First race questions

One thing about race-day routines: You're essentially an experiment of one, so you may find that
some things work and others don't. That said ...

Quoted message said:

My questions are these: for a 10:30 am race what should I do to prepare ahead of time? Can I eat my
normal bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and peanutbutter around 8 am? Should I have juice or
some other simple carb along with my coffee?

My usual routine is to grab an apple on the way out the door (since I'm usually running late on race
mornings). Oatmeal two and a half hours before the start should be fine.

Quoted message said:

I typically run 1/2 a mile then stretch before I do my workouts. But how does that work when you're
checking in for the race and lolling about before hand? Should I check in, run a lap, stretch and
just keep stretching or jog in place to keep warm or whatever before the race starts?

"Serious" racers (those who care about their finishing time, regardless of whether they're at the
front or the back of the pack) often jog a bit before the race starts to get loosened up. I don't
stretch before a race, but you might find it helpful, as long as you don't stretch cold muscles (but
it sounds as if you know that already). This is exactly the sort of thing where you figure out your
own best routine by trial and error.

Quoted message said:

Or, considering the unlikelyhood of my being able to run 4 miles, should I just start the race cold
and stop to catch my breath and stretch after
1/2 mile?

That's another possibility. I wouldn't do this, but just because I'm not inclined to take race time
to stretch if I have time beforehand. Starting the race cold -- essentially doing your warmup jog in
the first half mile or so -- is not itself a bad thing.

Quoted message said:

(A friend suggested I bring an MDI and pretend I'm having an asthma attack, but I don't think my
ego demands subterfuge.) :-)

Heh. A few years ago I was half a mile from the end of a 5K and a woman ahead of me stopped, stepped
to the side and pulled out one of them asthma inhalers as I breezed past her. She outkicked me at
the finish, the rat.

Quoted message said:

Last question: it's going to be 20 degrees out and I've got a bit of a stuffed up nose so I'm doing
a lot of mouth breathing when I run outside. What do you suggest to keep the cold air from hurting
my throat?

I'll leave this to the cold-weather experts.

Good luck!

--
Brian P. Baresch Fort Worth, Texas, USA Professional editing and proofreading

If you're going through hell, keep going. --Winston Churchill

Brian Baresch said:

One thing about race-day routines: You're essentially an experiment of one, so you may find that
some things work and others don't. That said ...

Quoted message said:

My questions are these: for a 10:30 am race what should I do to prepare ahead of time? Can I eat
my normal bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and peanutbutter around 8 am? Should I have juice or
some other simple carb along with my coffee?

My usual routine is to grab an apple on the way out the door (since I'm usually running late on
race mornings). Oatmeal two and a half hours before the start should be fine.

Quoted message said:

I typically run 1/2 a mile then stretch before I do my workouts. But how does that work when
you're checking in for the race and lolling about before hand? Should I check in, run a lap,
stretch and just keep stretching or jog in place to keep warm or whatever before the race starts?

"Serious" racers (those who care about their finishing time, regardless of whether they're at the
front or the back of the pack) often jog a bit before the race starts to get loosened up. I don't
stretch before a race, but you might find it helpful, as long as you don't stretch cold muscles
(but it sounds as if you know that already). This is exactly the sort of thing where you figure
out your own best routine by trial and error.

Quoted message said:

Or, considering the unlikelyhood of my being able to run 4 miles, should I just start the race
cold and stop to catch my breath and stretch after
1/2 mile?

That's another possibility. I wouldn't do this, but just because I'm not inclined to take race
time to stretch if I have time beforehand. Starting the race cold -- essentially doing your warmup
jog in the first half mile or so -- is not itself a bad thing.

I'll probably be happy to stop and stretch. I'm not a contender. But we'll see.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(A friend suggested I bring an MDI and pretend I'm having an asthma attack, but I don't think my
ego demands subterfuge.) :-)

Heh. A few years ago I was half a mile from the end of a 5K and a woman ahead of me stopped,
stepped to the side and pulled out one of them asthma inhalers as I breezed past her. She
outkicked me at the finish, the rat.

