What is your pre-race routine?
amsuraj
Posts: 43 Member
What do you do? Why or what impact does it have on you? Thank you very much in advance.
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Replies
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What kind of race lol? I have a pre-race routine, but doubt it applies too much to runners.1
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I don't do anything special. I usually eat breakfast (coffee and cereal or a bagel) about 2 hours before the race. I head to the start area about an hour ahead to check in and get bib/timing chip. Go to the bathroom. If it's a short race I'll do a 1-2 mile warmup and stretch. For a longer one (HM and marathon) I just stretch, walk a bit, and talk to the other runners. I'll go to the bathroom again just before the race starts.0
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I set out my race kit the night before.
Day of the race: Drink 2 pints of water, eat breakfast around 90 minutes before the race, poop, nervous poop, run....3 -
I get all my stuff ready the night before. I’m not a morning person so I would forget one shoe or something. I eat breakfast (or not-depending on the distance) as usual.
I drive to the place-I’m always lost but just follow the cars with the 13.1 & 26.2 stickers.
I pee about 17394995 times. And if it’s a half or longer, I’ll still have to pee during the race.
Then I go have some sort of nervous seizure by the starting area and then we go and it’s all fine.
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Pack/prep gear the night before.
Wake up time is 20 minutes before I have to leave for said race. I don't do any stretching or warmup or anything like that. Eat a clif bar before anything longer than 90 minutes, nothing before anything shorter than that. Inevitably, I have to poop at some point, so I take care of that.
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Lay out race kit the night before. Pack race bag.
Get up early and take the first of many pre-race pees. Have a small cup of coffee for that caffeine boost. Breakfast is two slices of toast with honey and PB around two hours before race time. Poop (I panic if I don't have a pre-race poop). Another pee or two.
Head out to the race and get checked in. Find the porta-potties. Join the queue for the porta-potties. Panic that I won't be able to have one last pee before the race starts.
Join the start line. Surreptitiously check out people who might be in my age-group. Panic that my Garmin won't find a satellite before the race starts. Wonder if I can have another pee.
Basically there's a lot of peeing and panicking and then I run.6 -
BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Lay out race kit the night before. Pack race bag.
Get up early and take the first of many pre-race pees. Have a small cup of coffee for that caffeine boost. Breakfast is two slices of toast with honey and PB around two hours before race time. Poop (I panic if I don't have a pre-race poop). Another pee or two.
Head out to the race and get checked in. Find the porta-potties. Join the queue for the porta-potties. Panic that I won't be able to have one last pee before the race starts.
Join the start line. Surreptitiously check out people who might be in my age-group. Panic that my Garmin won't find a satellite before the race starts. Wonder if I can have another pee.
Basically there's a lot of peeing and panicking and then I run.
I’m glad I’m not the only one.
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BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Lay out race kit the night before. Pack race bag.
Get up early and take the first of many pre-race pees. Have a small cup of coffee for that caffeine boost. Breakfast is two slices of toast with honey and PB around two hours before race time. Poop (I panic if I don't have a pre-race poop). Another pee or two.
Head out to the race and get checked in. Find the porta-potties. Join the queue for the porta-potties. Panic that I won't be able to have one last pee before the race starts.
Join the start line. Surreptitiously check out people who might be in my age-group. Panic that my Garmin won't find a satellite before the race starts. Wonder if I can have another pee.
Basically there's a lot of peeing and panicking and then I run.
The bolded is why I coffee before a race...1 -
Like I think I would seriously consider Imodium before a race if I didn't poop beforehand.0
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Like I think I would seriously consider Imodium before a race if I didn't poop beforehand.
I was heading to the toilets for my last pre race (half marathon) pee and a girl walking along side me said "I'm having a nightmare morning..."
Me: oh no, why?!
Her: I haven't pooped yet....
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I always drink a sugar free Red Bull before a race. Not sure why, but I did it once and had a great race, so I stuck with it. Funny thing is, this is the only time I drink them. I am not saying that it's a good idea (it very well may be a bad idea), but it's what I do.1
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LOL exactly! What is up with that? Guess I'm not alone.TavistockToad wrote: »
. . . poop, nervous poop, run....
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TavistockToad wrote: »Like I think I would seriously consider Imodium before a race if I didn't poop beforehand.
I was heading to the toilets for my last pre race (half marathon) pee and a girl walking along side me said "I'm having a nightmare morning..."
Me: oh no, why?!
Her: I haven't pooped yet....
My. Worst. Nightmare.1 -
BruinsGal_91 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Like I think I would seriously consider Imodium before a race if I didn't poop beforehand.
