A couple of weeks ago, our famous sherpa wife Lindsay over at CotterCrunch.com posted about “race week.” It was about how the week of a race is filled with so much hope and opportunities to take advantage of being given another “chance” to give it “ALL we’ve got.”
For me, the timing was perfect. I had never really thought much about race week and what it meant, or how I viewed it, but as I was reading it, I thought “Yep. That’s it.” Lindsay’s post was from a different perspective as her hubby was the one doing the racing, but if you are in a household with an endurance athlete, it pretty much consumes the entire household. There is more to be said about the significant other’s of endurance athletes and the role they play, but I’ll save that for another post. Spoiler alert: they freaking rock for putting up with us. We be crazy.
Back to race week.
During the week it is pretty much a count down to race day. Your training is done and all that remains is a couple small shake-out runs to make sure you remember how to do it and to prevent you from going crazy. You’ll go over your race day plan again and again. You’ll even make some changes as you start to get more and more excited as the day get’s closer. You are optimistic. You are hopeful. It’s as if anything is possible and you are being given the CHANCE to prove it.
Anxious.
Excited.
Hopeful.
Nervous.
You are going to run the spectrum of emotions and as the day gets closer they may get more intense. Whether it is your first race, or your 20th race, race week is always an exciting time. Hope is in the air and you are left to trust in your training. You’ve done all the miles, were good about your recovery and just want to get out there and race… too bad it’s 7 days away.
How do you handle race week?
Advertisement:
You pretty much described it exactly – nervous, excited, anxious, hopeful. I try to distract myself with other activities but nothing too strenuous. Gotta keep the legs fresh for the big day after all!
It’s true, I get a bit stir-crazy during race week, too. I try to do other things with my time to keep me busy.
those are signs of a good race! Need a sherpa?
My very first marathon race week starts next week! I’m not going to lie I’m already feeling the pre-race excitement and I’m sure it’s going to get more intense as the big day approaches. Best wishes for a FANTASTIC race!
I focus on recovery and preparation for the big day!
I remind myself that it’s for FUn! :)
You hit the nail on the head! I run the gamut of emotions…no matter how long you’ve been racing, those emotions are always there. IF they’re not, then it might be time to take a step back, ha ha. I try to take it easy during race week but that never seems to happen. Work always seems to get crazy just before a big event and my stress levels usually go through the roof. Perhaps that’s a good thing – it keeps me from stressing / worrying / obsessing about the race, ha ha.
I can definitely tie myself in emotional knots during race week. I do my best to get plenty of rest and try to keep myself distracted with other activities.
I’m in race week mode now too. Goal marathon is this coming Sunday, definitely makes things a little crazy for me. Lots of emotions (ups AND downs), anxious (sometimes good sometimes bad)… it all depends on the moment with me. Right now I am just ready for the weekend to be here. This week I will keep myself as occupied as I can to distract me…and do a ton of planning for the weekend (I’m a nerd, to do lists, packing lists and things like that calm me down… weird I know).
wow perfect timing with this post! I have a 10K this weekend and already have butterflies in my stomach. I’m excited and hopefully that I do better than my last 10K, but at the same time nervous because its suppose to be a training race for the bigger picture race – my first 13.1 in 20 days! So after this weekend, all I have ahead is the big one – and that makes me nervous.
Great topic for me this week as well! I am running the Mt. Diablo 50K trail run this weekend. This past weekend I really cut my long run mileage in almost half. I still plan on running three early morning runs this week (about 7 miles each). I won’t cut back those usual distances too much, but I will slow down and really be cautious and take it easy. I won’t do anything reckless (like lunchtime soccer at work this week either)! No run on Friday, the day before the race.
As far as nutrition wise, I will try not to eat too much crap and then start carb loading Thursday with lots of chicken and pasta and veggies. I try to keep it all balanced and will try not too eat candy or ice cream. The halloween candy is already showing up at work!
Mentally, I am checking out the course and its distance, topography, etc. and I have compared it to some other runs I have recently done to get an idea of where I will stand. Not really sure where I am going to end up since this is my first 50K. I have gone the distance so I am confident in my ability to finish. A little apprehensive because it is supposed to be pretty hot Saturday! Also I need to print out the directions, I have never been there before lol
Its a special feeling you get during the week leading up to a race, for me it’s excitement, nervousness, and giddiness too. It sort of takes me back to when I was a kid and I had a big game coming up and the all the feelings around that
Love this.
I talk to friends & family. Calm me every time.
I know you are going to rock! Not Running Alone! Sending you sprinkles, sparkles, love, and amazing-ness from Canada! LOVE YOU FRIEND!
Race week for me is really no different than most weeks. We are so crazy and busy at our house that sometimes I almost can forget that the day is upon me. However, I try to eat really well, better than I usually do. I also make sure to follow my training plan very closely. I want to keep my legs fresh and not wear them out too much. If I have a run in the middle of a longer training then I use that week as I would any other training. I do get a little anxious the day before but I really get more excited!
You pretty much said what I feel before race day! Most helpful advice I got – trust my training! :)
Race week is pretty amazing – so much excitement and anticipation and hope and possibility. Maybe a little fear. You’re going to do great! You’ve got this!