Albuterol will do that. :-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Last question: it's going to be 20 degrees out and I've got a bit of a stuffed up nose so I'm
doing a lot of mouth breathing when I run outside. What do you suggest to keep the cold air from
hurting my throat?

I'll leave this to the cold-weather experts.

Good luck!

Thanks. I'm going to need it! I made a New Year's Resolution to find a 5K and train for it with the
intention of running one this summer or fall. Then I discovered one was going past my house on Jan.
31. When I made the New Year's Resolution I meant 2004, not JANUARY, but it's too good a chance to
pass up. I would have gone for a run that day anyway.

Dally

Brian Baresch said:

One thing about race-day routines: You're essentially an experiment of one, so you may find that
some things work and others don't. That said ...

Quoted message said:

My questions are these: for a 10:30 am race what should I do to prepare ahead of time? Can I eat
my normal bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and peanutbutter around 8 am?

If this is what you're used to, that would be good, as Brian already indicated.

Should I have juice or some other simple

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

carb along with my coffee?

If this is not what you usually do, you might be taking a chance - unless it's something you do
occasionally. A common mantra is "do nothing new on race day". But there are exceptions, and they
can be successes or disasters. The successes usually happen when you know something from your
training won't work, so you try your next best guess. The disasters seem to happen when somebody
just decided to try something new, although sometimes it does work out.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Or, considering the unlikelyhood of my being able to run 4 miles, should I just start the race
cold and stop to catch my breath and stretch after
1/2 mile?

That's another possibility. I wouldn't do this, but just because I'm not inclined to take race
time to stretch if I have time beforehand.

I would think stretching near start of 4mi race might be hard to do. In the excitement of everyone
out there running, stopping and stretching might be difficult. But if you do, be sure to pull off
to the side (probably right side = slower traffic keep right, assuming US) and get out of
everyone's way.

Another thought also, is that if you need to "stop to catch my breath", you might be running too
fast. It might be too late now to try something new, but a couple thoughts for the future or maybe
even this week.
(1) Try to run at conversational pace. Talk to yourself or some runners around you.
(2) Adopt a run/walk strategy. Maybe run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute, or
3/1, or 3/1 or whatever works for you - consider these approximate. As you get more fit, you can
increase the running time. Or if it's a hilly course, walk uphill, run the downs, or whatever.
By adopting the strategy from the outset, rather than running until you can't then doing a death
march, you'll conserve energy. Depending on conditioning and a lot of other things, it can be
faster to run/walk than to run. The walking breaks allow your body to recover, so that when you
*are* running, you are running better. This reduces the chance of injury as well as your
recovery time.

Quoted message said:

Starting the race cold -- essentially doing your warmup jog in the first half mile or so -- is not
itself a bad thing.

Or even walking the first bit, then slow running, then a normal effort. If it's an uphill start,
this could work out quite well. For *me*, I usually find there's some stretches that I need to do
before I run, even if I walk first. In my case, I can warm my ankles and achilles my rolling or
rotating my ankles, then doing my calf stretches. Some stretches might be doable while walking -
like dorsiflexing foot.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Last question: it's going to be 20 degrees out and I've got a bit of a stuffed up nose so I'm
doing a lot of mouth breathing when I run outside. What do you suggest to keep the cold air from
hurting my throat?

If it's +20F, I wouldn't expect cold air on throat to be an issue, unless there's something else
going on - perhaps very low humidity or some health issue. What many of us use in colder weather
(+10F and colder) when the air is really dry, is to use a loose knit balaclava or scarf over mouth.
This helps maintain some warmth and moisture while breathing. Loss of this moisture can contribute
to dehydration in really cold temperatures over a longer event, but probably not 4 miles. Caveat: I
run in Alaska so my concept of cold might be a little different.

Good luck - and remember to have fun! Let us know how it goes.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

Dally said:

This is my newbie post and I apologize for not lurking longer but the race is Saturday and I just
decided to do it yesterday. I appreciate any tips you might have.

Think less, run more.

