My ticket arrived! (Read 669 times)

LoL you are making me nervous for you. Just make sure you have fun Claire!

You are really GO, now! k

Whoaaa cowgirl...pace yourself...find someone to pace with and enjoy those hills. Hoping for a great first race for you!

Since this is your first race, I suggest you make every possible mistake in order to, you know, get them out of the way. In no particular order: 1. Eat a big breakfast within a hour of the start. Something greasy, to coat your stomach. And extra coffee. 2. Go out way too fast. I'm talking your 5K race pace out of the gate. Once you blow up and have to walk, keep speeding up and slowing down throughout the race. This is good fun and the people around you will be utterly confused. 3. By all means drink WAY more water than normal in the days leading up to the race. By falling victim to the myth that you can "superhydrate" yourself you will wash all of the sodium out of your body, dramatically increasing your odds of becoming dehydrated or hyponatremic or--if you play your cards right--BOTH! Since the race takes place in hot weather you'll also have a really good chance at heatsroke which, I can tell you from my Boston Marathon 2004 experience, is a really, really good time. 4. Warm up vigorously before the race. Do at least 30 minutes of running including some hill repeats. In hot weather races you want to get a good lather going before the gun. This way you will be aclimated to the heat and the hills. 5. Do one last hard workout the day before the race. You don't need your rest, you need more TRAINING! 6. Stay up all night. Sleep is overrated. 7. Don't bother figuring out ahead of time where the start line is. This way you can have a mad scramble before the race as you try to find it before the gun goes off. 8. Recored every km split. Actually if they have them, try to break it down to 1/4 km. Every 250m look at your watch and make sure you're on plan. If, possible, write down your target 250m splits on a wristband and constantly compare where you're at, doing the mental math in real time to determine exactly how far off target you are. And, it goes without saying that you should react to every single 250m split, adjusting your pace accordingly regardless how the race is "feeling" to you. 9. Carry as much food and water as you physically can. Bring one of those fuel belts and a camelback or whatever it takes. You should try to take in about 8 liters of fluid and at least 2000 kcals of "energy" on the run. Don't rely on the race having adequate water stations or your body's own glycogen stores. 10. Definitely bring a fanny pack and take your cell phone. Call all your friends and family giving them real-time updates of your position on course. That's all I can come up with right now. If I think of more later, I'll let you know. Have fun!!

Mike--awesome list. Claire--Good luck! Run hard!

I'll probably need a diaper on the boat I'll be so nervous. Claire xxx

Depends.

How long is your race? And how are you planning to tackle it? Got any time in mind ? Post you time and splits if you can.Good luck