Is the race coming up this weekend? Congratulations on the preparation you have done so far! Everything may not have gone as planned, or on the contrary, you may have managed to scrupulously follow your training plan. Everyone approaches competition differently, some may be stressed while others will be more relaxed. Let’s go over the keys to the race week together.
We will assume that your race takes place on Sunday, but nothing prevents you from adjusting if your race is on another day.
Contents
A week to finalize race details
7 days before the race, to minimize stress before the race, you should already have:
- The race details: course, refreshments, split times, start time, and starting corral.
- Your outfit and gear for the race, with possible adjustments in the last 2 days depending on the weather forecast.
- Logistics: how you get to the start, where you stay, where you have breakfast…
- Nutrition for the race: knowing if you will take gels or bars with you, and what hydration.
Finally, it is best to pack your bag and prepare your things the night before at the latest! Nothing worse than doing it the same morning and forgetting something!
What to do in training the last week before a race?
Some want to reassure themselves with one last fast session, or sometimes make up for potential training delays. This is by far the biggest mistake we see in pelotons! Not only would it not make you progress, but worse, you have every chance of tiring yourself beyond reason.
Reduce your training load
The training week should be very light to arrive with maximum physical and mental freshness. If you feel a bit tired, you can even do very light training in the last 10 days. This tapering period no longer allows you to develop your physical abilities, it aims to maintain them and arrive at the top of your form to achieve the goals you have set, whether it is finishing the marathon under 3 hours, or in 4h30 for example.
The last week, the sessions are limited to a maximum of 1 hour. On Wednesday or Thursday, it is recommended to do one last session at race pace, to memorize the sensations and paces for the Sunday race one last time.
Thus, if you are doing a half marathon, you can do 20 minutes of warm-up, then run 2km at the pace of the Sunday race, and finish with 5 minutes easy.
For a marathon, it can also be 20 minutes of warm-up then 2 to 3km at marathon pace. Try to be as relaxed as possible and find the right rhythm, the one you will have on Sunday.
Friday is often the time to take a rest day.
The day before the race
The day before, you can do 25 minutes easy, then finish with 4 strides of 15 seconds each, done just a bit faster than the pace of the next day’s race. This allows you to loosen up, especially if you had a long trip on Friday to get to the competition site.
Ideally, the pre-race jog is done in the morning to leave at least 20 hours before the race. If you don’t have time or prefer to rest, that’s fine too!
If in these last 10 days, the sensations are not good or the heart rate is higher, it does not matter, just do easy runs. The worst would be to do too much this last week.
And what about nutrition for the race week?
For races over 20km, carbohydrate loading is recommended to arrive with optimized glycogen stores. You will find in this article all our recommendations for race week nutrition.
During this last week, avoid excesses and do not change your eating habits too much to avoid disturbing your body. If you are far from home and have to eat in restaurants, choose simple, spice-free, and easy-to-digest dishes.
The mindset for this last tapering week
Be as positive as possible this last week, and if stress is felt, nothing better than breathing exercises, sophrology, or a few minutes of yoga! You can find these exercises in the Mental Preparation module in your RunMotion Coach app.
This race is an opportunity to have a great experience, make the most of it! We just have to wish you a great race!
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