Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Don't Forget These Things Before Your Race

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    If you're like me, you are usually excited the day or two before race day.  You've trained for this day, you have goals and aspirations for this day, you want it to be a great day!  Waking up early to go hop in a car and drive to the race is never the highlight of anyone's day, particularly if you forget something that you might need.  I've shown up to races and realized I left my headphones at home and I've had friends show up in their work shoes instead of their running shoes (yes, they still ran the race).  Just like all of the training you did to prepare your body for the race, don't forget to prepare your gear the night or two before the race.

Here is a quick check list of things I would recommend doing prior to your race.




  • Skin protection - This might not be essential for shorter races, but for half marathons on up, this is essential.  Areas that can often chafe and need something to protect them from being rubbed raw during the race. Some of these areas include: nipples, waist, armpits, groin, ankles, toes.  I usually use a product like Body Glide  or Vaseline, in small amounts.  Another thing that can help is make sure to use a good lotion all over to ensure your skin is hydrated and properly maintained.  This might also alert you to some possible problem areas.
    • Of note, never share your Body Glide or like with someone, who knows where they have used it! 
  • Pinch the toes of your socks - Many runners suffer from the infamous black toenail after long runs.  Simply leaving a little extra room in the toes of your socks can help prevent this.  Toenails can catch and rub on the sock if it is too tight, sometimes leading to sore toes as well.  This little extra room can be a serious toenail and sore toe saver!
  •  Don't over tighten your shoes! - The morning of a race can be packed with nerves.  Be sure when tying your shoes not to over tighten them.  Obviously you don't want a shoe to come off in the race but this can lead to pain in your feet, particularly your metatarsals.  This was a problem for me several years back and lead me to my only marathon DNF.  After I dropped and fixed the problem, the pain was gone in 30 minutes.  So was my motivation to run.
    • Start snug, but not tight, you can always retie them on the run should they come loose or need tightening.
  • Check your equipment the night before - Sounds obvious right?  I've went out to a race only to have gear not latch correctly or a water valve not work.  That can be frustrating and panic inducing if you realize this at the start line or during the race.  Make sure to check everything, even your shoes the day before. Give yourself time to possible go get new gear if it might be needed.
  •  Lay everything out the night before - Making this a ritual is a good thing to do, but it will ensure success on race day.  My list includes: Shirt, shorts, shoes, socks skin protection, keys, cell phone, wallet, gel packets, sunglasses, towel (for the car), and waster bottle.
    • Colder races add: jacket, running pants, gloves, balaclava, handwarmers
    • Wild card: music device, running watch, headphones, hat, hydration vest or belt
  • Sleep - The best advice I heard was make sure you get sleep the whole week leading up to a race, particularly two nights before the race.  This is important because the night before, you probably will be so excited you won't sleep well.
  • Hydrate - Clearly drinking plenty of water and taking in the correct electrolytes are key.  Taking this a step further, try to avoid caffeine intake at least the day before a race.  Having a small cup of coffee in the morning is OK, but copious amounts even two days before may leave you dehydrated for the race.  Caffeine has a half life of about 5-6 hours. In pharmacology, something is considered to half fully left you body after 6-7 half lives, roughly.  This puts caffeine totally out of your system at around 34 hours.  Levels that effect the body and heart rate should be gone by about 15-18 hours, depending how much was consumed.  Caffeine intake can be done during the race, but I believe it is better to decide this on the run with a fully caffeine free body, rather than having too much prior and having to try to calm down a rapidly beating heart.
  • Develop a game plan for the day - This won't matter so much for shorter races like 5Ks, which are basically all out races, but will matter a lot for trail races and races of a half marathon or longer.  Decide how you want to approach steep hills, will you power hike it or run it slower?  Will you try to make up time on downhills or go slow to enjoy the break and not batter your legs?  Will you not stop running no matter what or is it OK to walk and let yourself rest for a bit?  Will you run with a friend or is it everyone for themselves?  Will you run based on feel or are you sticking to a certain pace?  Sticking to plans like these are vital to avoid being caught up in the moment or possibly injuring  yourself.  You can always change them if you feel great that day but having a plan will help keep you levelheaded and avoid a DNF
  • Set up breakfast - Go with what you know!  I double check to ensure I have my Eggo's, peanut butter and bananas already for me, since this is my go to breakfast on race day.  Whatever yours is have it ready, so you aren't wasting time or annoyed when one thing is missing.
  • Remember to take time to enjoy it, no matter what happens.  Even a bad race day is still a day you tried your best.  If an injury happens, learn from it.  If you PR the race, celebrate it.  Just enjoy it!



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