Well done to everybody, it’s week 10. You’ve made it through the hard training and now are well prepared for the big 10k run. Completing the training itself is a massive achievement and the run itself is the icing on the cake.
These are the final set of tips and you are all geared towards your race this weekend.
1) Sleep. Ensure this week that you are getting 8 hours. It will stand to you come the weekend. Your energy levels will be on full and you’ll be ready for action.
2) Short runs. This week don’t do anything over 4km this week. 2 runs is plenty to keep our legs ticking over.
3) Nutrition. We have spent a lot of time discussing different aspects of nutrition. For this week let’s talk race specific, add in some carbohydrates in your last 2-3 days particularly 2 days before your race. More oats, white rice and pasta as opposed to your normal high fibre carbs, fruits and vegetables.
A decrease in fibre will help coming up to race day but then increase fibre thereafter.
Hydration is key 2-3 days before but be careful not to drink too much in the hours leading up to the race. Stick to about 200ml of water every half hour about 2 hours before the race.
4) Stick to your routine. Don’t do anything in the final week out of the ordinary. This can often backfire and have an effect on your mindset on race day. For example, a common mistake many people make is to have a bath the night before a run having never done this before and find the muscles feel stiff the next day. What you’ve been doing has worked so far, don’t change now!
5) Add in some extra stretching two days before. This again will just ensure fresh legs and help keep any niggles you may have had coming up to the big day at ease. Also stretching is a great way to relax the body and focus on the task ahead.
6) Enjoy! This is the most important part whether you’re an experienced runner or beginner. You’ve trained hard and running for such a cause is tremendous. Don’t put massive pressure on yourself, if you’re relaxed and g out with the intention to just enjoy the run, a great finish time will await!
Good luck on the day and be sure to tweet @MarieKeating with your times!!!
