The big day is almost here… you should be resting up today with your kitbag packed, your race strategy clear, your muscles fully loaded with glycogen and your nerves under control (or almost!)
Here are 5 things NOT to do before the gun goes off to start the race of your life.
Don’t overdrink. It’s important to toe the line well hydrated. But be sensible. You don’t need to be surgically attached to a water bottle all day today and tomorrow morning. Drink when you are thirsty - and consume fluids little and often rather than in large volumes. It’s a good idea to stop drinking about 30-60 minutes before the race to avoid starting off and needing the loo straight away. This will also help you avoid ‘nervous guzzling’.
Don’t stuff your face! You’ll be carbing up today, but don’t go mad. You don’t want to feel uncomfortably full when you go to bed. I like to have my main meal of the day at around 5 or 6, rather than later, so I have time to digest and move around before bedtime.
Don’t change anything. You’ve decided what to eat, what to wear, what pace to run etc… so stick with what you’ve tried and tested. Even after 15 marathons, I found myself earlier today wondering whether to put metatarsal pads in my shoes - then common sense kicked in and I said to myself ‘now why would you risk running 26.2 miles with things in your shoes that you’ve never had in your shoes before?’ Stick to what you know.
And then tomorrow…
Don’t warm-up. Well, not too much, anyway. Unless you are aiming for a sub 3.30 time, you should treat the first few miles of the race as your warm-up. There’s no point wasting energy and glycogen on running before the race starts. A few minutes jogging (4-5 mins) and then some mobilisations (if you normally do these) will suffice. Don’t do anything you don’t normally do in training. For example, if you don’t normally do leg swings, don’t do them (even if everyone else is!). And don’t hold static stretches before you run either.
Don’t get cold. Make sure you have warm kit that you can wear after you’ve put your kitbag on the baggage lorry that you don’t mind discarding. I usually wear an oversized top (easy to get off) and old gloves and hat. A binliner if it’s wet/windy is also good.
And finally, DON’T FORGET TO ENJOY YOURSELF! Have a great race and good luck with achieving your goal.