As race season approaches, are you looking for ways to prepare for your next race? With a plan in place, hard training, clean eating, what else can you possibly do to prepare for your next race? There are certain things you can do that will give you a competitive edge in your training to help you prepare for your next race. Let me share with you what they are so that you can have a great race. Here are the ways to prepare for your next race:
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1. Eating Healthy
Eating healthy is an essential part of preparation. If you are not eating healthy you will not have the proper fuel to excel in your race and you will also not recover as quickly. Make sure to eat plenty of vegetables, salad every day, fruit and whole grains. And increase your carbs the day before the race with a bowl of pasta because this is one of the best ways to prepare for your next race. This will also give you have some extra fuel or glycogen for your race day!
2. Race Weight
Runners start to know what their race weight is after running many races. If you are 5 pounds up or down from your peak race weight, this will affect your running performance. Runners usually perform best when they are lean with lean muscle, rather than bulk. Find what race weight works best for you and stay at this healthy number.
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3. Quality Miles
We can all have a goal of just running everyday but is this enough to help you prepare to run well at your next race? Absolutely not, because quality miles are much more important. 15 years ago I would run 65-75 mils per week training for a marathon and today I run just 50 miles per week in marathon training and I run an hour quicker in my marathon time. How is this possible? Today I focus on quality miles, never running just to get miles, but all workouts are for a purpose. So focus on quality, not quantity.
4. Diversify Your Workouts
Speed workouts, hill repeats and tempo runs are just a few of the training workouts that should be part of any balanced running training program. These quality workouts will help you to have a great race and get stronger, as well as prevent an injury.
5. Get Plenty of Sleep
Beauty sleep is better for your health, energy and your running performance. Athletes perform better on 8 hours or more of sleep a night. This is essential in healing muscle fiber so make sure you catch plenty of Zzzzzs. And always sleep a bit longer two days before your race because chances are, the night before the race you will be tossing and turning, nervous about your race.
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6. Stick to a Plan
Write out a schedule and stick to it. There are no negotiations when it comes to a school or work deadline so prioritize your training schedule in the same manner. In order to perfrom at your best come race day, you need to follow a schedule religiously with no ifs, ands or buts!
7. Be Positive and Have Fun
Just be positive and have a lot of fun. After all, that is why we do these races. Enjoy your race, make new friends and have fun!
Hope you have a great race and happy training to get you there. What is your next race?
