WHY DO YOU RUN?
If you recently signed up for a 5k, you may or may not be entirely sure why you signed up for the race.
Understanding why you chose to run can help motivate you on days you don’t want to and give you direction for your training. I challenge you to answer these questions honestly about why you are choosing to put yourself through this challenge. Get out a notebook or jot these answers down in your notes app to see why you’re really in the race.
What am I hoping to get out of the race?
When I complete the race, would make me feel successful? What would make me feel unsuccessful?
What is my favorite run I’ve done so far? How can I make it more common that I get more of these runs?
How important is it to me that I achieve my race goal compared to everything else I have going on in life? (can use a scale of 0-10 and describe why you chose that number)
If I have a week where I get extremely busy, I will modify my training by…
What are some obstacles I am expecting in my training (examples might be warm or rainy weather, lack of time, fatigue)? How do I want to show up to face them?
Racing Strategy
One of the best things you can do to prepare for a race is to plan ahead! Here are some quick tips to plan for the best first race:
Check out the race website to see if refuel stations are offered. If you know you will get water every two miles, try going for your next run and grabbing water every two miles to see if you need to grab an extra water bottle to carry on race day.
Take a look at the course map on the race website to see how the elevation is disbursed. If you notice a big hill halfway through the race, it’s a good idea to try and add more elevation to your runs.
Have some podcast or playlist options lined up so you can enjoy the race day.
Set out your race day outfit so you can wake up and go.
After planning everything out for race day, when you finally get to the morning, try to relax and enjoy the day. You’ve worked so hard for this!!