Team Two-Times-You athletes Carla Molinaro, Ellen Barber and Luke Tyburski provide their tried and tested tips to get you race day ready.
"Make sure that you are doing Strength, Conditioning and Yoga as part of your marathon programme. You don’t need to spend hours in a gym but a couple of 30 minute sessions a week will keep those niggles away and get you to that start line in the best shape possible. This area is always overlooked by runners but it makes such a huge difference to your performance and can really be the difference between make or break.
With Strength and Conditioning, focus on single leg work such as; single leg squats, single leg dead lifts and lunges. When you run you are always on one leg so focusing on that single leg work will make you as strong as possible. It is also great to work on your core as that will hold you upright when you run. With yoga, work on the stretching the big muscle groups; glutes, quads, calfs and hamstrings and mobilise your hips and ankles."
"Practice your race fuelling strategy in training and then come race day set an alarm on your watch to remind you when to eat and drink. It can be very easy to get caught up in the race and forget to take a gel or two and this generally leads to you ‘hitting the wall’. So start fuelling early (at the 30 min mark, don’t wait until you have been running for 2hrs as it will then be too late) and keep on going until you cross that finish line."
"Believe in yourself – it’s you that has put in the hard work, sacrifice and gruelling training just for this moment. When it hurts, dig deeper. It is only your mind telling you to stop, not your body. Go for it."
Ellen highlights the importance of self belief. You know you've done the preparation, trained hard and mentally prepared yourself for the big day. Don't let those last minute doubts knock you off your stride.
"Having the ability to zone out, get in the zone, or simply stay focussed on what you are trying to achieve is the ultimate goal for many athletes, but it can be easier said than done. There are so many distractions during training, and even more on race day. Some of these distractions you can control, and others you cannot; so how do you cut straight through these distractions and not let them turn the conversations in your head into the ‘Negative Nelly Show?’
If the distractions are external, like the weather, the course, or other athletes, then turn your focus internally. Your legs may feel strong, your shoes are comfortable, and you have plenty of energy. Highlight these positives to yourself, and keep your focus on them. If your energy starts to drop, the negative voices are getting louder, or maybe you regret wearing those new shoes for the first time on race day, focus externally. Maybe it’s a sunny day, or there is a cool breeze, the course is scenic, or simply that there are crowds cheering you on every step of the way. This is where your focus should aim to be."
"Don’t go off too fast. Have your goal time in mind and work out what pace you need to run in order to achieve this and then stick to it for the first 20 miles. It will always feel super easy when you start because you would have gone into the race tapered and rested but going fast too soon will often lead to you blowing up. If you are still full of beans and running at your target pace at 20 miles pick it up to the finish."
"Think of K.E.N as your helpful friend who provides a checklist you can continually go over throughout your race, to keep you on track.
K is for Key Fundamentals.
How is your energy? Are you eating or drinking enough? Is your head full of neutral or positive thoughts?
E is for Efficiency.
Are you being efficient with your running technique, and the pace you are moving at. Is your kit working how it should, or could you make adjustments to help improve your comfort, and ultimately efficiency.
N is for New Normal.
In the last 5-10 miles of a marathon when your legs are hurting, and lungs are screaming at you to slow down or stop, it’s in these moments you need to accept that this is your new normal. These feelings won’t last forever, this is how your life is going to feel like until you cross the finishing line. Accepting that if you do truly want to achieve the goal you’ve set yourself, you need to accept that things aren’t going to feel any better, relax into the discomfort, and embrace what you are going through as your new normal.
Continue going through the K.E.N checklist throughout your race, whether things are going well, or not so well. Add other elements to the checklist, and make it unique to you."
"Smile for the camera. As much as you will be hurting no-one wants a race photo where you are looking glum so crack out that smile as it will be a great momento once the post race pain has settled."
Carla loves to keep her spirits high, stay focussed and give a smile when passing the cameras. You've trained long and hard to reach this milestone and having a great photo of your achievement can give you a real buzz!
So train hard, get prepared and reach your finish line.
