Check it out! Tons of advice from the FIRECRACKER 5K and 1 Mile Kids Fun Run Headquarters!!!! EVERYTHING you need to know for a successful race! So, youre committed to eating smarter, drinking plenty of water and going to bed earlier. Right? Lets hope so. This is a long post, but filled with tips for warding off pre-race butterflies & doing your best on race day. Before reading further, grab a favorite beverage, this will take a few minutes. Thurs PM - If you havent registered, walk-up registration is available tonight, 5-7:30 PM, and race morning, 6:30-7:30 AM, at Race HQ (across from the Waynesboro Hospital, 501 East Main St.). Your best option is to make the effort to sign-up tonight. Race morning can be, well, a little chaotic. And who needs extra stress, sign-up tonight. If you have registered, pick-up your Race Packet tonight, 5-7:30 PM, or race morning, 6:30-7:30 AM, at Race HQ (across from the Waynesboro Hospital, 501 East Main St.). Of course, your best option is to pick it up tonight. Actually, this is your ticket to race morning sanity, so dont pass it up. Make the effort, youll be happy you did. Fill up your vehicles gas tank sometime today (while driving home from Race Packet Pick-Up). DONT wait to do it while driving to the race Fri AM. BAD IDEA!! DONT DO THIS (voice of experience). Before leaving the C-Store after filling up, buy an 8 oz. bottle of chocolate milk for post-race replenishment. Why? As discussed in the link, your ideal post race replenishment should be a 4:1 carb to protein ratio. An 8 oz. bottle of Nesquick has a 3:1 ratio (25 g of carbohydrate and 8 g of protein). Tonights dinner should be balanced and light. Skip seconds and stay away from anything heavy, greasy and hard on your digestive system. Should you carbo load? No. Remember, simple, balanced (carbs, protien, fat), and light. Save the BBQ ribs, pizza, brats and cheese burgers for tomorrows picnic. Trim your toe nails, finger nails, nose hair, etc., you get the idea. Why? If it can be an annoyance, chances are it will be an annoyance during the race. Best attend to it beforehand, because if you dont, good bye PR, awards and sponsorships - see below. Pre-stage all your running stuff tonight. If youre likely to wear it - stage it! This includes Band aids, BodyGlide, sweat bands, hair ties, scrunchies, croakies, etc. Dont leave it in your dresser, gym bag, toilet kit, etc. Why? It wont be there tomorrow morning, causing unneeded stress. Avoid race morning hari kari by affixing your bib to your running shirt tonight. But first, flip it over and write the following: name, address, age, an emergency contact POC & phone number, and any known medical conditions or concerns. Why? Stuff happens and this helps the medical angels do their job more quickly and efficiently. And please note, the 2014 Firecracker is a chip timed race, so please affix your bib to the front of your shirt. Clean your running shoes. Remove mud, stones etc. with a stiff brush (dont forget to brush the soles too). After removing the inserts, vacuum the insides, as well as the inserts. Why? To remove any tiny pebbles embedded in the bottom and hiding beneath the inserts. Check laces for fraying, and remember to knot the laces securely (practice tonight, seriously). Yes, tripping over your laces does happen, and yes, its painful as well as humiliating. Set out your pre-race breakfast. At least for tomorrow opt for something suggested in the link and forego your usual Lucky Charms and Mountain Dew. Good nutrition rule of thumb, if youre kind to your body its more likely to return the favor. ALSO, DONT try anything for the first time today, tonight or tomorrow morning. BAD IDEA! DONT DO THIS (that voice of experience again) If you do, make sure you know where the porta-potties are located. Set two alarms for Fri AM. Test to ensure adequate volume to get you out of a heavy REM sleep (OK, maybe the REM part is wishful thinking). Yes, runners oversleep and show up after the race starts. Very embarrassing. Very funny too - epic bedhead. (NOT the voice of experience) Fill your water bottle and refrigerate next to your bottle of chocolate milk, set out your fidget snack (almonds, raisins, trail mix etc.) for your ride to the race, and reward snack (Zoes chocolate, Cliff Bar, etc.) for the return trip. Take note of where you set your cell phone, keys and wallet/purse for quick retrieval in the AM. Practice your race morning routine (seriously, do this, youll thank me race morning). Begin at your bed, move to the bathroom, then to your pre-staging area