Being mentally prepared for your race is as important as being physically prepared. As the saying goes "Confidence is half the battle won", one should be well-versed with the race route so that mental rehearsals of running the race can be carried out. While training for the race, you may want to spend about ten minutes a day visualizing yourself running comfortably, crossing the finishing line with a smile on your face, and perhaps also getting your running technique/ gait right.

Depending on your goals, you may want to decide if there are certain split times you want to achieve, pacers you want to run along with, or even the number of water stops you want to take. Having a race plan is important in helping you focus on what you should be doing in the race, instead of being distracted by negative self-talk, or trying to keep up with runners running at a pace way ahead of your capabilities. Remember that you are in control of and run your own race. If you can, run the race route at least once before race day to simulate your race plan so that come race day, everything is familiar to you and you can focus on just doing it!

Enjoy your race!

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Article by:
Racers’ Toolbox http://www.racers-toolbox.com