Tips For Your First Race

Here are key things to keep in mind for your first race!

START SLOW:

I CANNOT stress this enough. For my first half marathon I started out so fast because I was feeling good and halfway through I experienced burnout and the last half was so painful and hard to get through. You want to have negative splits (slowly get faster throughout the race) so by starting slow you’re allowing your body to warm up and then you’ll have the energy to pick up pace halfway or close to finish!

ENJOY THE RUN:

Races truly are so much fun and I love getting a medal at the end to show off how much work I have done! Put on good Music and take it all in! Enjoy the highs and the lows! The adrenaline you get on race day is insane I always surprise myself with my pace and it makes me so happy. Nothing better than crossing that finish line.

FUEL AND HYDRATE:

Take advantage of each water station! You take water at mile 1 to be hydrated for mile 6. Staying hydrated will impact your run and your recovery! HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE! You should also be fueling! I fuel every 3 miles to ensure I am good to go, I’d rather fuel too often than too little because then it’s too late! This is very important for half marathon or marathon distances! Also nothing new on race day you should have tried everything from your outfit to your fueling!

FINISH STRONG:

If you started out slow then you should have energy to really PUSH hard at the end. As always you never know how you’ll be feeling or what will happen during the race. Maybe you have a bad pain or cramp and are barely making it to the finish. Or maybe you had a goal pace and didn’t hit it and you’re mad at yourself. No matter what you keep your head held high and finish with a smile! Any race at any pace is a HUGE accomplishment you should be proud of yourself! Let this race give you motivation and push you to do better at your next race!

CELEBRATE:

Enjoy a nice meal or treat yourself to that item you have been wanting! It takes a lot of time and determination to train and prep for a race. BE PROUD OF YOURSELF!! #lemon8partner #myfitnessjourney #racetips #running #runningtips #raceprep