Jeff Galloway's Blog

Preparing for Race Day – 5K, 10K, 13.1, 26.2 or ultra distance

After having run in races, every year, since 1958, I’ve come to believe that success comes from getting the “little things” right.  As you prepare for the big day, you will be organizing yourself, gaining mental focus, reducing tension, anticipating problems as you gear up to solve them.  All of this sets you up for success.

 Rehearsal.  Use your speed workouts as “dress rehearsals” for your big day.  Since you may be nervous, bring your checklists and go through each item as you will do at the race itself.  If at all possible, run on the race course several times.  If this is not possible, visit the race website, study the course profile and description, and try to find venues in your area that are similar.  You want to feel familiar with every aspect of the environment surrounding the venue.  Success may depend upon a feeling of confidence - that you own the road on race day. 

If this is an important race that is out of town, it helps to run the course and even stage a successful workout there. You’ll learn the driving route, where to park (or which rapid transit station to exit), and what the site is like.  If you will be driving, drive into the parking area several times to make sure you understand how to go exactly where you need to park.  This will help you to feel at home with the staging area on race day, reducing race day anxiety.  If it’s a road course, run over the last half mile of the course at least twice--the most important part of the course to know.  It’s also beneficial to do the first mile of the course to see which side of the road is best for walk breaks (location of sidewalks, etc.). 

Rehearse your line-up position.  Enter some local 5Ks, which could be run instead of the “magic mile or MM” weekends.  Practice running in the crowd, getting over to the side of the road to take walk breaks, taking water at the water stops, etc.

 The Afternoon before. Don’t run the day before the race.  You won’t lose any conditioning if you take two days off from running leading up to the race.  This is a personal issue and the number of days you do not run before a race is your choice.  I recommend no more than two days of no running.

Some races require you to pick up your race number, and sometimes your computer chip (explained below) the day before.  Look at the website or the entry form for instructions about this.  A few races allow you to pick up your materials on race day, but be sure.

 Race number. This is sometimes called a “bib number.”  It should be pinned on the front of the garment you’ll be wearing when you cross the finish line.  Make sure you have 2-4 safety pins.

 Computer chip. More and more races are using technology that automatically records your finish and split times along the course.  You must wear a computer chip that is usually laced on the shoes, near the top.  Some race result technology companies attach the chip to a velcro band around the ankle or arm.  Read the instructions to make sure you are attaching this correctly.  Be sure to turn this in after the race.  The officials have volunteers to collect them, so stop and take them off your shoe, etc. right after the finish line.  There is a steep fine ($) for those who don’t turn in the chip.

 The carbo loading dinner. Some races have a dinner the night before.  At the dinner you will usually chat with runners at your table and enjoy the evening.  Don’t eat much, however.  Many runners assume, mistakenly, that they must eat a lot of food the night before.  This is actually counter-productive.  It takes at least 36 hours for most of the food you eat to be processed and usable in a race, usually longer.  There is nothing you can eat the evening before a race that will help you. 

But eating too much, or the wrong foods for you, can create a real problem.  A lot of food in your gut, when you are bouncing up and down in a race, is stressful.  A very common and embarrassing situation occurs when the gut is emptied to relieve this stress.  While you don’t want to starve yourself the afternoon and evening before, the best strategy is to eat small meals or snacks that you know are easy for the body to digest, and taper down the amount as you get closer to bed time.  As always, it’s best to have done a “rehearsal” of eating so that you know what works, how much, when to stop eating, and what foods to avoid.  The evening before your long morning runs is a good time to work on your eating plan so that you can replicate the successful routine leading up to race day.

 Drinking. The day before each goal race, drink about 8 glasses of water or sports drink throughout the day.  If you haven’t had a drink of water or sports drink in a couple of hours, drink half a cup to a cup (4-8 oz) each hour.  Don’t drink a lot of fluid during the morning of the race itself. This can lead to bathroom breaks before the race or the desire to do so during the race itself.  Many races have portajohns around the course, but some do not.  This is another reason to preview the venue and note the locations of bathrooms.  It is a very common practice for runners that have consumed too much fluid that morning to find a tree or alley along the course. The best solution for most runners is to drink 6-10 oz of fluid about 2-3 hours before the race.  Usually this is totally out of the system before the start, but practice to make sure.