and envision yourself getting dressed and applying all necessary aids and accouterments (is everything there? if not, go find it and stage it, then move to the kitchen (go through your breakfast prep & clean-up routine), envision grabbing your snacks, bottle of chocolate milk, water bottle, cell phone, keys, wallet/purse and getting into your vehicle, turning on your favorite get pumped playlist, driving to the big race, and arriving with plenty of time to spare. Word of caution on the playlist, wait until the end of the block before blaring it tomorrow morning. Your family, neighbors etc. will thank you. Cranking AC/DC, Pitbull or Eminem at 5:30 AM, particularly on a holiday, probably wont sit well with most. I know, go figure. Is this too Type-A? Maybe, but it works and pays DIVIDENDS. Go to bed one hour early, as in, turn off the lights one hour early. If you go to bed an hour early and then proceed to read, watch TV or post a few pins youre missing the point. Fri AM - Get up when your alarms go off. Dont hit the snooze buttons as it often results in fuzzy head which is not good on race morning. You need to be sharp, not fuzzy. Eat your pre-race breakfast early enough to get things moving. Note, this is important to your success, so treat it as such. You might get a mental check in the box by choking down a breakfast burrito and large coffee while driving to the race might but youre tempting fate, and are likely to pay for it later. If thats youre strategy, make sure you know where the porta-potties are located. Arrive early enough to stretch properly, run a few strides, take a few pics with your running peeps/fans, and of course, hit a porta-potty before the Race Director herds everyone to Virginia Ave. Taking pics with your peeps/fans often begs the controversial question, should you run with or without shades? Its a tough call. Running with often causes sweat build up around the eyes leading to blurred vision, missed PRs and plenty of colorful expletives. But hey, you look great. Obviously running without gets you around the whole eye-sweat conundrum, but it often results in squinting which is frowned upon when seeking those coveted sponsorships (see below). Its your call. Please note, there are no eye sweat towel stations on the race course, the Firecracker is strictly BYOT (you guessed it, Bring Your Own Towel, small preferably, racing with beach towels can be unwieldy, unless youre with a large group who are all donning shades...). So what do you do after the race? Pony rides and funnel cakes? Sure, but first things first. First, replenish, then spend a few minutes to stretch out. Grab your bottle of chocolate milk and drink it slowly, before drinking water. Get the nutrients into your digestive system before introducing water. Then find some shade and do your post-run stretch routine. Then? Bragging, awards and memories. A few words about each; be careful with bragging, youd be surprised how much your running buddies actually remember about your previous years performance, so dont be too quick to embellish todays accomplishment by shaving seconds (minutes) off last years run time. When your name is called at the awards ceremony, remember humility. A thankful smile is much better received than a fist pump and damn right!. Memories, youll certainly make many on race morning. Its takes a lot of character to roll out of bed early on a holiday and to toe the line with a thousand smelly strangers. OK, so maybe theyre not all strangers, but Im pretty sure theyre smelly. Its July after all. Lastly, remember to write your finish time on the back of your race bib before displaying it prominently on your refrigerator door, bedroom bulletin board or office wall. You came and conquered the Firecracker 5K! Heres the bottom line, taking control of the mundane can lead to calm, which leads to better sleep, which leads to PRs, which leads to prize money and awards, which leads to publicity, which leads to sponsorships, which leads to the Olympics, which leads to a lifetime of fortune and fame. WOW! And to think it all started by doing something as ridiculous as vacuuming out your running shoes. See you bright and early on the 4th for the 17th Annual FIRECRACKER 5K and 1 Mile Kids Fun Run! Quickly check out your 2014 Race Results at racinemultisports/2014_Firecracker_5K.html#/results::14031461447440 Already registered? Kindly forward to your running partner, brother, sister, Mom, Dad...
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 09:27:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015