What to eat on race day
You don’t need to carbo-load for a 10km race run in about 60 minutes – all your nutritional needs should already be met. So follow your moderate to high carbohydrate diet until two days before race day. The day before race day switch to a low-fibre diet (white bread, white rice, low-fibre cereal) and avoid very spicy foods – and dairy if necessary.
On race day, eat a light carbohydrate meal or snack about two hours before the race, like cereal or porridge with low fat milk; or toast with jam or honey. If you’re not hungry, have a liquid meal replacement. You shouldn’t eat or drink anything that you haven’t tried out before. And drink some fluid with your pre-race meal so you start the race well hydrated.
Once you’ve warmed up and stretched, have about 300 – 500ml of cold fluid about five minutes before the start of the race. If it’s a hot day and you’re running 10km in more than 60 minutes, you might need to drink about once during the race. Make sure you drink enough fluids after the race, and enjoy a salty snack.
Entering the race
If you want to avoid registration queues, get to the race at least 45 minutes before the start. This will give you time to find parking, and go to the toilet, if you’re the nervous type.
If you have a Temp license, pin it to the front of your vest with the safety pins provided.
Start the race middle- to near-back otherwise you might be ploughed down by enthusiastic elite runners who start at a cracking pace.
Running the race
Start at a comfortable pace, and try not to rush off because of all the adrenaline flowing. You’ll tire and run out of steam too early.
Water/coke stations
There will be a couple of refreshment tables on the run. Feel free to walk and take a drink (and catch your breath), before you head off again. Some runners drink and run – see how you feel.
Save enough energy so that you can run down the finishing straight and cross the line with head up high. What a feeling!
The idea of ‘race day’ can be pretty daunting for newbies, so we’ve gathered some advice from a few seasoned runners.
Don’t worry about finishing last
Nearly everyone worries about coming last, but it’s probably not going to happen – especially if you’ve prepared.
Choose your clothing carefully
Wear what you’ve trained in so you know it works. The rule is ‘nothing new on race day’, and that includes your sports bra, socks, shoes and running shorts.
It’s your first race so you don’t have a personal time to beat. Just focus on getting through and finishing – and most of all, enjoy it!
In the days before a race, vary your diet with nongrain carb sources, such as fruits and starchy vegetables, to benefit from a wider range of nutrients. read more..
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Liquid Meal Replacement-High Carbohydrate Diet-10Km Race-Race Day
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Half Marathon-Karhu
I have been talking a lot about the 13.1 Marathon Atlanta both so you could have a chance to win race entries and also because it has been one of my favorite races to run these past two years. I won’t go into a lot of details today, but sadly I won’t be running it this year. I waited this long because I was hoping that I would be able to somehow get ready for it, but I am not in the condition I need to be to run a half marathon.That won’t be the case for many runners though, and you still have time to join the group of runners calling Town Brookhaven by the beloved name – finish. The online registration closes tonight, but you still have time to get registered online with a $13.10 discount by using the code: BROOKHAVEN131 Don’t delay because the only opportunity you will have to register after tonight will be by walk up on Friday and Saturday.You say you are not ready to run a half marathon yet? In case you were not aware, there is also a 5k distance race, the Karhu 5K, with a chance to win your very own pair of Karhu shoes by beating the Karhu bear in the “Beat the Karhu bear” challenge. You have a pretty good chance of winning as I will not be competing with you (or getting in your way intentionally) This also means that I won’t be going home with an always colorful pair of Karhu’s, but my time will come. You can get all the details about the Karhu 5K race and your chance at the shoes in the recent press release.If you are registered to run, or know someone that is, did you know that you can either be tracked or track those you are supporting? It is easy, make sure you go and check out the Live Entrant Tracking and get registered.A lot of information is available for those running, watching, or living around the race course. To stay up to speed and get your questions answered head over to the 13.1 Marathon Fanpage, but a few items of specific interest could be the Participant Sheet, Road Closing and Course Information, and of course information about packet pickup and other information can be found on the race website: www.131atlanta.comI won’t be running, but I plan on still showing up on race morning to help and cheer you all on. If you have a moment try to look me up. I know it would help if I tell you where you can find me so I will try to narrow it down a bit by telling you to look somewhere around Town Brookhaven……See you on race day!! Time to update your feed reader to something that says 26.2 Quest even more - http://feeds.262quest.com/262quest read more..
