Are you one of the 80,000 people running the City2Surf this weekend? Pre-race preparation is vital to avoiding injury or illness leading into the event.
- Follow your Taper Plan: try to keep your mileage low this week but its important to keep moving. My advice is to go for a moderate paced street run, an easy hill/interval session (nothing to hilly) and a strength class/yoga session. Training should only be at 40-50% of your usual volume and capacity.
- Stick to Pre-Training Meals: This one’s important – race day is not the time for experimentation. No matter what’s usually on your plate, that exact meal is the “perfect” fuel for your run on City2Surf day. switching up your meals before one of the biggest races of the year might result in gut issues, or more toilet stops than usual. Go for foods you know your body can digest easily and keep it pretty light. A meal that contains a little carb and some protein are an ideal combination.
- Stay Hydrated: Pre-competition hydration is incredibly important due to the fact that dehydration has been proven to negatively effect performance. Hydration should have been a component of your training regime. As someone who has suffered from cramps during endurance events, I always check that my urine is clear at all times regardless of whether it is race week or not to ensure I am adequately hydrated. Like our pre-training meals I advise not to mix your drinks leading into race week unless you have implemented a regime. I like to hydrate using Endura or Pure Coconut Water.
- Warm Up Properly: On race day, start your warm-up with a slow 5-10 minute jog and then move into a few dynamic stretching/movement (walking lunges, high knees, butt kicks, side-skips, knee kickouts) and finally, mark out 50-100m and run some speed builds.
- Pace Yourself: Don’t go out too hard… the worst thing you can do is start the race at a sprint! Ideally, you want plenty left in the tank by the time you crest Heartbreak Hill. In basic terms, you want to go out a bit slower (don’t worry if loads of people are passing you), pick up your pace through the middle of the run and finish with your strongest/fastest leg of the race.
- Cool Down Properly: A few good quality stretches post race a vital, try to focus on your quads, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves and upper/lower back. Rug up, refuel and rehydrate!
