The Quest For The Crest: What I Do Differently The Week Before A Race
By admin
Today is a big day…
It’s exactly one week until Dan and I head off to Burnsville, NC to attempt to conquer the Quest For The Crest. I won’t lie, we’re both kind of freaking out and wondering, “what were we thinking!?”
Training has been stellar this week, legs are fried and I have just 2 more workouts before it’s time to rest these stems!
Workouts have pretty much consisted of the following:
Lunge Jumps
Step-Ups
Incline Trainer (this treadmill is amazing)
StairMaster
And yea… that’s about it.
Well, except for a few kettlebell exercises at least.
Basically, I feel that I have just about trained my legs for climbing as much as I can in the time that I had. But ask me again Monday after my final 2 killer workouts!
So instead of recapping my training… just know it’s gone well… I thought it would be cool if I shared what I am doing differently in my life now that the race is quickly approaching.
Cool?
Cool!
How Life Changes Right Before A Race
At least for me…
- No sugar or processed carbs. This kicked off Monday after Blend.
- Extra foam rolling and mobility work! I am working on stretching out a little every single day. Not necessarily the same area!
- No fake sweeteners. If it’s not natural it’s not going in my body. This kicks off today because I’ve had a pack of gum. This will help with bloating and overall feel.
- Increased protein. I’ve been really focused on increasing my protein lately to help ensure my muscles are fully recovered for race day. I’ll share my meals below.
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I’ve been downing water since Monday and feeling so much better! I definitely didn’t drink enough while I was in Colorado and suffered due to the high altitude. The slightest big of dehydration can affect performance.
- Massage. I have one booked for next week. I’m so excited!
- Sleep… it’s important. I wake up early most days of the week to teach, but on the days I don’t have to, I’m sleeping in. It’s been glorious! Dan and I have also made a real effort to get into bed earlier each night. Even if it’s 20 minutes, it’s appreciated!
- Visualizing race day. I’ve already bothered Dan asking what he’s wearing, what he wants to eat, and what he plans to do the morning of the race. Even though we’re a week out, I want to have it all mapped out. I am visualizing the race too in order to help my mind get into a positive zone. This will be the hardest thing I’ve done yet and need to prep mentally!
These are the big behavioral challenges that I have and will be making. More will happen this week in order for us to really prepare like food and such but I’ll share that next week once I have it all figured out.
As for my actually meals…
I’ve been loving protein shakes & pancakes for breakfast (it’s HOT here already), salads with grilled chicken on top (with Bolthouse Farms Dressing) and dinner is normally a hodge podge of chicken and vegetables. For a snack, Quest Bars have been my go to lately!
