RACING MADE SIMPLE

There is one simple goal: To get from Point A (starting line) to Point B (finish line) in the least amount of time.  For everyone that means bringing your best trained body to the race and running a smart race.

You can't change your genes.  Some folks are just plain better-built to run fast.  You can't change the weather.  If it's hot, humid, windy or raining cats and dogs you have no chance for personal records.  But if you prepare your own unique body to run as fast as posiible and if you run a smart race, you'll do your very best.  That is what running is all about.

What constitutes a "smart race"?  Smart racing is all about pacing and hydration.  Smart pacing for most of us means running the race at as constant a pace as possible.  Most records and personal bests come with flat pacing.  Hydration means replacing the water lost by sweating.  (Read more on hydration further down in this section.)

MORE ON RACING  

The week of the race:

I find one week of taper is enough if I’m in good race shape.  The week previous I will keep up the mileage but eliminate the exhausting runs.  Race week I taper in a sequence of about 6 miles per day early in the week; to a day off 3 days before the race; to 2 miles 2 days before; and to 1 mile the day before.  If I take off the days just before I’m stale.


The day of the race:

1.    Hydration and spaghetti the night before.  I take two Aleve the day before.

2.    Up 3 hours and 5 minutes before race time.

3.    Eat spaghetti with no meat 3 hours before, not one second later.

4.    Drink coffee and water until 2 hours before….lots of both….then stop.

5.    One Aleve just after getting up and one nearer the race.

6.    Plan (and I actually hope) for a second BM.

7.    Cold Weather:  Be sure you have dressed properly for the weather conditions.  Flexibility is the key.  It’s better to over dress but with clothes that can be easily removed and adjusted for the conditions.  Remember in some cases adding back clothes can become necessary due to wind changes, rain, etc.  Here are my ranges:  48 degrees and above I wear a singlet and shorts together with a throw away shirt at the lower end of the range.  I might start with a cap and gloves but usually remove them early in the race.  At 40 to 48 degrees I wear light weight tights and a long sleeve shirt which can be zipped way down.  Again, Cap and gloves which will stay on longer.

8.    Hot Weather:  Some guys run with out a shirt.  I use as light weight clothes as possible.  But there are really only two things you can do.  First, you must hydrate before, during and after the race.  Second and even more important is to adjust your pace to the conditions.  (See my pace at various dew points at the end of this section.)  I am a heat and humidity wimp.  At dew points over 70, I usually stay home.  My best times are always with dew points in the 30s or 40s.

9.    The night before a race I always check the weather forecast for temperature and dew point.  Then I have a conscious plan for pace and race hydration needs.

10.    Final hydration:  I drink 0.5 liters of water 5 to 10 minutes before the race.  Be sure the race will start on time.  If they start very late and you’re well hydrated, you may need to find a bush.


The Race:   

1.    Start up front as far as possible.  I start on the opposite side of the first turn but I never start more than one or two rows back.  Once I lost a half marathon by 1.5 seconds…all at the start.  Never again.  If I think the person just behind me might be a little careless, I have been known to look them in the eye and say: “If you don’t trip me I won’t trip you”.  So far it seems to have worked.

2.    The last seconds before the race I remind myself of the pace and hydration plan I intend to follow.

3.    Start easy and let the race come to you.  My first mile pace goal is about 20 seconds slower than the target average.  Once into the race, my goal is to run each mile as close as possible to the same pace.

4.    Think about how long you have to go.  Don’t be in a hurry.

5.    Relax, relax, relax.  I’ve actually measured my heart rate while running and shown I can lower it just by relaxing while maintaining the same pace.

6.    Make a nice light foot strike.  Keep your stride count at about 90 cycles per minute.  Count them if you’re unsure.

7.    I divide the race into 3 parts.  I think of actual half way as closer to the one third point, i.e. with two thirds of the race to go.  I focus on the final 5k to go as the last third.  I know I can make that distance with a solid effort.

8.    I don’t look at the watch during a race.  I simply record the splits for learning.  I run by how I feel.  I know I must feel the race is easy early on.  I expect the stress to build.  I know the final part will be pure hell.

9.    While I have never experienced the problem of over hydration, it can happen, especially on cool days and for those who are running at a slow pace where they are not losing much water.  Over hydration can be very dangerous.

10.     More on hydration:  Proper (and complete) hydration pre-race is always essential for good racing.  Hydration during the race is a function of the specific person, how hard they race and the race-day conditions.  It’s a delicate balance that each person needs to learn from experience.  In races of 9.3 to 13.1 miles, I can go from needing to make full stops 3 or 4 times to take on water all the way to not needing to stop at all.  I’m a profuse sweater generally.  If the dew point is >70 degrees, I’ll need lots of race hydration.  If it’s <30 degrees, I won’t need very much.  My clothes range from completely soaked to hardly wet and this is a clear indication of how much water I’m losing and will need to replace.   Both under hydration and over hydration are very dangerous so it is extremely important to learn what your body will need under the various race conditions.     

Recovery:

The older you get the more recovery time is required.  I do not fully recover from an all out race of 9 to 13 miles even in three weeks.  I never race again during that time and I've learned three weeks will not get me fully back.  Racing before full recovery is a guaranteed way to get injured.  

  


Pace vs. Dew Points:

The above data are actual races 2004/ 2005.
Note: dew point data is usually available on the weather channel/ local.