The Silence Before the Storm
By
Kevin Jermyn
of
Trackcoach.com
Racing is the
culmination of months, even years of hard work, it is our opportunity to showcase our hard
work, and compete against other runners who have themselves trained very diligently for
the past few months. Now that all of the hard work is over, who will succeed will not only
be decided by how they trained for this race, but how they prepare mentally and physically
the days leading up to the race.
The week before, all of the hard work is done, push too hard now and you will only be
too tired to race well. It is time to taper, run short and easy workouts to let your
muscles rest and rebuild. The reward is right around the corner, for now it is just time
to relax and be patient until it is time to race. Begin thinking about your race strategy,
considering anything you may have learned from your last few races.
The night before the race is the time to take care of all the little things that you
don't want to have to deal with on race day. Pack your bag (maybe use a checklist to make
sure you don't forget anything), pin your number on to your racing uniform if you have it,
etc. At this point in time, the name of the game is avoiding things that can hurt your
performance. Make sure that you are adequately hydrated for race day, eat a light meal
that will not upset your stomach the next morning, and try to get adequate rest. If you
can't sleep, donŐt despair as many runners often have some of their best races after
sleepless nights. Many believe that the most important night of rest is two nights before
the race. It is also a good time to mentally prepare for tomorrow's race so that on race
day you can just relax and perform your best. Think about your race strategy and review
different race scenarios so that you are well prepared for the unexpected, few races
actually go as planned. Break your race up into different stages and visualize how you
would like each stage to materialize. Develop a race plan and stick to it.
The race morning, often signaled by butterflies in the stomach and frequent visits to
the bathroom. It is time to showcase your hard work! After you wake, you should begin
drinking fluids to avoid dehydration, especially on a hot humid day. Eat a light meal, if
the race is in the morning your body won't have time to process this food anyway so make
sure it is light and won't upset your stomach. Approximately 30-60 minutes before race
time, based on your preference, you should begin your warmup. I would recommend jogging
very lightly, stretch for 10-20 minutes, and then jog again and speed up gradually into a
relaxed warmup pace. Make sure to give yourself adequate time to get to the starting line
10 minutes before the race to get in some accelerations (10-20 seconds of swift relaxed
running) to get your body ready for race conditions. About 5 minutes before race time, it
is time to relax and focus on the task ahead. Smile and enjoy the moment. Take a deep
breath.
