I’m not a get up and go girl

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

I admire the runners who get up, maybe drink some coffee and eat some toast, and boom! They’re ready to toe the line at a race.

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Getting ready for a long run or race is a process for me.

It’s amazing how much stuff I need to run a race

It starts the night before
I try to make sure everything is laid out the night before:

  • Race outfit
  • Race fuel
  • Breakfast
  • Teas/Nuun
  • Sunscreen
  • Anti chafe lotion
  • Rocktape (if necessary)

I also charge up my Garmin and my phone. I will load up my hydration vest, if I’m using it, with my sunglasses, pre-race snack (if there’s a long time between breakfast and the race), race fuel and Saltstick chews — but not water, yet, because I want it to be cold (I’ve only done a couple of halfs where it was cold and I didn’t want cold water to drink!).

I attach my bib to my race belt, and usually put sandals, post race snack, maybe a change of clothes in a bag that Mr. Judy can carry when he meets me after the race. I also put water into the refrigerator so it will be cold for race day.

I often eat overnight oats the morning of a long run/race, and if I have a mini crockpot with me, I put my breakfast in it so it will be warm when I get up. If I don’t have the crockpot, I just warm it up in the microwave the next morning.

Most of the time I’ll make a flat me so I can try to check and make sure that I’ve got everything laid out. Doesn’t mean I haven’t forgotten something, but it makes it less likely.

Always Nuun before a long run/race (and after, too!)

First thing in the morning
Usually the very first thing I do in the morning, after getting some warm lemon water to drink, is tape my knees (because you want to do that before applying any lotion). Next I braid my hair (keeps it out of my mouth and eyes — mostly — and apply sunscreen; almost all my long distance races have been warm races in a skirt and a tank top.

Usually some green tea, too

If it’s a later race and I have time, I’ll probably meditate and do some yoga. Otherwise, I’ll eat my breakfast and drink some green tea.

It’s a process
I’ll put on my top first, because then the next thing I do is some foam rolling (helps warm up the muscles).

I foam roll, put on anti chafing lotion, then finish dressing, probably while drinking some Nuun or more tea (depends on how much time I have before the race).

The last thing I usually do is fill my hydration vest’s bladder with the cold water, and, of course, hit the bathroom, which I’ve probably already done multiple times and will do when we get to the race, unless we’re staying close enough that I can walk to the race and only have to use the bathroom in my own room — we’ve done that a few times and it’s heaven.

It’s all about the routine
Having a routine for long run/race day evening/mornings helps take out some of the stress. I know many runners to-do list before a race is a lot shorter than mine. What can I say, it seems to work for me!?

Do you have any sort of pre-race routine?

Are there things you do that I don’t?

Do you get up early just so you can digest your breakfast? I do!

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Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

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45 thoughts on “I’m not a get up and go girl”

  1. Interesting! If I’m away for the race I do a flat lay before I pack and think about shorts (my friend Claire forgot hers for London marathon) and pants (I repacked and abandoned mine in a black-inside suitcase I changed from for Liverpool RnR). If away, I always stay in an apartment so I can have tuna pasta the night before and shreddies cereal with oats in the morning. Flat lay when I get there to work out what I’ve forgotten.

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    1. All my halfs have been racecations. Thankfully I’ve never forgotten something too crucial — yet, anyway! My water bottle once. Safety pins once (I no longer need them, but then I did).

      Once I couldn’t find my visor. It was going to be a very hot, sunny race. We finally bought one. Of course then I found the visor — we were able to return the one I bought, though, as I hadn’t worn it.

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      1. Thank you for asking – he had to go back on another set of meds on Monday but as the vet had said I could have meds for up to a month without taking him back in, I was kind of assuming she was expecting him not to be cured by one lot of a week of them. So I have gradually decreasing meds for 3 more weeks now. He’s really good in himself and seems happy, and the one issue that flared up and made me call them for the meds has flared back down again for now. He hates having his opioid squeezed into his cheek pouch though and guess who’s the only one who can do it … !!

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      2. I’m glad to hear it sounds like he’s on the mend. It’s really hard. Mine were never easy to medicate, I never get the easy furkids. Dogs tend to be easier because they’re claws are much less sharp — even if they bite, it’s not like cats, whose teeth are basically little needles injecting bacteria into you.

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  2. Not a get up and go but don’t do as much. No foam roll sunscreen anti chafe nuun.

    I spend more time the night before.