Dally said:

Thanks. I'm going to need it! I made a New Year's Resolution to find a 5K and train for it with
the intention of running one this summer or fall. Then I discovered one was going past my house on
Jan. 31. When I made the New Year's Resolution I meant 2004, not JANUARY, but it's too good a
chance to pass up. I would have gone for a run that day anyway.

That's a really nice way to do a 1st race. My first was a winter triathlon in my town where I had
biked much of the biking course, although in summer, had run, walked, or biked the running course,
and the pool was where I normally swam. The run course went by within a block of my house. But I
hadn't done them at +1F on ice/snow and in combination so it was still plenty challenging.

Dot

--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope

The following comments are based on my extensive 2-race racing career at 30+% BF.

"Dally" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My questions are these: for a 10:30 am race what should I do to prepare ahead of time? Can I eat
my normal bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and peanutbutter around 8 am? Should I have juice or
some other simple carb along with my coffee?

I'd go with normal. For a race duration of less than an hour, I don't think any extra "sugaring up"
should be necessary.

Quoted message said:

I typically run 1/2 a mile then stretch before I do my workouts. But how does that work when
you're checking in for the race and lolling about before hand? Should I check in, run a lap,
stretch and just keep stretching or jog in place to keep warm or whatever before the race starts?

I keep my warmup minimal. Some brisk walking, maybe a couple hundred yards of very slow jogging. I
try to "loosen up" rather than stretch, per se--bouncy strides, exaggerated waggling of assorted
joints. However, stretch after the walk/jog if it makes you happy--I've heard it doesn't make a
difference beforehand (but should be done after a workout).

Quoted message said:

Or, considering the unlikelyhood of my being able to run 4 miles, should I just start the race
cold and stop to catch my breath and stretch after
1/2 mile? (A friend suggested I bring an MDI and pretend I'm having an asthma attack, but I don't
think my ego demands subterfuge.) :-)

Starting cold is another tactic that may help in the most important race strategy for beginners--
which is to run your first mile a LOT slower than you think you should. I wouldn't stretch once the
race is started, though. Instead, plan on taking a short walk break every mile, or every ten
minutes, or something like that. Trust me--you will do better in the race than you think you can if
you take a short break BEFORE you need to.

Quoted message said:

Last question: it's going to be 20 degrees out and I've got a bit of a stuffed up nose so I'm
doing a lot of mouth breathing when I run outside. What do you suggest to keep the cold air from
hurting my throat?

You breath through your nose (running) when you're not stuffed up? I mean, when you are running, not
when your nose is running... Aw, nevermind. If the cold bothers your throat, wear a light scarf.

Quoted message said:

But about two months ago I realized how badly my endurance had suffered from all these short
sessions and so I started doing some longer runs just to build up my endurance once or twice a
week. For the "endurance" run I typically either run as far as I can without stopping (about 2
miles at a jog) or run 5K with as many walks as I need (typically run .4 walk .1, alternating.) I
haven't run outside in the winter before and I haven't been in a race in 22 years.

Keep at it! My experience is that the improvement curve is slower if you've got weight issues; but
if you keep at it slow and steady, you will get better. Extending out the distance of your 5k
jog/walk by a half mile every few weeks will do more for your ability to "run straight through" on
shorter distances than will flailing along for a couple of miles until you can go no further and
then stopping.

Quoted message said:

I'm about 15 pounds over-fat at 28% body fat and every bit of those pounds are slathered around my
thighs. My legs are strong and my lung capacity is good but my heart rate tends to soar if I go
too fast.

Then don't go too fast! :-)

DrLith said:

The following comments are based on my extensive 2-race racing career at 30+% BF.

<snipped good advice>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm about 15 pounds over-fat at 28% body fat and every bit of those pounds are slathered around my
thighs. My legs are strong and my lung capacity is good but my heart rate tends to soar if I go
too fast.

Then don't go too fast! :-)

Thanks. I appreciate your advice and I'll try to go slow. :-)

Dally

In article said:

I'm running a 4 mile road race this Saturday. Well, more accurately, I'm "participating" in this
race. I can't actually run four miles. I'm treating it as my endurance-cardio workout this week.