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Karhu
I once again was able to enjoy the 13.1 Atlanta, however this year was a little different than the previous two years. I was really looking forward to running this year and trying out the new course, but alas it was not meant to be. It is crazy how fast you can lose fitness while injured and eating too much, I just wish I didn’t know so much about it.Even though I was not able to run I still decided to make my way down to Town Brookhaven to cheer everyone on and to give you a little insight into race day, at least from my point of view. I cannot even begin to image how early the race director and key volunteers had to get up to get everything ready for race day. I woke at 4:00 and was on my way at 4:30. By the time I was driving down Peachtree the cones were already completely set in place just waiting for the race to start. I arrived at Town Brookhaven to find nearly everything ready, and yet it was only 5:15.While walking around and checking out the start and finish it was quickly apparent that the start would go much smoother than it had in the previous two years. The corrals were set up with the official start opening up wide. In previous years the space narrowed after the start which caused slow downs and even walking after crossing the start. This year as I watched, everyone that wanted to was running easily as they started their race.With a field of 3,300 - or actually 3,299 since I wasn’t running :) Town Brookhaven didn’t seem too crowded and there were plenty of places for everyone to warm up. I stood near the front and watched the cars pour in and was lucky enough to meet and talk to Barefoot Runner Michael Sandler from www.runbare.com who was making his way through Atlanta to promote his recent book release of Barefoot Running.There were some very exciting results with two new course records, and only one runner beating the Karhu Bear in the “Beat the Karhu Bear Challenge” All I have to say is that was one fast bear!Emmanuel Ngatunyi, of Marietta, Ga., won first place in the male division with a time of 1:03:59. The 18-year-old established a new race record by blowing away the previous mark of 1:08:03. Reuben Mwei, of Acworth, Ga., took second place with a time of 1:04:33, while Jynocel Basweti from Marietta earned third place with a time of 1:07:30. On the women’s side, Lilian Mariita, 23, of Marietta, shattered the women’s race standard with a time of 1:17:28 (previous record 1:21:39). Placing second was Justyna Mudy from Rome, Ga., with a time of 1:17:46, and Meggan Franks of Starkville, Miss., took third with a time of 1:20:37. The Karhu 5K provided an extra incentive to all competitors as the Finnish shoe company encouraged all runners to try to "Beat the Karhu Bear." The first 10 runners who "Beat the Karhu Bear” were to receive a coupon for a FREE pair of Karhu running shoes. Only one runner was able to accomplish the challenge as 14-year-old Danny Shaughnessy of Douglasville, Ga., was just six second better than the bear – coming in with a time of 0:19:41. The Bear costume was worn by Andrew Mearns of Atlanta as he placed second with a time of 0:19:47. The complete results can be found at www.131atlanta.com and the 13.1 Atlanta Marathon and Karhu 5K Results Press Release is also available in it’s entirety.It once again was a successful race, and one I am sorry that I was not able to run. I will now be turning my sights on other races, one of which will be the Publix Georgia Marathon in March, which is also a US Road Sports race, just taken to the next level. Make sure you keep an eye on www.262quest.com, the RSS Feed, the 26.2 Quest Fanpage, and the @262quest Twitter account. I don’t have a commitment yet, but I will see if I can work out a couple race entry giveaways for my loyal readers.Did you run the 13.1 Atlanta? If so, tell us about it and feel free to post a link to your race report in the comments. Time to update your feed reader to something that says read more..
Monday, 20 February 2012
Publix Georgia Marathon-Race Day
We are just one month away from the Publix Georgia Marathon and just a few short days away from the bitter sweet taper for many would be marathoners. Race day may be getting close, but there is still a chance to get in on the big day whether it be by hitting the Publix Georgia Marathon Registration Page before the next price increase on February 16th, or by winning the chance to run for free.If you have not yet registered you can take advantage of the price before it increases in just a couple days, but don’t forget to use the discount code: 262QUEST to receive an additional $10 off the current race entry fees.If you are still willing to gamble with the discount and try your luck at winning a free race entry I can help you out with that as well. I have one more entry just waiting for someone to take advantage of. Thanks to the US Road Sports team someone can run either the 13.1 or 26.2 distance on March 18th, paying with only sweat and extensive training.The Giveaway:One lucky winner will be chosen randomly out of all comments left on this page. The guidelines below show all the options for entries, but be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry as only one entry will be counted per comment even if you list all the ways you are eligible. Due to the shortness of time before race day the giveaway time period will not be long with the last entry being accepted on Wednesday February 22nd.How To Enter:Leave a comment and tell us how your training is coming for the big day. If you are not in training tell us why you think running either a full or half marathon is a good idea with just four weeks of training.Share the opportunity with everyone you know. You know the drill, share if with all those social media tools, your blog, and at your running club, but don’t stop there! (leave a comment for each way you share because each comment will count as an additional entry)Join the Publix Georgia Marathon Fanpage, follow them on Twitter at @GeorgiaMarathon and leave a comment for each of these as well.Share often and come back daily to tell us how you have spread the word! Time to update your feed reader to something that says 26.2 Quest even more - http://feeds.262quest.com/262quest read more..