Whether you are aiming for your personal best or you just want to cruise through the course with easy comfortable pace enjoying the cheer; its absolutely normal to have a strange feeling of confusion + excietment before the race day.
Here are few tips you can use and are very beneficial while you taper down your training and will help you reaching to your start line with confidence.
1) Make a checklist 2 days in advance for race day, What all you need on that day just like a timed algorithm from getting up to reaching the finish line. Winning starts with good planning.
2) Don't do too many strenuous workouts in last week, keep it easy and relax don't push yourself too hard. Your aerobic base will not change in one week neither your pace will shoot up through the roof in one week. Take it easy and focus on recovery, sleep & nutrition; these things will help you more than just clocking useless miles or lifting heavy weights in the gym.
3. Never try something totally new whether its a diet, workout regimen, supplement or hydration drink in last week of your race. You never know how it will go with your taper and can effect on your performance on race day. Tapering is an art that takes many attempts to master. One should always jot down what has worked for them in past and what ended up in a mess.
4. Keep your self well hydrated all the time whether training or not. Make sure your urine colour is absolutely clear or just pale yellow.
5. Avoid meals with high fat content and spicy foods one or two days before the race. It just slows you down on race day. Focus on your basic nutrition needs with fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and grains which can give you sustained energy through the race. Don't miss out on your vitamins, supplements ans medications if you take any.
6. Spend quality time with your self sleeping. Thats one key factor that can be a decider for your performance on race day. Well rested athletes perform much better than over trained and over fed athletes. For your race week 8-10hr of sleep is the golden lining on all the hard work you have been putting in through several months.
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