20 Tips to Survive Race WEEK!

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Wow it’s race week!!! It’s finally here!!  Cue the taper crazy, self-doubt, HUNGER, phantom pain, and ALL THE EMOTIONS!

 

Race week is sure to make you anxious, as you are used to kicking butt most days out on the pavement.  The lack of running or sticking to your usual schedule will make you a bit crazy and HUNGRY.  So I thought I would put a few tips together to help you get through the next few days!

1. Trust your training! If you kept a training log, I encourage you to look back at all the miles you have logged.
2. Not like college! Remember training for a running event is NOT like college; you can’t cram and do a couple quick runs to prep. The training is in the books… TRUST IT!
3. HUNGER will strike. You are nervous and your body is healing from all the training you have put it. Try to manage the hunger. Address it but don’t go crazy.
4. Figure out your carb loading plan. Some people take this to the EXTREME, don’t get too crazy. Figure out your plan and stick with it. For me I will be carb loading Friday and Saturday. My carb loading involves decreasing my fat and some protein, focusing on carbs.
5. Along with Carb Loading/fueling….nothing NEW! You might be tempted to try a friends fueling plan before your race….well so and so did so well and they had a bagel, banana, and cliff bar before their race I will try that…… NOOOO you are not so and so you did not practice this race nutrition….stick to YOUR plan.
6. Also going with nothing new on race day, no NEW CLOTHES! Yes please treat yourself at the expo BUT if you haven’t wore the item for a long training run, DON’T WEAR IT ON RACE DAY. Yes that new tank might look supers sweet but it won’t be super sweet at mile 10 when it is chafing the HECK out of your armpit.
7. BELIEVE! This is something I am trying hard to focus on, but seriously believe in you. You put in the work.
8. Envision yourself crossing the finish line……… CRUSHING the finish line. I recently started to read a book about mental training, one of the things they stressed was envision yourself completing your goal, if your mind sees it your body will help you achieve it.
9. STOP THE NEGATIVE TALK! It’s easy to get down on ourselves…the SECOND you start thinking ANYTHING NEGATIVE concerning this race, replace that with 3 POSITIVE thoughts and stop the negative thought in it’s tracks.
10. Make sure to go to the expo, shop the heck out of the expo BUT remember you will be on your feet a lot the next day….so maybe don’t spend the whole day on your feet.
11. While downtown picking up your packet, make sure to put together a plan for race day. Drive around downtown and figure out where you will be parking in the morning, this will save you some stress the morning of the race.
12. Plan a meeting spot. If you have family and friends coming to see you crush that goal, make sure you have a meeting spot for after the race. The finish line can get a bit congested, so knowing exactly where to meet your loved ones will save you some trouble.
13. Charge all your STUFF. If you are like me you use some technology on race day. Make sure this stuff is all charged and ready to go.
14. Get everything together and laid out the night before, you don’t want to be searching and playing where’s waldo on race day.
15. Stick to YOUR plan. If you are use to running with others and plan to run with a pacer, do it. IF you are more of a solo person and want to do your own thing, that is cool too. Remember it’s your race day.
16. SMILE….at this point and time your family and friends have probably offered you more advice than you could ever really use, they just care. So SMILE take in the advice BUT stick to your plan….remember once again YOUR RACE, NOTHING NEW.
17. TAPER….It’s going to get hard, but stick to whatever YOUR taper plan is. My taper plan is a mini taper because that works for me. You know what works for you, so follow it. Don’t get caught up with what others are doing.
18. I’m going to say this again because it is so key…..remember all the training you have done!!!!! YOU GOT THIS.
19. Remember this is what you do for FUN, don’t suck the fun out of it. I am trying to remember this and focus on that. We do this for FUN, this is your thing…ENJOY IT.
20. ENJOY EVERY DANG SECOND! FROM PACKET PICK-UP, TO MILE 10, 20, THAT FINISH LINE, THAT FIRST HUG FROM A FAMILY MEMBER…………..TAKE IT ALL IN. YOU WORKED HARD FOR ALL THESE MOMENTS…..MAKE SURE TO ENJOY IT!

Can’t wait to see you all at the finish line!!

XX,

 

Jamie