5 Must Do’s Before a Race
Have you got a race coming up and do not know how to prepare for it? You have done all the training for your big race and now you have a week to go. What to do during week?
Coopah have 5 must do’s before a race to help you prepare.
1. Good sleep during the week leading up to Race Day
Many runners and people do not sleep well the night before a big day or an early start. Have you ever woken up every hour before an early flight? You may have also woken up the morning of a race and felt super tired. This is normal for many of us.
If you sleep well (for most of us, between 7-9 hours of sleep) for the week leading up to your race will lessen the pressure to have a good nights the night before race day. You can try and get into a sleep routine leading up to race day. If you need to get up early on race day, try and get up earlier and go to bed earlier for the days leading up to it, maybe 20 - 30 minutes earlier each day.
Read this for more tips and tricks to sleep better before race day.
2. Sip, don’t gulp your liquids before and during your race
Before race day, try to stay hydrated throughout the day. Don’t leave it the end of the day and gulp 1 litre down before heading off to sleep.
It is always important to start off the race being well hydrated. If your race if a 5k or 10k, you may not need to drink during the race, but remember to listen to your body and drink if you need to, especially in warmer climates. When races start to increase in distance, a half marathon or full marathon, for example, it is important to take on liquids during the race.
To read more on how to hydrate for a race visit; read how to start hydrated and how to stay hydrated during longer races.
3. Be confident in your training
You have spent weeks or even months preparing for this event. In terms of training or running mileage, there is nothing else left to do.
Following a training plan which is specific to you and your running goals, like Coopah’s personalised training plans, means there is no need to worry when your inner voice doubts your running ability a just few days before the race. You know you have put the training in and ran the mileage needed to tick in order for you to cross that finish line come race day.
Now, you should be focusing on all the great training sessions you have had and all the kilometres and training goals achieved along the way. Scroll back over your plan to see all the epic runs you managed to complete and head to the progress page in the Coopah app to view how far you have come! Forget the sessions you missed, these won’t help you.
4. Plan your route to race and your race day outfit
Come Race Day morning. The last thing you want to be worrying about is how to get there or what to wear. Make sure your route is planned, saved, you know what time you need to leave by and your outfit it laid out with all the essential layers, race bib, tracking device (fully charged!) and snacks.
Having this all planned the day before may also improve your sleep as you will not be worrying if your lucky socks are dry or if that bus route still exists.
5. Warm up before you cross the start line
We need to let our bodies know what we are about to do. Our bodies do not like it when it all of a sudden start running a race. Still not sure whether to warm up?
When you warm up before a race, you increase your blood flow meaning higher oxygen delivery to your muscles, which will lead to better performance.
When you warm up, you slowly raise your body temperature. An increase in body temperature provides increased range of motion in muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
By slowly raising your heart rate in a warm-up, you minimise the stress placed on your heart during exercise. This allows you to have a safer, more efficient workout.
Prepping your muscles and heart to for your upcoming race not only benefits your performance, but it also helps prevent injury. When your body is warm and loose, you are less likely to suffer from strained or pulled muscles.
In your warm up, make sure to include:
Easy jogging
Jumping Squats
Lunges with rotation
Butt Kicks
High Knees
Race pace strides (max 4-5 x 500m)
Best of luck with your upcoming race!
Want to train with us for your next race? Download Coopah today to start your training for your next running challenge.
The Coopah app is supported on both Android and iOS devices.
You can download the Coopah app for Android devices from the Google Play Store. Users of iOS devices can find it in the App Store.