Drinking Tip: If you practice drinking before your long runs, you can find the right amount of fluid that works best for you on race day. Stage your drinks so that you know when you will be taking potty breaks, comfortably, before the start of the race itself, especially if you drink coffee.

 The night before. Eating is optional after 5 p.m.  If you are hungry, have a light snack (or two) that you have tested before and has not caused problems.  Less is better but don’t go to bed hungry.  Continue to have about 8oz of a good electrolyte beverage like Accelerade, about 2-3 hours before you go to bed.  Avoid salty food the day before long runs and the race itself.

Alcohol is not recommended the night before because the effects of this central nervous system depressant carry over to the next morning. Some runners have no trouble having one glass of wine or beer, while others are better off with none.  In any case, alcohol will result in some dehydration at the start of the race. 

Pack your bag and lay out your clothes so that you don’t have to think very much on race morning.

·         Your watch or timer, set up for the run-walk-run ratio you are using
·         A pace chart, or wrist band, with lap times, or mile times

·         Shoes

·         Socks

·         Shorts

·         Top

·         Pin race number on the front of the garment in which you will be finishing

·         A few extra safety pins for your race/bib number or number

·         Water, Accelerade, pre-race & post race beverages (such as Endurox R4), and cooler if you wish

·         Food for the drive in and the drive home

·         Bandages, skin lubricant, any other first aid items you may need

·         Cash for registration if you are doing race day registration (check amount, including late fee)

·         $ 25-40 for gas, food, parking, etc.  

·         Race chip attached according to the race instructions

·         A few jokes or stories to provide laughs or entertainment before the start

·         A copy of your “race day checklist”

Sleep. You may sleep well or you may not.  Don’t worry if you don’t sleep at all.  Many runners I work with every year don’t sleep a wink and have the best race of their lives.  Of course, don’t try to go sleepless . . . but if it happens, it is not a problem.

 

Affirming the Benefits of Exercise

When you're tentative about your motivation to get out the door for a run, it often helps to read (possibly out loud) the following list of benefits you receive after running:

• Your attitude is better after every run.
• Stress is released, often completely dissolved.
• Natural body chemicals called endorphins relax the body, reducing or eliminating muscle aches and pains.
• Your spirit is engaged, leaving you with feelings of accomplishment, confidence and strength.
• Body and mind are connected, giving you the confidence that comes with being a more "complete" person.
• Your right brain is engaged, energizing your creative and imaginative resources.
• You're learning connections to hidden inner resources which kick in whenever you're under stress. 

What benefits do you focus on when you need some motivation to get out there? 

Reduce Stride, Reduce Pain

By fine-tuning the way you move your feet and legs, you can gain more control over how you feel during and after a walk or a run.  An efficient stride can promote blood flow to back, neck, joints and feet.  In most cases, small adjustments leave one feeling so much better.  But back and hip pain is often caused by a stride that is too long.
 
A gentle stride of the foot and leg will feel smooth and natural. Walking or running within the natural range of motion for each, allows the muscles, tendons and joints to work together as a team.  Gentle movement also stimulates the production of endorphins which boost attitude as they reduce aches and pains.
 
The most common pain-producing mistake, when beginning or when increasing the pace of a walk or run, is using a stride that exceeds your natural range of motion.  The extra forward reach of the leg aggravates the hamstring (the muscle on the back side of the upper leg) and the tendon complex behind your knee.  This “overstride” also stresses the shin muscle on the front of your leg.
 
A stride that is only half an inch too long (or longer) can also aggravate the back and hips.  Each extended step increases the twist, or torque, of hips and spine.  Even a few minutes of this can result in soreness the next day.  But when the overstride continues for an hour of hiking, running, or powerwalking, pain may linger for days or weeks.
 
Many runners and walkers who don't overstride on the street or sidewalk will do so on a treadmill. When using a “tread” for the first time, or after a long layoff, it's best to slow the pace down and use a shorter stride than usual.  Remember, you should control the speed of this machine.  
 
