So this is 5 days till Cottonwood classic 5k 2009. I am going to give you a few small thoughts each day to hopefully get you to the end.
Here is my motto for this year (again): finishing is winning.
I will try to give you the few things that help me get through a run as well as a race. So enough with the preamble, get on with it.
Your run will cost you, in what you have eaten. Along with the registration cost of the race, you will have to think what you are putting inside that finely tuned race car that will get you to the finish line. We aren’t talking about finishing with the best speed or the best profile – but we are talking about finishing with excellence and quality.
So the question is: what are you putting in your body right before the race? The night before the race? The week prior to the race?
I won’t bore you to death about what to eat – so here are some helpful suggestions as well as what I do.
Hydrate: If you are not drinking water throughout your day you are cheating only yourself. your body needs it and you will need it for the run just like you need air. Learn to keep drinking water throughout your day, all day. yes, you will be going to the bathroom all day – but that is part of it. Keep drinking. Soda and tea: while they contain water is not water. Skip soda because its not worth it in order to get into race condition. Tea, yeah it has caffeine, but it is still not the clean hydrating liquid that you need for the race. That is the mindset you need: if its not for the race, it needs to be rethought. Keep asking yourself: will this help me finish the race?
The week before: think light and long. Light meaning chicken, fish or other lean meats for your proteins. Long meaning skip the baked potato and go for the sweet potato (but, I don’t like sweet potato; deal with it!) Forget white bread, go for the wheat. This is energy – think of it that way. This is for the race – we need sustenance for the race. If you have food that will break down fast, your energy level will go up fast…and come down just as fast. What you want is stuff that will help your endurance during the race as well as for the day – each day as well.
Watch your portions as well. You get filled up, you may not feel like running after. You run while feeling full, it will be irritating; your insides will want to become your outsides; you will feel pain and stuff; and burping while you run is no fun. That old idea about getting 5 to 6 smaller meals in you has something to it. I don’t mean 5 to 6 meals that look dinner; but your daily three meals in proportion and the other ‘in-between’ meals that are energy inducing vittles. Think: apples and granola; peanut butter sandwiches (wheat bread, remember?); carrots and veggie dip (again, light and lean). What do I mean by proportion? If your eating chicken breast with veggies for dinner; the chicken breast would equal the size of your fist <- that is your portion of chicken for that meal. Fix your veggies to smaller sizes as well. If you feel hungry walking away from your meal, its okay – you will not die.
One more thing: stop the food after 8pm. You may have heard this before from some other places – but this actually works. Through out the night, your body is going to work on those fast carbs, whatever it is you have consumed that day, then it moves on to the longer-chained carbs or the slower burning carbs; when it is done with those what is left? Fat. And your body will continue to burn that till the morning. Your body will want to eat first thing – that is normal.
Want to shock your system? Take your run first thing in the morning before your breakfast. Why? Again, through out the night your body is trying to burn whatever it can leaving fat as the last thing…if your running in the morning with your body in fat burning mode, well you will see excellent results in you do this with any type of consistency. Here is the double hit: your metabolism will also will be taken to the next level – this will be a nice little boost you will feel all day.
Night before the race: You have been eating good all week long, why stop now, but be sure to put in a little more carbs into your night meal only if your not an early riser and eating a small meal (I mean small before the race the morning of.)
The Day of: So its race day what do you do? No panicking. From the time you wake up til the race you need to be drinking water and hydrating like crazy. No so much that you are too full to run, but adequately hydrated for the race. 45 minutes before the race starts – eat a Clif bar (i actually got this tip from a friend of mine who does this as well.) The other thing you could do is wait until about 20-30 minutes before the race and eat an apple. Again, this is perfect running food since it is light on calories, great for fiber and slow buring carbs. And its the right food for the run – not too much, not too little. Also, if you are need a little extra “push” – try the Clif-gels which can be a little ‘ick’ when you swallow, but will also provide the needed energy for the race, just be sure to take with a mouth full of water after.
More tips to come this week.
