5 Tips for Managing Your Race Week

You’ve followed the plan and you’ve done the training. As the days tick down towards your race - whatever the distance - what are the key things you should focus on? Run coach Nick Bester shares his tips.

When it comes to race week, the hard work is done. But to make sure that you perform at your best, you want to get these last few days right. If you do, you will give yourself the best chance of hitting your goals - whether they are hitting a PR or simply finishing the course.

Here are 5 things I always focus on in race week:

1. Get good sleep

Sleep is when your body truly recovers. Aim to get an extra hour of sleep in race week. Instead of the usual 7-8 hours, you’re looking for 8-9 hours. You’re not always going to sleep for that long, but it’s all about giving yourself the chance to do so. Even if you bank 7.5 hours, but you lay in bed for 8.5 hours, you’ve given yourself that extra recovery time. Often, the night before the race, you don’t sleep well because you have that pre-race adrenaline with different scenarios running through your head. If you find this happening to you, don’t worry, it happens to all of us. Embrace it rather than letting it stress you out.

RELATED: The Role of Sleep in Athletic Recovery

2. Reduce the volume of your training

It’s important to keep running in this final week but reduce both the mileage and the intensity. If you train too hard in race week it could tire your legs on race day. On the other hand, if you stop running completely you can lose your ‘rhythm’. The week before race week you should look to do around 70% of your usual training. In race week, run around 30% of your usual training load. If your race is on a Sunday, then your final session should be on a Thursday and no later. It should be a lighter, pre-race tune-up session - something like 5 x 1 min on/off (harder efforts, followed by an easier jog), with maximum effort around 8 out of 10.

RELATED: 10 Ways to Keep Your Run Training Interesting

3. Load up on carbohydrates

I always aim to reduce my calorie intake, ever so slightly, in the first half of this final week, and then increase both calories and carbs in the second half of the week. Be careful not to under-fuel, but because you’re doing slightly less training this week, you don’t need as much fuel as you would need in peak weeks. It’s always a good idea to start carb-loading two days before the race. Focus on eating ‘good’ carbs - things like: whole wheat pasta, brown rice, sweet potato, whole wheat bread. Remember the golden rule is not to try anything new on race day. Stick to a tried and tested dinner the night before, and a breakfast that you know works for you. Mine is usually pesto pasta for dinner, and then peanut butter and honey on bagels for breakfast. Try avoiding saucy and spicy food the night before a race, as that can often lead to stomach issues on race day

4. Incorporate a daily 10-15 minute race week routine

Get lost in your world doing a routine that focuses on light stretching, foam rolling, mobility, and core work. Then, reduce core work and any strength work two days before the race. What you are trying to achieve in this final week are two things:

1. Keeping your body mobile, releasing tension in the muscles, and allowing your running to feel smooth from when the gun goes off.

2. Taking a break from the busy world you live in, and mentally preparing for the race ahead.

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5. Get on the front foot

In race week, stress levels are already high. You want to control what you can as best as possible. Try to clear as much work from your desk as you can before race week. Then, when race week is here, try to get through the bulk of your work in the first half of the week. Give yourself the best chance at going into the final few days ahead of the race as stress-free as possible with no distractions. Just focus on the task at hand and stick to the race plan.

One final thing…

Embrace race week, and the race itself. It’s a choice we make, not an obligation. As scary as it can be sometimes, it’s all part of the process and it won’t be around forever so let’s enjoy it!

If you have a race coming up, GOOD LUCK!

Be sure to put it on Strava, because you know how the saying goes, if it’s not on Strava then it doesn’t count!

Onwards and upwards,

Coach Nick