Monday, October 19, 2009

Final Preparations for Sunday...

Congratulations!! From a training perspective, you are ready for the Columbus Half Marathon on Sunday!!

I hope you feel good about the work you’ve put in over the past 7 weeks since the 10K – you’ve made tremendous progress!!

PLEASE NOTE: If you are either running the Half Marathon on Sunday, or coming up to watch, please confirm by emailing Leah at leah@healthstylefitness.com. She will make sure you are “in the loop” for meeting places and times, both for dinner on Saturday, and the event on Sunday.

And, please make sure Leah has your cell number so you can communicate while in Columbus.

Okay, here’s what you can do to be 100% prepared for Sunday's Half Marathon…

Hydrate well this week, with emphasis on significant water intake on Friday and Saturday.

Load up your glycogen stores Thursday, Friday and Saturday – read “Carb Loading and Hydration” info below.

Rest. You have just one more 4-mile easy run on Thursday. Make sure you rest up on Friday and Saturday.

Don’t forget your energy & hydrations needs during the event. You can review the following article here: http://www.swiftpage1.com/SpeClicks.aspx?X=2T0JJPDXHR0TAZ0C00YAWW.

Here are some tips for the weekend...

Packing: Think of all the steps and things you’ve needed for each of our long runs and make sure those items are packed for Sunday morning. Don’t forget your GU, sports drinks, shoes, Glide, running belt (if you use one), running gear, change of clothes after the race, etc. A friend in Columbus said Sunday morning is supposed to be very cool. Pack both cold and moderate temperature running gear. Click here for Columbus weather.

Carb Loading and Hydration starts on Thursday! Make sure every meal contains whole grain carbs and plenty of water from Sunday through breakfast on Sunday. Remember, each day we need half our body weight in ounces of water for optimal hydration. A 150 pound person should be drinking at least 75 ounces, or slightly more.

Your Race Plan: Mentally plan out how you’re going to run on Sunday. Take caution in starting too aggressively (which is likely to biggest reason for a slower than anticipated time). It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the event...or have your competitive juices kick in when the gun goes off...or even to just forget to check your pace with each mile marker.

When you start too fast, your body shifts into your anaerobic energy system too quickly, bypassing the aerobic system, depleting your top energy system that you’ll need toward the end of the event. At a slower, aerobic energy system pace, you can go for a long period, then when you’re ready to kick up your pace, you’ll have several miles of your top energy system available.

Plan your race out in segments and make sure you have plenty of gas in the tank for the home stretch. Check your times at each mile. For example, if your goal is to finish in 2 hours and 20 minutes, you should be averaging about 10:30 per mile. Your first mile will be around 10:30, second mile at 21 minutes, third mile around 31:30, etc.

Remember, start slow. You can always pick up the pace later.

You can reach Leah at 513-515-6632.

Remember on Sunday Morning…

The hard part is done.

Have fun. Enjoy the experience.

Don't think about the 13.1 miles - chunk it down.

One mile at a time.

One minute at a time.

One step at a time.

The only thing you have control over on Sunday are the thoughts that enter your head – your preparation is done - your nutrition is done - your clothes you are going to wear are figured out -it's just your thoughts that are left.

Keep them positive and you cannot lose.

Sunday - you'll be a Half Marathon Champion!

Your friend in fitness,

Brian Calkins

HealthStyle Fitness, Inc. 4325 Red Bank Rd Cincinnati, OH 45227 513-407-4665, x-105 www.CincinnatiFitness.com

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