My pre-race morning is nothing clever, interesting or exciting and to be honest; I like it that way. Race mornings are better off boring and uneventful. I received a few questions about what a “typical” race morning looks like for me so I thought I would share!
I like to wake up between 2-3 hours before a race. My optimal race time is between 8:30-9, but I’m not a race director and don’t get too choose. This usually means I wake up around 5:30. I normally don’t have an issue waking up that early.
I get out of bed, brush my teeth, fix breakfast and coffee. Proper hygiene is a must for life, not just racing…
I drink 16 ounces of coffee. I homebrew it. There was a time my stomach didn’t react well to coffee, but lately, it seems to be fine. I don’t drink coffee before regular runs, just races.
My breakfast consists of coffee and a waffle with peanut butter
My waffle recipe (for 1):
2/3 cup flour
1 cup water
1 egg
1tsp baking powder
I hesitate to call it a recipe. I mix the batter together and pour on the waffle iron. I top with peanut butter and eat. It’s worked well for the past three years.
I actually eat the same breakfast every morning, whether I’m running or not. It’s not fancy, but it’s about 600 calories of carbs, fat and a little bit of protein.
As you can see, my pre-race eating is low key and boring. After eating and hanging out on the Internet, I head to the race. I’m lucky most races are no more than an hour drive.
I like to get to the race start about an hour before the race. After arriving, I pick up my bib and warm up between 3-4 miles. The longer the race, the shorter my warm up but I do whatever feels good. I don’t worry about pace. Either you worry about pace during a warmup/cooldown, or you worry about pace during a race. It’s up to you.
I like to use the bathroom about 10 minutes before the race, change into my racing flats and get a spot on the starting line.
Then I just relax, talk to whoever I see and wait for the race to start. I don’t normally get stressed before race mornings because I figure what happens, happens. As long as I know where I’m going and don’t get lost, I’m fine.
There you have it, a typical race day for me!
Click to tweet: A Typical Race Morning for @fueledbyLOLZ
Questions for you:
What does a typical race day look like for you?
What’s your favorite breakfast?