Good Sports

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on April 28, 2004

Some Last Minute Tips to Anti-Mini Runners

"Never look back, someone might be gaining on you"
- Satchel Paige

Those of you running the Anti-Mini or that other race (the one that sells t-shirts) scheduled on the same day for the first time, please pay close attention to this column. I have a few pointers that you may find valuable on race day. The number one rule you should follow unequivocally without question is this; Do not do anything on race day that you have not tried out in training. Those of you who did not understand the last statement, don’t wear shoes or socks you have not trained in, don’t eat or drink anything you haven’t tried on training runs, don’t use a new strategy you have never tried in a shorter race. If you follow the number one rule, you can avoid costly mistakes I have made in races during my foolish youth. One such foolish run was the San Francisco Marathon in 1979. I had trained very hard for this race and was in terrific shape to set a personal best. A running partner suggested that I put IcyHot, an ointment sold to warm muscles, on my feet prior to the start of the race. I was very fast over the first four miles and feeling great. Suddenly, I felt a burning in my feet. I stopped to take off my socks, put my shoes back on and continued to run without socks. Soon, the burning was back and now I had to take my shoes off. Unfortunately, this did not slow down the burning feet. I spent the next hour with my feet in a pond in Golden Gate Park. My running partner suffered a different fate as he had experimented with “The Coffee Marathon” drinking ten cups of coffee prior to the race. Tom made it to mile thirteen before emptying the contents of his stomach on an aid station table full of cups of Gatorade. Molly drove us home with my feet out one window and Tom’s head out another. She stopped coming to my races and I stopped experimenting on race day.

For those of you wanting to finish, without regard to your time, I have some sage advice; Start slow and taper from there. Everyone feels good at the start of the race. Don’t let that fool you. As you start, no matter how slow you are going, say to yourself, “This is too fast. I will pay for it later. I need to slow down.” Even if you think you can keep up that pace, be assured, you can’t. For every person who says at the end of a race “I should have started out faster,” there are a thousand who say, “I should have started out slower.” This is good advice! Why are you not taking it seriously?

Don’t go crazy carbo loading the night before the race. Take it easy on the food. You have enough body fat to get you through the race. A small dinner that includes some complex carbohydrates (like 100% whole grain bread) as well as some complete protein and some fat (perhaps some olive oil) is a better pre-race dinner than a large plate full of white noodle pasta and tomato sauce. Stay away from alcohol (it dehydrates you) and sweets (simple carbohydrates will be of no use to you by the next morning). On race morning, I eat about two hours before race time, usually a bagel with some almond butter. While following this tip, do not ignore the number one rule (better try out that breakfast before a training run).

On race day, you will find a lot of people stretching a lot more than they usually do. You may be nervous and it appears to be what all the experienced runners are doing. You would be better off finding a place you can do some walking and jogging. Just before the race, Take twenty minutes to gradually increase you heart rate beginning with walking, then jogging, then running. There is no better warm up you can do.

During the run, try not to get too caught up in how long it is taking you to go the distance. Try to enjoy the sights, sounds, people and fanfare of the event. It will help you have better memories of your day.

As a cross-country coach, my main piece of advice to runners who were competitive was taken from the Satchel Paige quote which is at the top of this column. It is good advice for several reasons. If you choose not to compete, feel free to look back.

Finally, after the run, don’t go from a run to a dead stop. When you finish, take fifteen to twenty minutes to walk around and gradually bring your heart rate down. Your muscles will thank you for this the day after the run.

You are all welcome to join us in the Zionsville Anti-Mini Marathon that will be held on Saturday, May 8 at 8:00 AM. at the entrance to Nancy Burton Memorial Park. You need not register. There is no fee. You may run 3.2, 6.4, 9.6, 12.8 or the full 13.1 miles. Bring your own aid (water, Gatorade, first aid)and leave it on the picnic table at the starting line. Park behind the Zionsville Town Hall (across the street from McDonalds on Oak Street) and take the rails-trail next to the shelter going north 700 yards to the starting line. The run will start promptly at 8:00 AM.

Budd Glassberg is a resident of Zionsville who is active in the local running community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.