Saturday, June 07, 2008
How to prepare
I will be running my first Half Marathon (my first race ever) this next Sat. Its the Bear Lake Half. I am just wondering what I need to do to perpare for it. How does carb loading work..like what do I do and when. Is it better to eat the carb dinner the race provides or make my own. What type of hydration should I be doing? As you can tell I am nervous and I just wanna be prepared as much as I can. Which is so nice I have you ladies to count on for that great advice. Anything else would be wonderful. Thanks so much. -Lindsay S
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7 comments:
Couple of things:
1. Don't try anything new for the race. If you haven't had something before, now is not the time to try it. Think back to what you ate before your long runs and if it worked well during your training, then go ahead and eat it.
2. Carb loading does not mean stocking up for the winter! Eat a good dinner, but don't stuff yourself or you will probably regret it during the race.
3. I try to stay away from dairy and heavy meats and fats for about 36-48 hours before the race. That seems to give my body time to "clean out the system", if you know what I mean.
I hope that helps! Good luck with your race. Half marathons are so fun!!!
I second the previous comment. As far as hydration for race day- some suggested that water stations were enough and other said to plan on having water. I wore my pack and I am so glad I did! If you are used to doing your long runs with water (or powerade/gatorade), then plan to wear a water belt of some kind. It would have been rough for me otherwise.
Good luck! My first 1/2 was so fun!
Good advice so far! You don't need to carbo-load too much in advance for a half. But I would avoid too much junk a day or two before. It just feels better, somehow. Also, don't drink too much water/liquid in the 90 minutes before the race. You can drink something right before the race (like 10 minutes), but if you do too much early, you may have to stop for a bathroom break. Just plan to start drinking as soon as you start running. And have fun!
Since this is your very first race, the best course of action is to do exactly what you did in training. If you ate spaghetti the night before your long runs in training, eat spaghetti the night before your race. If you carried your own water and drank during every mile in training, do the same thing during the race. Once you have this first race under your belt, you can experiment more in training with race-day conditions.
The other most important factor during the taper is getting enough rest. They say the night before the night before the race is the most important night of sleep, but make an effort to get plenty of rest the entire week leading up to the race. Combined with proper hydration and carb-loading, you'll find yourself at the starting line feeling like you could fly. :-)
Good luck and be sure to let us know how it goes!
You're going to do great! Just don't start out crazy fast. I typically just "carb load" the day before. Try to take it easy this week. Can't wait to hear about it!
How exciting for you! I can't wait to hear all about it. Ditto to what everyone else has said. :-)
My main advice- have fun!!! This is your first and you will learn so much from it. Start out slow and enjoy the ride. With a few miles left, if you are feeling good, pick it up! If not, just keep putting one foot in front of the other!
Get as much rest as possible this week. As tall girl running said, especially 2 nights before the race. Hydration also starts 2-3 days before.
Okay, that's all from me! Enjoy your race!!
For my first 1/2 i did not take water with me and I just depended on the water stations. I will definitely do it differently next time, I like being in control of when I can drink water.
I wish you the best! You'll do great!
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