The good/what worked:
We fueled at miles 3 and 6. I felt a difference after fueling.
Our pace and intervals were good. We'll be using the same interval, or something close to it for F4F.
We knew the area, we were very familiar with the trails...so we didn't get lost like so many other runners.
Bug spray! We knew we'd be going through the woods and that we'd just had a good rain. We both put some on and we were glad we did! They weren't bad...but we were ready if they had been.
Cheering friends! Always a plus! We encouraged others as we passed them and they cheered us on as well. Always gives you a good boost of energy to hear that you are doing a good job.
It was suggested to me to take immodium before the race. GOOD suggestion. I get nervous before races and I was a little worried about needing a potty break along the way. It never crossed my mind once. It was nice not to have to worry about it.
I tried something different this time. I applied some Glide to my eye brows to keep the sweat from going into my eyes. I've seen wresslers do this...so why not runners? It worked! Just be careful not to rub it into your eyes.
We didn't walk through any intervals!
The bad/what didn't work:
We took water at every station, plus we carried water on our fuel belts. I started to feel water logged after a while. Might consider taking water from every other station and using my bottles in between when needed.
We fueled at miles 3 and 6. I had a hard time with the consistancy of the Bloks at mile 6. I might need to look in to another type of fuel.
The skirt...cute...but what a mistake! I put tons of glide on...which only made my huge thighs feel like they were welded together. Even when running, there was no seperating those suckers! I kept pulling the shorts down....annoying! Might be better suited for shorter distances.
Gatorade is a NO. Even though I drink it all of the time...it's best not to drink it on runs. I discovered this about 2 miles after it went down and came back up. Yuck.
Don't over do it 2 or 3 days before the race...I felt the residual pain in my legs.
Do you have any secrets or tips that you use on race day?
Love this list - you'll refer to it over and over and over in your future running/racing career. If bloks usually work for you - maybe you need a different flavor for the 2nd or 3rd flavor. We found the orange to be highly chewy and very different texture than the black cherry or the tropical punch that we normally use. It might not be that you need something different. I gagged on bloks at mile 10 in my May half - thought I was a gone-er but it was a one time thing and haven't had any issues since. As a general rule - I pack 2-3 flavors of chomps and 1 packet of gu with me.
ReplyDeleteI think I've shared all of my secrets with you the other night. Continued luck with running and racing - I know you have it inside of you to do many and great things!!!!
So glad you have this one under your belt and can head into the F4F with confidence that you've done the training and the racing plan you've put together!!!
I have a hard time with chomps during an actual race. I'm a gel girl, through and through. I've heard of people using honey packets instead of gel if you have a hard time with the consistency or flavor of Gu. Hope that helps!
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