Beach to Bay Prep 2.0

Adam Farrell here from Pinnacle Performance and Fitness.

I hope your week is off to a productive start and you have your workouts and meals scheduled for the week.

Beach to Bay Prep

If you are running in the upcoming Beach to Bay marathon I wish you luck. The four-plus miles may be a little tough on you if you haven’t been putting in the time. For a successful and less painful race I have added a few tips that will help you perform better and recover faster.

1. Hydrate: Pre-race check your urine color. You want it to be a light yellow like lemonade. Don’t drink too much and get water logged, just enough to take the dark orange color out of your urine. Research has shown that just a 2% reduction in hydration can lead to a 20% reduction in performance.

2. Roll Your Feet: While standing or sitting place a tennis ball, softball, or golf ball under one of your feet and roll the bottom of your foot against the ball. If the bottom of your foot is really tender use a softer ball. You may want to work up to a more rigid ball later. Roll behind your toes, the arch of your foot, the outside of your foot and the heel. If you find any bumps (trigger points) roll on them for about 30 seconds until they release. Spend 2-minutes on each foot.

3. Don’t carb load the night before: The 80′s are over and so is carb loading for a 5K or anything under an hour run/walk. Research shows that we want to begin the process of carbohydrate loading several days before. For 4-plus miles you don’t really need to carb load at all. Eat a healthy non-greasy meal the night before and you will be fine.

4. Eat a light breakfast: You want to eat a light breakfast with minimal fiber. You don’t want to run on an empty stomach and you don’t want a full bloated stomach. Bananas and peanut butter usually do the trick.

5. Encourage others: Every person you pass give them “atta boy/girl” or “keep it up”, or my personal favorite, “TIGHT GLUTES, TIGHT ABS, SHOULDERS BACK AND DOWN”!!! Just kidding about the last one. Encourage those who are struggling a bit. We all need a little encouragement.

6. Lose the New Shoes:  Don’t wear a pair of new shoes for your run.  Make sure you have logged a good amount of time in your sneakers before race day. New shoes can cause blisters and possibly hurt your knees.

7. Ice any sore joints or muscles: Ice any sore joints or muscles post race as soon as you can. Icing will help take the inflammation out and get you back on your feet for more training.

If you are not running join the after-party at the park across from McGee Beach where the Coliseum once stood.

Committed to Your Success,
Adam