ugly...try to remind yourself that you're having fun.
