Dirty Girl

Race Day is Almost Here!

Author: Tracey Gessner

For my last post I want to touch on a little thing I like to call Pre-Race Rituals.  I wrote earlier about “lastmintueoutfitpanic” (another kind of “ritual”) but now I’m talking about happens post-panic. You know, the night before the race after you’ve gone through all your possible costume changes and settled on what you will dirty up the next morning. The last thing you want is to scrambling around at dawn on the day of the race looking for a rogue sock or a missing water bottle. So here’s what I do:

Lay out your outfit. Every piece, down to your socks, shoes and skivvies. It feels a little bit like the first day of school, but you really want to have every clothing item at your fingertips when the alarm goes off.  Don’t forget to set out the little extras like sunglasses, sunscreen, hair ties and bobby pins. No digging around for stray items in a sleepy stupor this morning!

Pack a post-race bag or backpack. You’ll probably want a change of clothes and a towel for after the finish. Also your phone, a bit of cash, and any snacks you might want to nosh on while you’re waiting before the start. Be efficient! Leave all the extra junk you usually tote around in our purse and stick with what you will want to carry around THIS day.

Nourishment. First of course is water! If you’re really good, you’ve been drinking water throughout the day. But remember to fill a bottle and put it in the fridge to bring with you for the ride out Johnson Creek in the morning. Also, make sure you have something for breakfast. I absolutely have to have a bagel and cream cheese on race day and will run out to the store the night before to get it if we’re out. So make sure you’re stocked with whatever is your favorite breakfast food. Don’t try anything crazy and new the morning of a race like an  greasy omelet with bacon unless that’s what you’ve been having before your workouts all along!

This may all sound like common sense, but it really does feel good to go to sleep knowing that everything is carefully planned out and taken care of when you wake. It may be a bit hard to go to sleep the night before the race if you’re nervous or excited so the fewer things you have to worry out getting ready in the morning the better.  And while we’re on the subject, don’t freak out if you have a hard time getting to sleep or if you keep waking up the night before.  As long as your in bed resting, you’re getting some of the benefit.  Plus, you’ll be full of adrenaline at the starting line so that should make up the gap.

I can’t believe the race is tomorrow! Good luck to all you lades.

August 19th, 2011