[Blog Update from Running Ambassador Sarah Monte]
Mistakes will be made! I STILL make mistakes. I have sought out advice and then not heeded it. Most of what I’ve learned is from trial and error. As with most advice, it’s coming from someone else’s perspective and experiences, so it may not apply to you, however, I am going to run down my own personal strategies and if you glean something from one, great! If not, hopefully, at least it was entertaining!
The night before the race I always eat carbs! Not because I believe in carb-loading for amateur athletes, but because I love carbs and its a good excuse to eat some pre-race pasta!
I try to get to bed at a decent time, but usually I’m staying with my family and we are catching up and having a good
time. I never sleep well the night before the race anyway, so now I’m eating a lot of pasta and staying up late.
Good strategy so far!
I lay out my outfit, put my running bib on my shirt and double check that I have everything I need (using a technique I learned from my Mom to ‘start at the top’): hair fasteners, head band, sport bra, shirt, arm warmers, gloves if necessary, running tights, belt (equipped with: ibuprofen, gel, paper towel, lip balm), socks, and, of course, sneakers!
I set my alarm and pre-program the start location in Waze (the traffic mapping app) just in case there is construction, an accident or a closed road.
I put out my coffee mug, bagel and a banana, fill my water bottle and head to bed.
My biggest advice for race day is don’t start off too fast. Every year I experience getting trampled by overly exuberant runners. Then around mile six I see the same folks burning out just as I am hitting my stride. So, number one, pace yourself.
My second bit o’ advice for a ‘middle of the pack runner’ is to walk while you drink. I have tried many times to drink out of a cup while running and I seem to always wind up with half of it up my nose! I know some people are able to do this and perhaps if it’s your first race, you should practice before the race. I do recommend that you drink something at every station and it’s more important to lose some time walking through the water breaks to get a good guzzle in (especially at the beer table). [NOTE FROM RACE: aforementioned beer table is not sanctioned or, in any way part of the race.] I carry my own gels since, in the past, I have relied on the free ones given away before and nearly gagged on flavors that I didn’t like.
A ‘fun’ tip for some of those steep climbs is that I pretend there is a rope in front of me that I’m grasping to help ‘pull’ me up the hill. And for the descents, I have learned this great technique from a Runners World article years ago. I lower my center of gravity and ‘ski’ down the hill. It is far less of an impact on my knees and I find that it gives me more stability.
Mostly though, HAVE A GOOD TIME! If the going gets tough remind yourself how lucky you are to be able to run and feel that pain. Enjoy the energy and effort of your fellow runners and appreciate the many wonderful supporters and musicians who are out there supporting you at the crack of dawn! See ya at the start line!! (or more like a block up from the start in my pace group!)