Preparing For the Race

On my run this morning, I thought about race preparation. This is better to do about a week to a few days before the race, as opposed to the day before. Hopefully training has gone well, and you have your pace, hydration and nutrition figured out. So at this point you have to get reday for race day.

What to wear - if there is something which has worked well for you in training, a pair of shorts, tights, a shirt, a cap, whatever, wear that. Don't buy a new wardrobe for the race. You have not trained in it, and you don't know if a certain stitching will run you wrong, the fibers will chafe, or it just doesn't feel good. I know the race shirt they give you is cool, but don't wear it on race day. Not because of any superstition, but for the reasons I stated above.

Have enough nutrition - make sure you have enough gel, or nutrition bars, or snacks for the race. Maybe you have planned for friends to meet you at a certain point with food, but they don't always make it - then you are stuck. Plan for what you will need. If it is a gel, plan on using that every 45 minutes to an hour you are running.

Hydration - it's fine to plan on race organizers to have enough sports drink and water. Sometimes they don't(Chicago 2007). Bring some water. Use a hydration belt. Hopefully you trained with one, and are used to it. For longer distances I don't suggest a handheld. They tire you out as you go along, and you get a sore arm.

The night before - lay everything out. You don't want to wake up the morning of the race and panic about where your Balega socks are. Lay everything out, and have an easy morning.

Those are some tips I thought of this morning. Now I got to plan.

Charlie