How I Mentally Prepare for Races + Workouts of the Week!

Hey guys and how are you this morning? I didn’t intend to be absent from the blog yesterday, but I woke up feeling a little under the weather. So, except for a business call, I laid low, snuggled Benaiah and took a much needed rest day.

I feel better today and praying that I feel 100% by tomorrow because tomorrow is RACE DAY! I am so pumped because I haven’t raced since 2015 (what?!) and I am more than ready to kick off the race season 2017 with my favorite 5k race. I’m so running this 5k with my mama, which makes it 1739x better.

Speaking of racing, let’s talk about how we mentally prepare for race day. In my opinion, a huge part of racing is mental toughness and just as much as we need to train our bodies to run a 5k, 10k, half marathon of full marathon, we also need to train our MINDS when our legs are screaming at us to stop.

A few of the ways I prepare myself mentally for race day are:

1. Think POSTIVELY. Guys, it is so easy to go into races thinking about all the things that could go wrong. However, my best races have been the ones where I went in with excitement and 0 expectations. Yes, chasing after a certain number is good, but especially if you are running your first race, it is good to go into it to simply have fun and finish!
2. Accept the fact that it will hurt. I try to go into races, especially those which I am really trying to get a PR, with the expectation that it will be painful. There will be times where my legs want to stop and I don’t want to go on and it’s okay. It’s normal. It will happen. But you can push through it.
3. Think of the race as a celebration of all the training you’ve accomplished! With races, especially long races, there are countless training hours, many early mornings, quite a few black toenails, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears and the race is the final victory lap. A race is a celebration of all the hard work you’ve put in behind the scenes!
4. Go into the day with cautious confidence. I like to go into races with confidence, but cautiously. Runs don’t always go as planned, there are races that flop, and you know what – it’s okay. I like to walk up to the start line with confidence, but also realizing that not every run does go as planned and if it doesn’t go well if I don’t PR, it is not the end of the world. 
5. It’s only a race. If something does go wrong and I don’t nail my goal time, a desired, specific pace, or win my age division, I try to remember that it’s only a race. Yes, it’s exciting and fun when everything goes as planned, but if doesn’t, there is always a next race. 
6. Envision the finish. I like to picture the finish even during some of those hard training runs. It’s super motivating to think about how good it is going to feel to cross the finish line and know that you DID it.

I hope these tips help you as you prepare for your upcoming races! Now, onto the workouts of the week:

• Monday – 2 mile, easy effort run + stretching, foam rolling and an arm video
• Tuesday – Plyometric Leg Workout
• Wednesday – 3 miles of strides + stretching and foam rolling. 
• Thursday – Rest, sick day. :/
• Friday – Planned Total body Pilates workout 
• Saturday – 5k RACE DAY! 

Orginally, I was planning to run my long run on Thursday, but since I got sick I decided to take it off and focus on recovery instead. Some weeks a little R&R is just what the doctor ordered, and this was one of those weeks.

I can’t wait to report back to you guys about how the race goes! Make sure to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat (luluruns315)>>> I’ll be sharing there!

Have a fantastic rest of your Friday guys and a wonderful weekend! I’ll catch you all Monday!

Questions of the Day 

1. Name one way you prepare mentally for a race! 
2. What was your favorite workout this week like?
3. Is anyone else racing this weekend?! I want to hear all about it!