Seven tips for beginners for surviving your first race

So you did it – you just signed up for your first race. Congratulations! Training for and completing your first race is one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding processes. There is nothing like trying something new and finishing it on a high.

But now that you’ve signed up, how do you prepare for your first race?

Training for your first race involves so much more than actually running. You’ll need to avoid to injuries, plan a mental strategy, incorporate recovery, learn time management, and adapt your training for your specific race.

Whether you’ve signed up to run a 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon, or anything in between, the journey has only just begun. By the time race week arrives you’ll likely be full of nerves, excitement, questions and uncertainty – but it’ll all be worth it.

Here are 7 crucial times for your first race.

Everything you need to know for running a race, getting ready, and arriving feeling confident on race day.

1.- Don’t skimp out on training.

While it’s tempting to assume that the energy on race day will be enough to push you through those miles, skimping out on training certainly won’t set you up for an enjoyable run.

If you’ve signed up for your very first race – congratulations! Now is the time to put in the hard work, venture outside your comfort zone, and really prepare for race day. While the crowds and atmosphere certainly give you an extra boost on the big day, they can’t help your body complete a distance it’s not prepared for.

Stay motivated during training and remind yourself why you chose this goal to begin with. Sure, it’s going to be hard. Many moments will feel downright uncomfortable. But how will you know what you’re capable of if you only give it half your effort? Take the time to train before your race to set yourself up for a successful, enjoyable race day.

2.- Practice fueling and drinking ahead of time.

If you’re running a 5k or even 10k, you likely won’t need much fuel along the way. But if your first race is a half marathon or marathon – there’s no getting around the fact that you’ll need to fuel and hydrate on the run.

3.- Pick up your gear the day before.

The events that take place during your first race week are exciting, nerve wracking and stressful, all at the same time. There’s no need to add to the stress by rushing around on race morning trying to pick up your bib and find a place for that tshirt they just handed you.

4.- Get all your things out the night before.

Unless you’re running a themed race, you’re probably going to have to wake up early on race day. Waking up earlier than you ever have before may leave you questioning your sanity when you chose to sign up for the race.

5.- Assume that sleep will be tough.

Heading to bed knowing that you’ll be waking up before the sun means that you’ll feel more motivated than ever to get your best night’s sleep. But unfortunately, this hardly ever happens.

Between the nerves, excitement and uncertainties as you mentally prepare for your first race, you’ll likely find yourself tossing and turning throughout the night.

Accept the fact that you’ll probably not get the best sleep the night before your race, which will take some pressure off and help you relax when you find yourself wide awake at 2 am. The most important night of sleep before a race is actually two nights before, so make a point of hitting the hay early during race week and you’ll be all set for race day – even if you missed a few z’s the night before.

6.- Line up behind your pace group.

When you’ve been training at a specific pace or have a lofty goal in mind, it’s tempting to line up just a bit ahead of your goal pace to ensure you don’t fall behind.

However, lining up ahead of the pace for which you’ve trained usually means that people will be passing you left and right at the start of the race. You’ll be lined up with a group of runners that plan to run faster than you, which can feel awfully intimidating before your first race.

7.- Don’t go out too fast.

There is hardly anything that compares to the excitement on race day, whether it’s your first race or your fiftieth. But especially if it’s your first race, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement and start out much faster than you had planned.

Make a point to hold yourself back in the beginning, running slightly slower than your goal pace. It will be tough not to get caught up in the excitement, but starting out too fast usually means that you’ll pay for it by struggling near the end.

Once you’ve gotten into a groove and are a few miles into the race, you’ll be able to pick up the pace and really give it your all without having burned yourself out in the beginning.

posted Wednesday May 4th