I was heading to the toilets for my last pre race (half marathon) pee and a girl walking along side me said "I'm having a nightmare morning..."
Me: oh no, why?!
Her: I haven't pooped yet....
My. Worst. Nightmare.
Agreed. Thankfully my poop, nervous poop hasn't let me down yet! :laugh:2 -
BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Lay out race kit the night before. Pack race bag.
Get up early and take the first of many pre-race pees. Have a small cup of coffee for that caffeine boost. Breakfast is two slices of toast with honey and PB around two hours before race time. Poop (I panic if I don't have a pre-race poop). Another pee or two.
Head out to the race and get checked in. Find the porta-potties. Join the queue for the porta-potties. Panic that I won't be able to have one last pee before the race starts.
Join the start line. Surreptitiously check out people who might be in my age-group. Panic that my Garmin won't find a satellite before the race starts. Wonder if I can have another pee.
Basically there's a lot of peeing and panicking and then I run.
The bolded is why I coffee before a race...
me too! haha0 -
Ahahha terrific thread thank you for starting this
First race tomorrow so I am already nervous and don't have a "system" yet :P It's a 10k night race (9pm!) so I don't have the early wake-up issue (but also means a full day of thinking of just the race!)
I do nervous pre-run pee's before group runs so I imagine I will spend most of my pre-race time at the porta potties...I hadn't even THOUGHT of the pooping thing. I suspect that will be more of a concern for my next race (yes there are already a few "next races") Sept 9th which will be my first "morning" race.
I have some glow "necklace and bracelet" and will pick up one to go on my shoe. plus the mandatory head lamp - so I will be decked out much more than usual...
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Duck_Puddle wrote: »BruinsGal_91 wrote: »Lay out race kit the night before. Pack race bag.
Get up early and take the first of many pre-race pees. Have a small cup of coffee for that caffeine boost. Breakfast is two slices of toast with honey and PB around two hours before race time. Poop (I panic if I don't have a pre-race poop). Another pee or two.
Head out to the race and get checked in. Find the porta-potties. Join the queue for the porta-potties. Panic that I won't be able to have one last pee before the race starts.
Join the start line. Surreptitiously check out people who might be in my age-group. Panic that my Garmin won't find a satellite before the race starts. Wonder if I can have another pee.
Basically there's a lot of peeing and panicking and then I run.
I’m glad I’m not the only one.
Me too! Best advice I've gotten is to pee when I get there, and then if the lines are long, get back in line to go again. Not following this advice is how I found out exactly how gross beach bathrooms are. (The starting line was closer to the beach bathroom than it was to the porta-potties set up specifically for the race). This is also why I started packing those travel packs of tissues in my race kit.2 -
I'm jealous of how little pre-race routine some of you have! Perhaps I go overboard.
Day before, I pretty much eat noodles and other simple pastas, peanut butter and honey sandwiches and some chicken breasts. All of it cooked/made myself. I don't want to risk food poisoning and have to flush 18-20 weeks of training down the toilet, literally. I also drink as much as I can of water with carb powder. I lay out my clothes and attach the bib. I also load up whatever I'm carrying my Gu in for the race
Day of, I get up at least three hours early and start right away with a cup of coffee and peanut butter, honey sandwich on white bread. Maybe a banana or two as well, depending on how my stomach feels. Then another cup of coffee. Hopefully by this time I'm feeling the urge to drop that deuce (funny how many of us base our morning routine on having a good BM. lol). All this time I'm drinking water (distilled). About an hour before I call for the Uber I quit drinking and start prepping. This includes a generous application of BodyGlide to various parts of my body as well as a generous application of Desitin (if you have to ask, well, don't ask me. hahaha). Then I get dressed and wait until it's time to call the Uber. Once I get there I basically just line up at the porta-johns, pee, and if there's a line I get right back in line and keep on peeing, even if I don't feel the urge. When they call for people to line up I get in my corral and I'm golden. If it's cold I have a throw-away jacket and possible cap that I keep on until I'm warm and then toss to the side. Once I'm running all that pre-race anxiety floats away and I actually start to enjoy myself.
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I'm jealous of how little pre-race routine some of you have! Perhaps I go overboard.
