Relaxing Weekend and Race Morning Routine

Happy Sunday! It was so nice to gain an extra hour this morning, despite the fact that it will start to get dark at 4:30PM where I live! Hope you all had a fun Halloween yesterday- we sure did! We ended up dressing as a tree and a treehugger. As the treehugger, I sported a comfy flannel, whereas Mark was covered with leaves. I think I got the better deal :)

My Halloween started off by sleeping in (it’s been awhile!), and then my sister came over to visit before heading out on a long run. She is training for the Philadelphia Marathon, and yesterday’s 20 miler was her last before taper. My sister often comes in to the city from the suburbs so she can join other runners or enjoy her favorite running paths in Boston!

I also went out for an nice 7.5 mile run, first run since last weekend’s marathon! It was a perfect fall day outside. I wore my new favorite running shorts, favorite long sleeve, and compression socks. It was the best weather for running!

I wanted to completely recover before I jumped back into my running routine. As I was getting ready to head out the door, I thought about my typical pre-race routine.

My typical routine on the morning of race:

Wake up EARLY with plenty of time to stretch, eat and wake up before you head out the door
Take a quick hot shower to warm up the muscles
Foam roll routine
Stretch routine, with dynamic stretching
Apply body glide to most areas of the body
Eat my banana-bagel breakfast, sometimes with a honey stinger
Drink one cup of coffee and a lot of water. If you are a coffee-before-race drinker like we are, check if your hotel has a coffee machine. If not, buy cups of coffee the evening before (Starbucks usually isn’t open at the early hour of the race, especially if it’s on a Sunday!). It may be cold, but cold coffee is better than no coffee before a race! You want to stop drinking fluids about an hour prior to the race, otherwise you will have to use a port-a-potty along the course. Now is the time to drink!
Put on my throw-away, make sure I have all my gadgets (ipod, phone, garmin), and head OUT!