If you don’t get a shot of adrenaline when you pull under count and discover streets overflowing with aspiring marathoners, you are a better person than I am. The collective energy of great weekend really spins my tachometer. Of course adrenaline is also what drives panic, and panic doesn’t improve anyone’s chances of survival. Time to take a deep breath and check a few systems.
First of all, having read all the information of race provides. The more you know about the logistics of your marathon the confident you will be. Race organizers spend countless hours getting all the details runners need to know in one place. Do them and yourself a favor by reading it. Do a little more visualizing too. You know what you are going to see in the course and how you are going to react under different circumstances.
Think about your race plans. Have you charted out the time you’ll need to get at specific milepoint to be on target for your goal. Some runners like to write this upside down so they can read it on the runner number. Some scribble it on their arms. Whatever you do, you should have a specific plan of action and stick to it.
Speaking of plans, what are you doing for dinner? This is the kind of meal, marathoners are famous for. Good portion, iron, carbohydrates, easy to digest. So eat freely but don’t stuff yourself. Or you’ll throw your system off filter. Enjoy the dinner then get back to your room. Set out the things you’ll need in the morning and make a checklist of the things you need to remember to do. Then go over your race plan again and visualize your way through the course.
You have prepared, loaded and rested, and you made sure to bring your fluid level up to full. You are good and ready, so time to lie down. Watch some TV or read a book, relax. You’ll finally drop off to sleep with the thought that has haunted the pre-race dreams of millions of marathoners. Why am I doing this? Not to worry, everyone thinks that. Even those who like you are prepared.
Here we go, the big day. Should you eat on the morning of a marathon? Yes, it helps to have a light meal before you start just to give your blood sugar a kick in the pants. Energy bars work nicely too. If you practice eating before your long training run and found it doesn’t lead to upset stomach, do it on race morning. Since you read through all the race information, the way you were supposed to, your trip to the starting line will be smooth and uneventful. Get there early enough that you’ll have plenty of time to make a final body stop.
10 minutes or so before the start it's nice to have a final swigger of water or a sports drink. Dehydration starts when the gun fires. So it's good to get a leg up on the beat. Of course you should have spent a good portion of the previous day hydrating, but don’t over do it on race morning, unless you like standing in quarter final round.
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