My questions are these: for a 10:30 am race what should I do to prepare ahead of time? Can I eat
my normal bowl of oatmeal with protein powder and peanutbutter around 8 am? Should I have juice or
some other simple carb along with my coffee?

Others have already spoken about the value of not experimenting during an important race.

What would you normally eat two hours before a hard run ? I wouldn't eat oatmeal and protein, but
maybe that works for you.

What I'd usually recommend is to take in a lot of high GI carbs with little fat or anything else
before the race, but it's not such a good idea to defer such experimentation to a race.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Dally said:

I'm running a 4 mile road race this Saturday. Well, more accurately, I'm "participating" in this
race. I can't actually run four miles. I'm treating it as my endurance-cardio workout this week.

For the "endurance" run I typically either run as far as I can without stopping (about 2 miles
at a jog)

The others have give you technical advice. I'd just like to add that you shouldn't discount the
possibility that you MAY be able to run the entire 4 miles. You might be surprised how much the
excitement of a race, and the presence of the other runners will help you along. The key will be
running a pace that is comfortable for you. Getting sucked into a faster pace will only make the
whole experience an exercise in survival. My advice would be to run at your 2 mile jogging pace (or
even an easier pace) and see how far it takes you. If you can't easily carry on a conversation with
the person next to you, slow down a bit.

Good luck, and report back.

Quoted message said:

you shouldn't discount the possibility that you MAY be able to run the entire

4 miles.

YOU CAN run the entire 4 miles. The very first time in my whole life that I went running I ran 7.5
miles on the track. Why? Nobody ever told me I couldn't.....(or shouldn't).

(TopCounsel) said:

YOU CAN run the entire 4 miles. The very first time in my whole life that I went running I ran 7.5
miles on the track. Why? Nobody ever told me I couldn't.....(or shouldn't).

*Smack* What's wrong with you? You can't run 7.5 miles on your first run. And besides that, you
shouldn't!

I'll bet you feel bad now, don't you?

"TopCounsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

YOU CAN run the entire 4 miles. The very first time in my whole life that

I

Quoted message said:

went running I ran 7.5 miles on the track. Why? Nobody ever told me I couldn't.....(or shouldn't).

That's remarkable - my first run involved a single 4:30 kilometre followed by an intense desire to
throw up. I had *just* quit smoking a day or two before, after years of it so maybe it had something
to do with it, haha.

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org

TopCounsel said:

Quoted message said:

I'll bet you feel bad now, don't you?

When I did feel bad was after that first 7.5 miles! Felt great all 30 laps (as I recall I quit
because it was getting dark?), but the next morning I could hardly walk. Took about 2 days as I
recall for the stiffness to subside significantly. On top of doing 30 laps cold, I had turned them
out pretty fast, too.

This sounds like the kind of stupidity you can get away with when you're a teen-ager. I recall my
cross-country coach making us do a 10 mile run for our first run of the season. I also recall a
spring when more than 50% of the long-distance runners were on crutches at the same time. We lived,
but more because we were young and lucky than any other reason.

Dally, looking back from 20+ years later

Fountainhead said:

(TopCounsel) said:

YOU CAN run the entire 4 miles. The very first time in my whole life that I went running I ran 7.5
miles on the track. Why? Nobody ever told me I couldn't.....(or shouldn't).

*Smack* What's wrong with you? You can't run 7.5 miles on your first run. And besides that, you
shouldn't!

I'll bet you feel bad now, don't you?

I'll bet he felt bad the day afterwards, too!

As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I'm really not planning to run the whole way. I'm fit for a
39 year old over-weight lady, but terribly unfit for a typical runner. I have lousy endurance and
that's going to be an issue on Saturday.

Dally

Quoted message said:

YOU CAN run the entire 4 miles. The very first time in my whole life that I went running I ran 7.5
miles on the track. Why? Nobody ever told me I couldn't.....(or shouldn't).

You are the lucky, naturally athletic exception. I remember a Phys Ed class in junior high (thats
around age 12) where the teacher tried to have the classes run a mile. I recall less than a quarter
of class about to do it, and many of those who did were very exhausted. I was in the unfit 3/4s.

The excitement of the race may help the poster do all four miles.