Post-race Advice from a Run Coach
Word on the street is that I scared a few of you with my last post. Whoops haha. So I'm back to offer advice on what I would advise to do differently than what I did. Because we're here to grow and learn.
My quick soap box before I do that though:
I wrote my last post knowing it didn't paint the most beautiful picture ever. But I refuse to hold a platform and pretend that life is perfect. Am I a run coach? Yes. Am I perfect? No. And honestly it wouldn't do anyone any good if I pretended to be.
I am Beautiful Mess Running for a reason. Life is messy, running is messy. And there is beauty in it. Was my 10k race day hard as heck? Yes. Was it also beautiful in many ways? Yes.
Okay, enough of my chatter.
The big question I was asked following my race day: What would you do different?
Again, I struggle with using this phrasing because I do think I did the best I could with what I had at the moment. However, things that would have made for a better day include:
Sleep
Heading into race day you want to be more recovered than you have been in your training. Your body has worked hard and your body is about to work VERY hard. Because of motherhood and other things going on I was not able to get the amount of sleep that I needed. I know that this is part of being a mother runner, part of being a realistic runner who has a whole messy and beautiful life. I could not continue to keep running in my life if I did not allow it to fit into the mold of the rest of my life. Do I have regrets over my sleep the week before the race? No. Would more sleep have made a big difference? Absolutely.
Nutrition
Race week is not the time to skimp on food. Not that there is ever a great time to skimp on food, but if there was a time to pay extra focus, this is it. Studies have shown again and again that increasing carbs prior to race day provides your body with the energy needed to not "bonk", "hit the wall", "fall apart" etc on race day. Prepping food ahead of time and having a nutrition plan in the days leading up to the race is so helpful. In the past I have gone into race week knowing that I needed more carbs, planning ahead enough to buy said carbs, and prepping things earlier in the week so that it was there and ready for me. Again, this is information I know so well. Why did I not do it? Because life is not as easy as that. I get that. I take this knowledge into my coaching, and that is how I approach my athletes. With the knowledge of both a coach and a messy human.
Hydration
Hydration means water and electrolytes. Everyone is a little different in the amount of salt they sweat, but everyone loses salt and water when running. Many factors affect how much hydration you may need on race day (such as weather and distance) but the bottom line is that our body requires these things to work. In a more focused and able place I would have increased my hydration with electrolytes more in the two days before the race and on race morning. I would have also had a better mid-race hydration plan.
Preparation
Preparation includes all of the items above. But for this paragraph I am speaking about day of race needs. One way to enter race day in the best mindset and with the least stress is to do as much ahead of time as you can. This includes picking your race outfit - down to underwear, socks, bra, hat, headband, etc at very minimum the day before (and all things that you have run in before). And then setting it all out so that you do not have to find anything the morning of the race. Race bib and pins should be set out as well. As should any warmer throw-away or take-off clothing that you will need to stay warm before the race starts. Day-of preparation includes having all of your hydration and fuel set out ahead of time - including water bottle, electrolytes, gels, breakfast, pre-start line fuel. To ensure good recovery this also includes hydration/fuel for the hour or so after the race. The next day-of plans to consider is timing. What time do you need to leave your house? Where will you park? How far is parking from the start line? How much time do you need to use the bathroom? My answer to this is that more is always better. Were I to do this particular day over again, I would have made it to the parking lot earlier and used the bathroom earlier in order to be less stressed in the 15minutes prior to start.
Expectations
When I initially signed up for the 10k the question wasn't whether or not I could run it, the question was how fast. I started adding speedwork into my running in the past year and wanted to see what would happen if I focused a bit more on speed. I was also excited about the idea of less milage/week because lots of miles is challenging to fit into my life right now. As the weeks went, I realized I was not meeting my training plans. I just did not have the time or energy for what was needed to meet those initial plans. And I was okay with that. I knew I had a lot of other things on my plate. I knew that this wasn't an A goal for me in running. The problem came when I hit the start line. Well, maybe before that. The problem came in the fact that I am super stubborn and self competitive and no matter how many times I tell myself a race is just for fun, I always secretly want to attack it. Would race day have been "easier" had I not gone all out? Sure. Am I mad that I didn't go easy on myself? No. Setting my mind more tangibly on the idea of running the race for fun might have been a nicer way to go about it. It's good to know your limits, to know what you are working with, and to be proud of where you are in this moment. Because as the saying goes, if you only have 30% to give, and you give 30%... well then you are giving 100%.
So, the next question is:
What would I Not do differently?
This answer is not quite as tangible. The bottom line is that I don't have true regrets about this day. Do I wish that I had done more of the above things in order to feel better? Sure. But I know that I did what I could with what I had. So in that sense, I feel settled. I would NOT sit down after this race and berate myself for all the things I could have done better. I would NOT look back at this day and think, man what if. I would NOT change the fact that I lined up and ran the best I could. I would NOT judge myself for anything that did or did not happen.
So, I hope this was helpful and gave a better look at what did and did not happen and why.
And I hope you take this as a reason to go for your goals no matter what, not as a reason to shrink away from the hard because of the fact that it is hard.
Confused about which previous post I am referring to? Check it out here
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