At the end of a workout, it's easy to overstride. In the rush to get the workout done, it's very tempting to reach out with the lower leg.  It may take a little management of the ego to slow down during the last 5 minutes so that you'll maintain a smooth motion.  Practice shortening the stride at the end of all of your runs or walks to get into the habit.
 
When you're not sure about your length of stride, shorten it. Since all of the significant leg motion problems I've seen in coaching walkers and runners are the result of a long stride, I suggest being sensitive to tightness in the hamstring, hips or shins.  A simple reduction of stride length can keep things from aching.  
 
Take walk breaks or shuffle breaks.  A major source of injury is the constant use of muscles, tendons, joints, etc. in the same way.  By reducing the intensity and specific motion early and often in the exercise, you can avoid the problems.  Runners should insert a one minute gentle walk break after running for 1-4 minutes.  Walkers experience the same benefit when they use a “shuffle” of 30 seconds, every 3-4 minutes, from the beginning of the workout.  The shuffle is performed by reducing stride length and effort down to “baby steps” for half a minute.

Why Diets Don't Work

Almost everyone goes through periods of inactivity.  Blame it on the weather (hot or cold), vacation, job, family—there are interruptions in our fitness.  As we know too well, the surplus is deposited as “potential energy” around the thighs or mid section.  Sadly, most never use these reserve energy areas, which expand until you've had enough, and promise to diet or exercise. 

When researching Running and Fat Burning for Women with my wife Barbara, we discovered than most of those who decide to lose weight believe that exercise sounds like work, and choose calorie restriction.  Those who can focus well and handle deprivation can lose 5-15 pounds in a few weeks.  Without exercise, this is a temporary loss.  Research shows that almost all of the weight lost on strict diets is regained within the next 12 months.  A significant percentage of these cases actually gain back more than they lost during that period.  Here are some of the reasons why.

Weight loss doesn't mean fat loss. 

On many of the low carb diets, for example, the lower amount on the scale is primarily due to body fluid reduction.  The stored form of carbohydrate is called glycogen, which is used as fuel when running and other exertive exercise. This is also a reserve fuel source for the brain which is monitored constantly.  When you starve yourself of carbohydrate, glycogen storage is reduced to a level that triggers a starvation reflex.  Brain circuits remember.  But for every gram of glycogen lost, there are 4 grams of water which also disappear.  A 150 pound person can lose 5-10 pounds in 2 weeks.  But as soon as carbohydrate is consumed again, the glycogen and water are reloaded and the weight goes up and up...and up.  Low carb diets also tend to promote the consumption of fat, which is directly deposited on the body.  It is common for those on this diet to add to their fat stores, but they don't know this is happening because the water weight is being lost.  When carbohydrate consumption has resumed, the scales regularly provide a shock: more than before the diet started.

The Set Point

Our human ancestors who survived periods of famine and prolonged sickness had more fat on their bodies.  This genetic survival storage brain circuit programs us to add a little additional fat storage every year or two.  We can temporarily reduce the amount of fat on our bodies through diets, but the internal mechanism remembers. 

Starvation reflex

When we deprive ourselves of food, particularly food that we love, we initiate the “binge” response countdown.  At some point in the future when the banned food is around and one is alone, there's a great tendency to eat large quantities due to psychological deprivation.  When the total calorie consumption is extremely low, it is possible to burn off fat, while some essential nutrients are not ingested in adequate amounts.  If you're trying to lose the “spare tire”, food deprivation is counterproductive.  An appetite rebound is triggered over weeks or months after resuming normal eating, which leads to a total fat percentage that is higher than before the restrictive diet.

Gentle exercise with dietary change can help lower fat level

Aerobic exercise (walking, easy jogging, cycling, swimming, etc.) burns fat when the effort level is low enough.  If you are not huffing and puffing, and you can keep moving for more than 45 minutes, you are in the fat burning zone.  Exercise is the furnace that can burn fat off, and it produces many metabolic changes to keep it off.