Coaching Tips for Race Day

Good planning includes not just good training, but putting all the pieces in place: physical, mental, nutrition, hydration and equipment.  In the last 2 weeks before your event, try not to introduce anything new to your training or your diet or even lifestyle.  To help you prepare for race day, review the following commonly asked questions for the last-minute advice you will need for a great half-marathon experience! 

How do I mentally prepare myself for my event? 

During your last few workouts, visualize yourself on race day, at the start, feeling confident and strong.  Think about how you will choose your combinations of 10, 15, 20, 30-minute stints of running followed with 1 minute of walking.  OR how you will run steady and controlled without stopping except perhaps to take water. You’ve done this routine many times before, so it will come naturally on race day.  Don’t forget imagining your exhilaration as you cross the finish line, with your arms in the air and a smile on your face!

How can I feel more confident for race day?

Review all you’ve recorded in your planner or logbook and reflect upon your experience over the past 9 weeks, and all that you have learned and accomplished over the course of your training program.  You’ve had many weeks and months of preparation, physical and mental, significant lifestyle changes and adjusted to the tremendous demands on your body.  In truth, you already know how it is going to feel on race day. And, familiarity is a huge part of making your dream a reality. You’ve established personal patterns that have worked to get you through all the workouts, including learning-to-run, and completing all of your peak mileage sessions.  Remind yourself  “if you were able to do it [complete all of your long runs] before your event day, then you can also do it on event day.”

Lynn Kanuka

Lynn Kanuka is SportMedBC’s RunWalk Coach. Lynn is perhaps best known for her 3,000 metre bronze medal win at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Lynn’s passion for over 20 years has been to inspire people of all ages and ability levels through physical fitness; to take steps toward better health, achieve personal goals, and be active and happy.