    Carbs carbs
    Gas in the car
    Address to race
    GPS to determine how long it takes
    Set 2 alarms
    Flat me

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    1. You might want to experiment with anti chafing stuff before the marathon (like, on a long run before).

      A lot can happen over 26.2 miles. Especially if it’s wet weather, which hopefully it won’t be.

      Most likely you’ll be just find, but it’s always good to have at least tried it out to make sure if you need it you’re not going to have some weird reaction to it.

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      4. I hopefully found one at Modells. At least it was good on a 4M run with Darlene monday. So fingers crossed
        The SS ones are a little too pricey for me to try without knowing whether they’ll fit

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      7. For some reason I thought you were larger on top. In that case, I really do like SS bras — but haven’t tried the new ones. I’ve never had issues with chafing with them, but we’re all different.

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  3. As I’ve gotten more seasoned (ahem!), my pre-race routine is pretty simple. Like Darlene, I do more the night before the race. Lay out my clothes, pin on the bib, review the course, set my alarm, and try to sleep. Fueling isn’t a big concern anymore–it doesn’t seem to matter what I eat. Coffee, always coffee.

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    2. Fueling can definitely effect my energy. I have a pretty strong stomach, but I still need some time to digest it all.

      Review the course? What’s that? I rarely do that. Occasionally, but not often. Luckily so far I haven’t got lost on a half, although there have been a few times I’ve wondered whether or not I was!

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  4. You can try filling up the hydration bladder halfway and freezing it. The next morning add more water. The ice will melt and you water will always stay cold. That is something I do during the summer when it is hot.

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    1. I do that with my small water bottles in the summer, but most of the time we’re in a hotel room with a small fridge and there usually just isn’t room.

      I haven’t been running long this summer so haven’t broke out the hydration vest — except for a hike or two.

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    1. I’m glad you got some tips from me!

      Traveling for your races kind of forces you to get fairly organized. I’ve still been known to forget something. As I like to say, it’s not a trip if I don’t forget something. Luckily nothing crucial, at least not so far.

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  6. I’ve done so many races over the past 14 years, the pre-race routine is almost done blindfolded LOL I think the key is to figure out what your specific needs are depending on the actual race. Most of my races involve at least 45-60 minutes of driving, so there’s usually some kind of breakfast in the car (oatmeal is my usual go-to). I lay out all my gear the night before so I don’t have to think about any of those details in the morning.

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    1. You drive pretty far for your races! I rarely go more than half an hour away. And if it’s a racecation, we’re usually pretty close to the race — but of course that opens a whole other can of worms.

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    1. Yup, I rarely see the sunrise except for from my couch, LOL! Those sunrise photos people post are so pretty though.

      When I used to run with a formal group, we did get out there that early, but it kind of left me exhausted having to get out the door that early (getting up that early is not a problem for me).

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  10. My routine is similar. I prepare everything the night before and I eat many carbohidrates. On the race day I don’t get up early and I eat the usual italian breakfast: cappuccino and cornetto (cake).

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  12. Having a pre-race routine definitely helps! It’s useful for not forgetting anything and also helps me feel less nervous. I never thought about foam rolling before a race, that’s a good idea. I might give that a try before a long run and see how it goes.

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    1. I always used to do the FR after, but at the triggerpoint session I went to last year, they suggested before was better if you had to choose.

      I tried it & I agree — for me, anyway. It does depend on time; doesn’t always happen.

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    1. I don’t have trouble with getting stuff moving, usually, maybe because I’m used to getting up early.

      But I do like to be hydrated — that’s the main reason for multiple bathroom visits.

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  14. Judy, I think you are way more organized than me. I wish I could be more like you. I don’t really even have a pre-race routine, even after doing so many races. That hot water with lemon sounds like a good idea. I may have to try that.

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    1. Everybody has their own way of doing things. I’m quite sure there are things you do that are much better than me.

      I’ve been doing lemon water for years, nothing new. It’s good for digestion, supposedly.

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  15. LOL at hair out of the mouth. So been there. I’m itching to cut mine again but it’s oh so close to a pony tail
    I should think about Nuun before. I’ll occasionally do a ginger lime sparkling ice on the commute to my long run start, but don’t tend to before races

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      1. I bounce between both extremes. I like to be able to put it in a pony for running, but tucking it into the hat works. I just can’t wait to ditch the hat in fall. Just not my preference

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  16. I’m not a get up and go person either – in addition to the pre-race stuff, I like to have a few minutes to just sit with my coffee. I try to get up at least an hour before I have to leave for a race, though I can cram it into 45 minutes if I have to leave super early.

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