Pre-marathon advice?
October 19, 2007 4:36 PM   Subscribe

RunningFilter: Half Marathon on Sunday. How should I spend Saturday?
posted by I_Love_Bananas to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Don't eat dairy. Drink a lot of water. Pasta for dinner, but not too much. Maybe go for a walk, maybe do some yoga and stretching, but don't push it and don't go running.

And set out everything you need in the morning: race number, energy gels, breakfast (bananas are good).
posted by adiabat at 4:40 PM on October 19, 2007


get plenty of rest, train lightly. this is the point where I always point people to the runnersworld forum. much knowledge there. (no affiliation, I just like the site.)

good luck.
posted by krautland at 4:41 PM on October 19, 2007


adiabat: why no dairy?
posted by krautland at 4:42 PM on October 19, 2007


Stretching.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:10 PM on October 19, 2007


krautland: Because running can be really hard on your digestive system, what with all the jostling, and ten miles into a race is not the time to find out that your digestive system is about to get really, really unhappy.

I had some mild discomfort on long runs (especially when racing), and cutting out dairy for 24 hours in advance seemed to fix it for me. (I am not, to my knowledge, lactose intolerant.) At the very least, it's not going to do any harm to cut dairy out for one day, and it was worth it to me not to toy with one of my bigger fears about long races.

Here's a link with related advice. Which reminds me, I_Love_Bananas, the importance of a bit of strategically-placed Vaseline cannot be underestimated.
posted by adiabat at 5:18 PM on October 19, 2007


After helping run a few local Marathons, I second adiabat's mention of the Vaseline. You can't imagine my horror when I saw the first runner with raw bit marks on their shirt.
posted by SirStan at 7:29 PM on October 19, 2007


I put bandages over my nips, I prefer it to vaseline.

Take it easy and sip lots of water. If you drink it by the glass full, you'll end up peeing most of it out immediately.
posted by advicepig at 8:23 PM on October 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


I had a very good cross-country coach in high school and he always had us do a light run the day before meets. Jog a light 5 k, by no means over-exert yourself.

There were always rumors among us that you should avoid dairy, but back then the rationale was that it would contribute to lactic acid build-up in your muscles. I have no idea if this is true. We ate several plates of pasta the night before.
posted by creasy boy at 2:36 AM on October 20, 2007


I am a fan of adding some protein and fat to your pre-race dinner, and there have recently been articles in Runner's World and Trail Runner saying much the same thing. So if you love meatballs with your spaghetti, I say go ahead and have some. (My pre-race dinner of choice is pizza, but perhaps you are wiser than I?)
posted by Bella Sebastian at 1:31 PM on October 20, 2007


Just chill out, try and drink plenty of water, but don't get neurotic about it. Maybe go out for a walk or something....

You've done all your hard work already, just relax and enjoy yourself.
posted by ph00dz at 5:49 PM on October 20, 2007


Response by poster: Thanks to all. I am already huge fan of Body Glide and plan to use it liberally. I believe in the no dairy rule and ended up with probably an 80/20 carb to protein ratio for the day.

It looks like we'll have perfect weather, so no Chicago Marathon debacles. Off to bed!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:53 PM on October 20, 2007


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