Week 14: Plan Your Performance

Athletes,

This week it's time to finally start to visualize yourself standing on the starting line. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and begin to image what you are wearing, who you are with, the energy in the crowd around you, suddenly, after 13 weeks of effort and sacrifice you're released onto the road and start to settle into your race, now, where do you go from there?

1. Preparation: Half the effort of a successful half marathon happens before the starting gun goes off. Plan ahead, visualize, prepare not only your mind and body but more tangibly what are you wearing, what are you fueling with, where will your support team be on the course, are you mentally prepared for whatever the weather throws at you?
   
   
2. Goal half marathon pace: When thinking about your paces, work back from your goal pace and plan to achieve a negative split (running the second half of the race faster than the first half). How much patience, control and discipline will I need to have the first 5, 8, 10 miles of the race?
   
   
3. Say no to the voice in your head: On every race day, at every starting line - runners encounter the most deceptive version of themselves. The voice that will loudly proclaim that you are invincible and that you should throw away all plans of patience and discipline to chase after a greater goal. As you prepare for race day also start ot prepare yourself to fight this instinct in particular.

 

SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

Evaluate Your Outcome

3 weeks to go. With your big day getting closer, it’s time to evaluate and shape your outcome goals and set some process goals.

This week we’re focusing on your outcome goals. They are going to give motivation and direction (f.e. in form of pace) for your race. At the same time, you don’t need them to run the race. If your journey hasn’t gone as expected and setting goal times makes you really insecure, consider skipping the outcome goals and just focus on your process goals.

Reflection prompt:

Instead of just picking one goal, define an A, B and a C goal.

• A goal = outcome on a perfect day (should feel a tiny bit unrealistic)
• B goal = outcome on a very good day where everything goes to plan (should feel realistic)
• C goal = outcome on a day where a lot of things go wrong that you can still be ok with  

Guidance by Mari Dottschadis M.S.c.

 

NUTRITION

Strategize for Peak Race Readiness 

As you fine-tune your performance strategy, your nutrition plan should also reflect the transition from training to race-day readiness. Emphasize carbohydrate loading in the days leading up to key workouts to maximize glycogen stores without overloading your digestive system. Ensure that every meal is balanced with the right proportion of protein, fats, and carbohydrates to support both performance and recovery. This is a time to practice your race-day fueling strategy during your longer training sessions, noting what works best for your stomach and energy levels. By planning your performance meals and snacks in advance, you’ll minimize last-minute nutritional surprises on race day.

 

RECOVERY

Fine-Tune Recovery for Peak Readiness

With race day in sight, your focus should shift towards recovery strategies that prime you for peak performance. Schedule recovery sessions that specifically target muscle groups most taxed by your training, such as your calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Incorporate gentle stretching, foam rolling, and perhaps even professional massage therapy to alleviate any lingering tightness. Maintain your sleep and hydration routines rigorously, as these factors play a crucial role in muscle repair and overall readiness. By fine-tuning your recovery practices, you ensure that your body is as prepared as possible for race day.