D-Day Getting Closer ? Before and After Race Tips

Although it may not look that way, spring is just around the corner and soon you will be asked what you have been doing all winter. The time to put all of that winter training to good use is just around the corner, so here are some tips on what to do and what not to do in the few days left before the start.

It is good to reduce your training routine shortly before race day and only worry about maintaining your current condition. The biggest mistake you can make is to try and catch up on the kilometers you missed during your preparation. Doing so would wear out your body even before reaching the starting line. What you want to do is to go for a shorter, fast-pace run no later than Tuesday, an easy jog on Wednesday, no activity on Thursday and a light warm-up on Friday.

Set your optimum pace which you can hold throughout the entire race or get a pace tracker (better both). You may easily run into problems if you start too fast or try catching up after a slow start and finishing the race (if you make it that far) would then be a disaster. You will get passed by faster runners in the beginning but don?t speed up even if you find your pace relatively slow. After you start passing by the familiar uniforms after the 15th kilometer, it won?t feel that slow anymore.

Get plenty of sleep. Two nights before the race is the most important night of rest. Drink plenty of water. Proper hydration of your body and fluid intake (such as ionic hypotonic drinks for mineral supply) is very important. Clean water without gas should be your number one drink. Avoid sweet lemonades, strong tea and coffee, and alcohol, of course.

Create energy supplies. You are likely to combine burning fats and carbohydrates during the race. Since our glycogen supplies last about an hour and a half, it is important to avoid a fast start (as mentioned above) and to create glycogen supplies in your muscles through eating pasta, rice and other foods high in carbohydrates two to three days prior the race. Make sure you drink enough water as you need it to store glycogen.

The race takes place around noon time. You can have a big dinner on the night before, ideally pasta, and avoid meals that are too heavy or may cause stomach weakness. Your breakfast on the morning of the race should be light and easy to digest so you don?t put too much pressure on your digestive system. I have seen people eating ham and eggs for breakfast but I think a piece of bun with whatever you like, a banana and an energy bar (not those sugar filled bars for 5Kc) and appropriate fluid intake will do. If you can?t skip your morning coffee, go for it, but not too much and make sure you drink a lot of water.

Getting nervous before the race may force you off to the toilet ? even as many as ten times! This is a bit more difficult for us ladies than it is for men, and even though there are many green cabins in the starting area there is always someone waiting. It?s better to deal with this issue while still at home, or along the way if you have enough time. Everything will get better once you start running. If not, use the toilets by the refreshment points or at a nearby pub, or see if you can find some bushes. It may not always be easy.

Important rule: leave your house early enough to have time to warm up, deposit your bag, use the toilet and make it to your starting corridor in time. The place will be crowded and filled with barriers and you can get lost. One hour prior to the race should give you enough time, but sometimes even that can feel hurried.

Once you have started running, keep your pace and watch your heart rate. Avoid passing others on the sidewalk, follow those ahead of you, and look for changes in direction. You will probably start some way behind the start line and lose a few minutes, plus you may lose additional time from moving down the narrow streets along with thousands of other runners. You can either start measuring your time once you have crossed the start line or count in that loss and start compensating for it once you have run for the first few kilometers. You can easily compensate for the loss during the first 15 kilometers as this will be when you are running as your body allows. Make sure, though, that you save energy for the finish. If you feel really exhausted you can walk for a while or alternate running and walking. First timers should not set a time limit as their goal is to complete the race; they can improve their performance next time they compete.

Drink regularly even though you are not thirsty. Once you get thirsty it is too late. You want to alternate drinking water and ionic fluids as you never know how the volunteers have prepared the ionic drinks. By trying to ?help? the athletes, they sometimes exceed the recommended dosage and you easily become dehydrated. Water is therefore a necessity (and a little bit of tea to warm up is also a good idea if the weather is still cold).

After the race, walk for a while; don?t sit down. Change clothes, put on something dry and warm, get a massage, drink a lot (first water, then beer if you wish), get a bite of banana and enjoy the great moments with a medal around your neck. This will be yours for ever, and nobody can take it from you!

TRAINING TIP: Go for a 30 minute jog the day after the race, but keep the pace slow. During the regeneration run your tired legs and muscles will get much-needed oxygen through increased blood flow. Without this oxygen shower, you will hardly move for another week. Get some rest in the following days, go for a massage or sauna and take it easy with running in order to recover properly from the race. Also slow down with your aerobic and other fitness activities. Only after a week of decreased activity, should you continue with your normal routine.

MY EXPERIENCE: I did exactly what should be avoided when I ran my first half marathon. I had not done much running (I couldn?t force myself to run in the winter and the most I had ever completed was about 10 kilometers at a time) and copied other people?s mistakes such as hopping up and down the sidewalk, waving at the spectators (you can wave a little while maintaining pace) and racing with seniors. I felt exhausted after the first half and from the fifteenth kilometer I was forced to battle fatigue. Everyone passing seemed to be tripping me up, and the last three kilometers seemed incredibly long. Four days went by and I still had to use my hands when trying to lift up my leg. My later memories of competing in half and full distance marathons, however, were much better. I avoided making beginners? mistakes and became a lot more experienced.