Growing up, one of my favorite books was Berenstain Bears “The Bike Lesson”. The whole book is about the father making mistakes when teaching them to ride a bike and then telling them that “This is what you should not do. Let this be a lesson to you.”
Let me be your Bike Lesson.
This is what you should not do…
Overdress – yes, it often feels chilly waiting at the start line. And no one wants to get the shivers. But wearing too much can quickly lead to overheating if it’s actually warm out or getting sweaty and then freezing if it’s not. Most suggest dressing like it’s 20* warmer than it is. I have to be careful about that as I tend to run cold. SOLUTION: Throwaway clothes. My personal favorite is a zip up hoody, usually outgrown by my children, because if I’m really cold, I can run the first mile in it.
Underdress – I learned the hard way that I run cold. At an RNR DC race a few years ago, I listened to all of my runner friends who run hot and wore too little clothing. The end result? I ran an entire half marathon with a heat blanket wrapped around me. SOLUTION: Layers and zippers. I often have on arm sleeves that can be pulled down or off easily. I also make sure that I can open up my top layer (sometimes my top two) to let cool air on my core if I start to overheat. Bonus there is that you can always easily zip back up.
Go out too fast – We’ve all done it. We’ve all born the consequences. Even in a 5K, a too fast first mile can make that last mile a trudge. SOLUTION: Do tempo work during training and pay attention to how you feel. Learn to listen to your body and know when you need to back off. Also, unless it’s a short race, use the first mile as a warm up. In my fastest half marathons, my first mile is usually my slowest.
Ignore nutrition – This can be any number of things: drinking too much the night before, eating too heavy of a meal before the race (or the night before the race), forgetting to eat at all, not eating enough during a race… I’ve done all of them. SOLUTION: Know your digestive system. For example, I know I have trouble eating anything solid after about mile 18 (including gels). So I’ve learned to drink Gatorade and soda anytime it’s offered to get added calories in my body. For MCM this past year, I had one orange slice, a Carb Boom Energy gel, and a Twizzler. Thankfully I had been drinking Gatorade as often as I could and had a decent amount of Coke in Crystal City.
I’ve made many other mistakes over the years – poor clothing choices that led to chafing, shoe choices that led to limping, running when I shouldn’t run, not preparing for the hills in a race, etc. But I like to think that I’ve got the major issues under control – at least until I make another stupid mistake.
What’s the worst mistake you’ve ever made in a race? Did I mention the time I ran over grates in Vibrams and my skirt threatened to fall off? Good thing that race was only a 5K…
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I have done all of these, but I have learned from them (so the stupidity was worth it). I think I run cold, too…..and I’m a die-hard fan of arm sleeves 😉
agree agree agree! lately I have been running cold and I found that out the hard way too! so much so that I had to DNF the marathon that I’d trained for all summer. whomp whomp 🙁
layers are a great solution though – I am a huge fan of arm sleeves these days! my worst mistake I think was what I mentioned on my blog today – doing a night race and not preparing for it at all as far as LIGHT goes. no headlamp, no flashing lights, no reflector vest. 100% Newbie.
Not sure what is worse being overdressed or underdressed. Vibrams over grates? Yikes!
I made the mistake of dressing too cold ONCE, and it was the most miserable experience. It was the Mississauga (Ontario) marathon., where you start in town, then run to Lake Erie. The last 10 miles or so are run along the lake. It was raining, but the forecast was for it to clear up. It didn’t clear up, and the winds were howling off the lake. I was running in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. The waves from the lake were crashing on the path we were running on, sending spray on the runners. I was soaked, in a cold wind. Ugh!
Oh, the debates between runners who run hot & those who run cold! Then again, dressing is SO tricky this time of year.
I think my worst mistake was running one half injured — in fairness to me, I didn’t know enough back then to realize it wasn’t a good idea to run that race, but boy I sure did learn from it.
Luckily, knock on wood, so far I haven’t had a painful experience like that again.
Even the most tried and true prep can backfire on you! I had a pair of capris that wouldn’t stay up and a trust skirt that chafed me in the worst way. But control the things you can control, that’s my motto. And learn to roll with the things you can’t..
It can be so tough to figure out how to dress for a race! I also like to have throwaway sleeves. I’ve also worn arm sleeves so I know I can take them off. The fueling is all about trial and error during training I think!
Huge Berenstain Bears fan here! I loved their books growing up! I agree with all of your tips – dressing appropriately for race day is never easy. Great advice!! 🙂
Walk 13 miles in flip flops the day before a race.
Power goes out during the night and you didn’t set your phone as a back-up alarm clock.
Fly home the day before a race and your flight gets cancelled.
I could go on and on or post on this at a later date.
Starting out too fast is something I have done so many times and ended up ruining my race.
Yes to all of these! Well at least most of these. We’ve all been chafed, too hot, too cold, etc. on race day. I definitely have been too hot – especially when spring/summer races roll around i forget how to dress and end up too hot and dehydrated
I think I was underdressed at RNR DC one year…it was SO COLD in 2017 after being so WARM in 2016! That made for a really rough time!
I’m pretty sure I’ve done all of the above- espeically the going out too fast in the beginning! This past weekend at Wine n Dine, I worked all week then walked around the parks then raced. That was a mistake because my feet and body were so tired they didn’t perform well.