Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
I'm not a superstitious person. Although I am wearing green today.
I'd love to come up with a magic lucky charm that I could believe in!
This is so silly now, but for a while I actually tried patting the bobble-headed top of my first masters trophy before I left home for a race. Nah, she didn't work. Drats.
I wear shoe charms too, but it never even occurred to me to think of them as lucky (duh). I just thought they were incredibly cute.
There are a few rituals that I do believe produce a better performance, at least for me:
Although I hydrate for several days, I limit my intake of liquid on race mornings. When I wake, I drink 8-10 ounces of water. That's it. I learned too much liquid causes stomach sloshing which leads to a shoulder stitch {or to keep it real -- a horrible need to burp and can't}. I even do without my beloved cup of coffee!
I do eat but it's two hours before the event. The shorter the distance, the smaller the breakfast. To me, 5ks are very painful from the first step to the last. I don't want to toss my cookies so I usually just eat a little yogurt. For a half marathon, I'll eat a small banana and oatmeal or maybe a breakfast bar.
I make sure my clothes are comfortable and have gone the distance prior to race day. Yes, I've gone with "new and cute" and paid the price. You'll often see me in the same bottom layer. It all boils down to two things...good pockets and no lady chafing.
What works for you?
Please visit our wonderful hosts:
Ericka @ MCM Mama Runs,
April @ Run the great wide somewhere
Patty @ My no-guilt life!
You race a lot, so I was really interested to read your race day rituals! I have a good luck charm...and it has been very lucky for me.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, I've got nothing really. LOL.
DeleteI don't think I could go without coffee race morning. That's the thing that gets me going. -L
ReplyDeleteI've tried many times, and I just can't. You should see how much of it I drink afterwards!
DeleteThat's funny. I wore a shoe charm for my last half that said "Believe." I never thought of it as lucky but I PRed so maybe it was.
ReplyDeleteIt never occurred to me to think of them as lucky. HA.
DeleteI also do the same with hydrating, lots the few days prior to race day and then I limit myself race morning. I still have to figure out what to do with my late marathon start next month. 11:15 am will be tough to figure out since I probably need more than just a cup of water.
ReplyDeleteOooh. That would be hard to figure out. Maybe some type of tapered fluid intake?
DeleteThat is a pretty cute shoe charm
ReplyDeleteI bought my charms at an expo from Shoe Frosting. Very blingy.
DeleteI've always wanted a shoe charm....
ReplyDeleteI found mine at an expo from Shoe Frosting.
DeleteI don't really have any rituals or superstitions, either, other than making sure I am well hydrated and that I've tested my running clothes out in advance. Lady chafing is the worst!!! Recently I've started trying to pick out a cute race outfit so that I feel better even when physically I am dying on the course. Hey, every little bit helps, right?!?!?
ReplyDeleteIt only takes once to learn about lady chafing. HA. I like bright colored running attire. I've noticed a trend lately to darker, muted colors. My clothes probably tell my age!
DeleteI've been experimenting with finding out what works for me to eat the days before and day of a race (I'm using long training runs as a test). I also eat two hours before I run and that works well.
ReplyDeleteIt does take quite a bit of trial and error to figure it out. Everybody is different. I see a lot racers eating and drinking at the start line. I could never do that.
DeleteI may need to get some shoe charms and see if they're lucky! I've made the mistake of over-hydrating before a race and really regretted it! I can eat before a race but just something really small like 1/2 a banana or 1/2 a protein bar... Thanks for linking up with us today!
ReplyDeleteThey'll add some bling, if nothing else. I think if you've hydrated well, you don't need a lot of liquid on race morning.
DeleteI agree with your race-day tips, too. I made the mistake of wearing a new running skirt for a half-marathon. I bought it at the expo the day before the race and had never ever worn a running skirt before. Stupid, right? I also chafed for the first time in my life. Lesson learned!
ReplyDeleteYes, it only takes one time to learn that lesson! I stick with what I know will work.
DeleteI only have 3 pairs of underwear that I wear if I'm running 10 or more miles. Sadly they are wearing out and I haven't found others that never chafe...
ReplyDeleteI get that. I think I'm down to 2 pair now. I only wear them for halves so I hope they'll last a little while longer.
DeleteIts always good to stick with clothes that you're very comfortable with on race day. You definitely don't want any unexpected problems!
ReplyDeleteYou would be surprised how many running friends will go buy something on Friday for a Saturday race. Brave!
DeleteThat's a cool bobble-head trophy! That's too bad the patting on its head didn't work, lol. I've been eating a bagel and a Mamma Chia squeeze pouch at least two hours before my half marathon races. That seems to work for me. I also don't wear anything new on race day usually.
ReplyDeleteOh I go with no chaffing over running fashion any day! A few years ago when I was running a marathon every week or every other week for a year. I seriously wore the same outfit almost all the time, same shorts every time, I had 1-3 shirts I switched between. They were just perfect for me, and it only bothered me for a second that all my race pictures looked like the race before, LOL
ReplyDeleteLoving the bobble head trophy by the way, that is awesome!!!!!
If you've ever had that problem, you make sure never to repeat it. I have the same bottoms on in every cool race pic. I have the same no-chafing skirts in different colors for summer so I get more variety. I was so proud of that bobble head when I won it a few years back. But, she didn't work as a good luck charm.
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