RunHeartFit.net

Running a race, whether it’s your first or 50th, can be stressful. Make it less stressful by following a few easy steps.

A few easy steps…

• 1. Plan dinner the night before.

  You should know by now what foods work for you and what ones have you running to the bathroom, so stick with what works. If you are traveling, figure out where you are going for dinner early, you don’t want to be Googling places to eat at dinner-time and find out the closest place is 20 mins away and only takes reservations. Be prepared.

• 2. Go to the expo early and check out your surroundings.

  Know where the start and finish are, if you need to get a shuttle, where to pick it up. Also, know where your family or friends will be after the race just in case they miss you at the finish line and your phone dies.  Don’t ask. :-/

• 3. Put out your “stuff” the night before.

  I lay out my shorts, sports bra, shirt…with my number pinned to it (the front, not the back), socks in my shoes, cover-up as needed, (I save mylar blankets from previous races for future chilly race mornings…check the weather!) earphones (charged), Garmin (charged), Spibelt (stocked with Gu, lipbalm, bandaid, individually packaged wipe), hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, Cliffbar (or similar prerace food). I fill my water on my fuelbelt if I’m bringing my own water. If you plan to check a bag at the race then have it ready. I usually put a jacket in a bag and have my husband bring it to the finish. I tend to get chilly after a race and it’s nice to have a bag to put all my post race snacks in.

          

• 4. Plug in your phone and set your alarm.

   Try to go to bed early but don’t stress about not getting enough sleep. So many times I hear runners complain about how they couldn’t sleep the night before a race, due to worrying about the race, or afraid they will sleep past their alarm or numerous other things, but somehow we manage to go into overdrive and run just fine on race morning. I try to think of my race as just another run, just a little further. 🙂  **Allow for enough time to eat, have coffee (if you choose) and poop. I give my self 30 mins before I have to head to the start, and at least 20 mins to spare when I get to the start.**

Preparing well the night before makes for a stress free, more enjoyable race morning. 

The most important step for me is laying out my stuff the night before. I don’t want to be scrambling around in the dark looking for my socks or risk forgetting my earphones.

Is there something you do the night before a race that wasn’t mentioned? Leave me a comment below.

If you are looking for a race in your area go to Active.com.

Thanks for reading!

Keep running my friends!

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