Get in Gear is THIS Saturday, April 25th! The 10K and Half Marathon begin at 9am and the 5K begins at 9:20am. Do not be confused, these are new start times posted on the GIG website. The MDRA book has the old start times.
I would like to first address the specifics and then address pre-race strategy and things to think about for all phases of the race.
Packet Pickup– Friday from Noon-8pm at the Minnehaha Pavilion, you can pick up for other people OR race day morning starting at 7am. They are highly encouraging you to pick up your packets Friday. Please try to make this work as it is SOOO much easier on race day morning if that is one less thing you have to worry about. You will receive a race bag and shirt. If you get it race day morning you have to head back to your car and then back, lots of unnecessary running around before the race! Go to the website for Get in Gear to get directions and more information.
Team Meeting Location– We will meet at 8:30am at the Dairy Queen on Minnehaha Ave. and the roundabout, 4740 Minnehaha Ave., this is the same one we have met at for our runs lately. We will have 30 minutes to get some group photos and hit the bathrooms and get to the start. 5K runners, I realize this is a bit early for you but I would argue it is better to be early than late! You will have plenty of chances to get in line for the port-a-potties! I should also add, you do not have to meet the team, you are not being held down at gunpoint! I hope you do but if you do not want to, please don’t think twice about it and let me say now, good luck!!!!
Parking – visit the GIG website to read about their recommendations. Since we are meeting at the DQ I would say try to find a spot along Minnehaha Ave. I sometimes have parked down by the Minnehaha Coffee spot. If you plan on 8:15am to get to the park to start looking for parking I can not imagine you will have problems.
Bag Drop – There is a bag drop at the pavilion which is nice in case you have layers and do not want to tie things around your waist. You can use your race bag or bring another bag. They will tag your bag for you based on your race number. I think you may need to plan on this service as it could be raining a bit Saturday morning and it may be slightly chilly. You want to dress in layers and peel them off before the race.
Race Strategies
Pre-Race (the day before) – take the day off of running, maybe an easy walk at the most and be good about stretching your legs through out the day. Eat smart fat conscious foods all day and eat a higher carbmeal on Friday night. Just be smart, no candy bars, ice cream, simple sugar crap basically! Do not try anything new for dinner, that is a big NO! Hydrate well throughout the day and evening. Lay out your race clothes, think through what you would wear if it were raining. I would highly recommend a baseball hat if that is the case and the rain will not hit your face with the cap. Lay it all out the night before and also pick out your post race clothing so you can change, especially if it is raining. There is nothing worse than sitting in wet clothes all the way home. You will be so cold and could get sick!
Plan your driving route and where you hope to park. Plan on your departure time and stick to it!
Pre-race (the morning of) – eat a normal Saturday breakfast before a run, you should be used to this! Nothing new. Drink a full glass of water 2 hours prior and then sip water from then on. Go to the bathroom before you leave home. You should have everything ready as you laid it out the night before so get on the road at your predetermined time and sip water on your way. Meet the group at 8:30am. Not a bad idea to slowly jog around, shake your legs out, perform dynamic stretches, stay loose! We will walk over as a group to the bathrooms and bag drop.
Lining up for the race and the start – line up in your appropriate area meaning if you are a 10 minute pace you may want to be mid pack or behind mid pack, if you plan on walking a lot of it, start in the back of the pack, if you plan on sprinting the whole way you line up in front! It is better, in my opinion, to line up closer to the back and start slow and pass people during the race instead of lining up toward the front and being passed left and right!
During the race– please start conservatively! Resist the urge to go out like a cheetah with everyone else! If you feel like the pace is too fast, slow down ok! This is hard to do, I struggle with it but it is necessary if you want to have a strong second half of the race! I like to coach on Negative Splits meaning you run the second half of the race faster than the first half. I believe strongly this is smart racing! The first mile is usually a warm up mile and the next mile or so (for the 10K or half) is a test to really get a feel for how you are doing that day. I believe you know in those first few miles how it will play out that day, you either have it or you don’t! For the 5K you do not have as much time so it is important to warm up a bit before the race. Use that first mile to gauge then go if you think you are going to have a great race that day and hold back a little bit longer if you are not sure. The overall plan is to conserve early so you are strong at the end! Also, stop at the water stops! Do not pass them up especially if you are a new runner. Take it even if you do not think you need it. Take a few sips. Running is funny, you can be feeling well one minute and the next feeling terrible. You need to be proactive in running and plan for things that may happen in the next mile. One of those common problems is dehydration so plan to drink early to stave that off. Stop and walk through the water stops too so you can get the water actually in your mouth!
After the race– Celebrate you are done and you accomplished a great goal!! Walk around until your heart rate comes down. Get food and get warm clothes and STRETCH out! Try to do this before getting into your car to drive home. At least stretch your calves, hamstrings, quads, piriformis, inner thighs, and IT bands. We do not have a meeting place after the race. It is really hard that is why we try to get photos beforehand. I hope to run into you after the race but if not, I will be excited to hear all about it so please email me. You now deserve ice cream too!!!
Have a great race ladies! I will be out on the course cheering you all on and trying hard to take a few photos of you in action! I will post everything I have later on Saturday. Most of all, have fun and enjoy your freedom out there on the course! We are so lucky to have such a beautiful riverfront to run on!