race day

                                                               Peaking
  Race day actually starts about 2 weeks before the
  race.  These two weeks used to be known as
  tapering weeks, when you taper your training
  program down till race day.  Newer research has
  determined that tapering really doesn't work that well,
  you actually tend to lose some of your upper end
  power and speed.  What you should do is lower your
  duration but keep the same intensity.  For example if
  you have two days of interval workouts scheduled per
  week, six intervals per workout.  The first week do
  four intervals drop each one by 30 seconds, keep the same recovery time.  The second week do three intervals and drop them by 1 minute keep the same recovery time.  Do the same thing for your endurance workouts.  If you normally do a 3 hour endurance workout the first week do a 2 and half hour workout, the second week do a 2 hour workout.  Keep your recovery workouts the same.  This is the very basics of peaking, for more detailed individual information on peaking visit our coaching section.

Nutrition
There has been much debate over the years about carbohydrate loading before a race.  How much, how many days, are just some of the questions?  The respected experts in the sports science field all seem to agree, that consuming large amount of carbs days before a race does not help your performance, in fact may even hinder your performance levels.  You want to make make sure your glycogen stores are as full as they can be, but by consuming large amounts of carbs days before a race you will more than replenish your glycogen stores,  you will end with excess glucose which will be stored as fat.

The best thing to do is maintain your normal diet, but about 3 days before the race add some extra complex carbohydrates to your diet.  We have a great product to help you do this.  Carb Loader is a pure source of complex carbohydrates made from LCPF-50 (long-chain polymetric fraction).  Carb Loader contains complex glucose polymers that are metabolized at a slow steady rate, making it an excellent way to make sure your glycogen stores are full for race day.  This product takes the guess work out of carb loading by giving you a high quality complex carbohydrate in just the right amount.

Do not do anything with your nutrition plan on race day you haven't tested a number of times during training.  Race day is not the time to test out a different plan, you have no idea how your body will react to something different.  On race day eat your morning meal about 3 hours before the start, go light on the protein, it's hard for you stomach to digest.  That will give your body time to digest the meal and top off your glycogen stores.  If for some reason your race is delayed you should eat some sort of simple carbohydrate so your body can convert it quickly and once again top off your glycogen stores before race start.

Fuel during the race is very individual.  Some people prefer gels, some energy bars, some natural foods.  What ever works for you, as long as you are consuming enough calories and eating often.  After the first hour you need to start providing your body with a constant steady source of fuel.  Generally if your event is less than an hour and you have fueled up correctly leading up to and the day of the race you do not eat during the race, but don't forget to drink.

Hydration
Probably the most important part of race day.  Make sure you hydrate sufficiently the morning of race day, your urine should be a pale yellow.  If it's yellow or darker you have not hydrated enough, if it's clear you have over hydrated.  Over hydrating can result in a dangerous even fatal condition known as hyponatremia.

The age old question, how much should I drink during a race?  That depends on many factors, temperature, length of race, body weight, fitness and how much you sweat.  A fairly accurate way to determine your hydration needs is to pick a day that has a temperature similar to the average temperature of your races.  Make sure you are adequately hydrated before this workout.  Weigh yourself naked on an accurate scale before you start.  Complete your workout at race pace for an hour, without consuming any liquid.  Immediately following your workout weigh yourself naked on the same scale.  If you lost 1 lb (16oz), you need to consume approximately 60% of that for every hour you are racing.

By race start you should be fully hydrated and your glycogen stores should be full. During the race do not rely on thirst as an indicator to drink, by that time you have already started to dehydrate.  You should be drinking a little at least every 15 minutes.  You should know your hydration requirements in order to avoid dehydration or over hydrating, you need to find the perfect balance.  Get to know the symptoms of both.  Signs of dehydration include, headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, muscle cramps, chills and thick saliva.  Signs of hyponatremia include, puffiness, like swollen figures, tight watch, liquid sloshing in your stomach, vomiting, progressively worsening headache.

During races or training workouts longer than an hour you will need to drink some sort of sports drink that contains electrolytes and carbohydrates and as older athletes it becomes more important that drink also contains protein in the correct ratio. 
 

 Stress
Stress can dramatically reduce your performance.  Try to reduce all the factors that can cause you stress on race day.  Get your entry in before race day, if you can't, get there early and get it out of the way first.  Have everything you need laid out the day before.  Make a list and go over it several times so you know you will not forget anything.  Go over it again before you leave.  Get there early, take your time preparing and checking your gear.  Relax it's just a race.