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Part 2: Preparing for a Race or Long Run
1. Taper your exercise schedule a week before the race. Tapering is when you ease off your workouts before the race, allowing your muscles plenty of time to recover. Make your runs shorter and slower, and switch to other activities you do regularly, like biking or swimming (nothing new) 2-3 days before the race to rest your running-specific muscles. Resist the urge to train hard at the last minute -- it will make you less effective when race day arrives
It takes upwards of 6 weeks for you body to benefit from hard training, so a hard workout two days before the race won't help you.
Marathon runners often begin tapering 3-4 weeks before a race, lowering their training mileage by 10 miles each week.
Either rest completely or take it very slow the day before the race.
2. Monitor your diet at least three days before the race. Your body needs the right fuel to be effective, and eating junk food even 2-3 days before the race can make you feel sluggish. Avoid rich and fatty foods like donuts or bacon at least three days before race time, and try to eat more carbohydrates (pasta, bread, etc) to prepare. Your body has the ability to store almost 2,000 calories in carbohydrates, and you'll need them to run effectively.
Day 1: Eat lots of complex carbs - starchy foods like whole wheat pasta and bread, oatmeal, and quinoa. This allows your body to digest fully a few days in advance.
Day 2: Begin switching to simple carbs like fruits, pasta, and white bread. Cut any junk food from your diet now.
Day 3: Keep eating simple carbohydrates, like a big plate of pasta with marinara sauce. Try to eat your last big meal 12-15 hours before the race.
Try this diet out a few days before a training day to see how your body feels with different foods.
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3. Sleep at least 8 hours the night before the race. Resting gives your muscles energy to move longer and faster. Try to get a normal night's sleep - you don't want to sleep for 12 hours and wake up feeling sluggish.
4. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. The importance of hydration cannot be stressed enough, not only for performance but for your health and safety. You should be drinking 4-8 ounces of water every hour at least two days before the race, along with foods rich in electrolytes (bananas and pretzels are great). A few hours before the race, drink 16oz of water to prepare.
Do not "overdrink" by chugging right before the race - your body won't have time to absorb it, and you will feel bloated.
5. Eat a simple, low-fiber breakfast the day of the race. You want food that will pass through your body quickly but still provide you with energy. Toast with jam or peanut butter, oatmeal with some fruit, or granola and yogurt will all provide you with lasting energy without weighing you down. Try to eat 2-3 hours before the race.
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6. Dress lightly. Your body will raise it's temperature by 10-15 degrees, so dress as if the weather is 10-15 degrees warmer. Overdressing can lead to heat exhaustion and dehydration from over-sweating.
7. Warm-up properly with a dynamic workout. Some studies have shown that the classic "stretch and hold" warm-up, when done alone, can actually decrease performance. You should mix light stretching with a "dynamic stretch," which is a small exercise meant to get your blood flowing and your muscles loose.
Jog lightly for 10-15 minutes, gradually increasing pace.
Lightly stretch each muscle, holding for no more than 10 seconds each.
Slowly jog for another 10 minutes.
Mix in 3-5 lunges, squats, skips, and jumps to warm up specific muscles.
In this part, I told you how to prepare yourself for a long-distance run. Tomorrow I'll tell you the final part. See you there.
Artemus Vazhui