Day before, I pretty much eat noodles and other simple pastas, peanut butter and honey sandwiches and some chicken breasts. All of it cooked/made myself. I don't want to risk food poisoning and have to flush 18-20 weeks of training down the toilet, literally. I also drink as much as I can of water with carb powder. I lay out my clothes and attach the bib. I also load up whatever I'm carrying my Gu in for the race
Day of, I get up at least three hours early and start right away with a cup of coffee and peanut butter, honey sandwich on white bread. Maybe a banana or two as well, depending on how my stomach feels. Then another cup of coffee. Hopefully by this time I'm feeling the urge to drop that deuce (funny how many of us base our morning routine on having a good BM. lol). All this time I'm drinking water (distilled). About an hour before I call for the Uber I quit drinking and start prepping. This includes a generous application of BodyGlide to various parts of my body as well as a generous application of Desitin (if you have to ask, well, don't ask me. hahaha). Then I get dressed and wait until it's time to call the Uber. Once I get there I basically just line up at the porta-johns, pee, and if there's a line I get right back in line and keep on peeing, even if I don't feel the urge. When they call for people to line up I get in my corral and I'm golden. If it's cold I have a throw-away jacket and possible cap that I keep on until I'm warm and then toss to the side. Once I'm running all that pre-race anxiety floats away and I actually start to enjoy myself.
I'm presuming that's not for a 5k?! :laugh:1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »I'm presuming that's not for a 5k?! :laugh:
@TavistockToad, of course not! Geez. What do you think I am, an amateur? It's a 10k.
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TavistockToad wrote: »I'm presuming that's not for a 5k?! :laugh:
@TavistockToad, of course not! Geez. What do you think I am, an amateur? It's a 10k.
I was gonna go with park run first... :bigsmile:0 -
HoneyBadger155 wrote: »What kind of race lol? I have a pre-race routine, but doubt it applies too much to runners.HoneyBadger155 wrote: »What kind of race lol? I have a pre-race routine, but doubt it applies too much to runners.
hmm.. please elaborate0 -
hmm.. please elaborateHoneyBadger155 wrote: »What kind of race lol? I have a pre-race routine, but doubt it applies too much to runners.
I road race motorcycles - still a VERY physical type of racing, but not exactly running LOL.
Pre-race routine (assuming pit has been all set up and practice sessions have gone well, and the bike and pit crew are ready to go):
Food: tend to carb-load at dinner the night before. Some light protein and coffee for breakfast. Lunch is light as well, again, mostly protein based.
Pre-race:- Start out with some stretching and making sure I'm warmed up.
- When the race 2 ahead of mine goes out, I make sure I've got my suit half on, boots on, and everything else is laid out, ready to go. Throw on my headphones and jam out to whatever music is feeling good that day that will help pump me up a bit and get me focused. Might read back over some notes from prior coaching sessions or just things I want to keep in mind.
- When the race right before mine gets the green, I make a final bathroom run (usually more nervous pee than anything).
- Once first call comes, get my suit all the way on, relax, breath, focus on flow.
- At second call, get the last of my gear on (helmet, gloves), and then I typically squat down by the bike and just look at it. Not looking for anything in particular, but will check my bolt marks, and my main goal is just reassure myself the bike is ready and to let go of the extra "thinking."
- Final call means get up, shake off, get on bike, and head out once my crew has pulled the warmers and stands.
- Warm up lap I try to get a relatively clear position so I can finalize anything I had been working on that day, check the track surface, grip levels, tire feel, etc.
- As I roll up to the grid, I pop open my visor on my helmet. Get my grid spot, and once my wave is up, make sure I'm in 1st gear.
- At the 2 board, I close my visor. That's my "shut out the world" trigger - I use that action as my way of closing out everything else and focusing on what is in front of me. Deciding on my path once we launch, and leaving everything else. Once the 1 board goes sideways, run up the RPMS to my preference, hold the clutch so it's just barely pulling, hold the bike with my foot, and go at the movement of the flag.
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TavistockToad wrote: »I set out my race kit the night before.
Day of the race: Drink 2 pints of water, eat breakfast around 90 minutes before the race, poop, nervous poop, run....
Sounds about right!
OP depending on the distance I may focus a bit more on carb loading in the last couple of days before the race (I almost invariably have a spaghetti dinner the night before, a bit of a ritual) and if it's a longer race I'll check what nutrition the race organizers are offering on the course. If it's something I haven't trained with before I'll make sure to take along my own gels / energy bars (if I'm doing a triathlon)0 -
A week before the race
- Make sure all my tools are ready and working.
- Make sure my bike is being looked at professionally.
- Begin resting while still doing ultra light exercises and eating (minding my calorie and macros).
Two days prior to the race.
- Start eating high carbohydrate meals.
- Stop doing ultra light exercises.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Pick up bike from the shop.
- Prepare pre ride meal and ride meals.
- make sure i have everything ready one last time.
Day of race.
- Wake up two hours before the race.
- Eat my pre ride meal.
- Ride to win.
Dunno if that was a good series of events leading to a race?
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