Racing wisely : a practical and philosophical guide to performing at your personal best

253 Pages·2013·1.79 MB·English

by  Rountree, Sage Hamilton

Also by Sage Rountree
The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga
The Athlete’s Pocket Guide to Yoga
The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery
The Runner’s Guide to Yoga
Racing Wisely
A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Performing at
Your Personal Best
sage rountree
Copyright © 2013 by Sage Rountree All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or photocopy or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of Sage Rountree except in the case of brief
quotations within critical articles and reviews.
ISBN 978-1-890586-29-4
eISBN 978-1-890586-30-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rountree, Sage Hamilton.
Racing wisely : a practical and philosophical guide to performing at your
personal best / Sage Rountree.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher;
resource not viewed.
ISBN 978-1-890586-30-0 () -- ISBN 978-1-890586-29-4 (alk. paper) 1.
Running--Training. 2. Running races. 3. Running--Philosophy. I. Title.
GV1061.5
796.42071--dc23
2013032124
Cover design by BW&A Books Cover photograph by Steve Lackey, Endurance
magazine Book and ebook production services by TIPS Technical Publishing,
Inc.
Ironman is a trademark of the World Triathlon Corporation
For rescue workers and service members past and
present, especially Jeff Cummer, who work their hardest
to bring us the safety and freedom to pursue our own
personal best.
“Knowledge consists of knowing that a tomato is a fruit,
and wisdom consists of not putting it in a fruit salad.”
—Miles Kington
Brief Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part I. The Conditions for Your Personal Best
Chapter 1 Defining Your Personal Best
Chapter 2 Training to Race Wisely
Chapter 3 Designing a Winning Race Plan
Chapter 4 Travel Plans
Part II. Timeline for Racing Wisely
Chapter 5 Week of the Race
Chapter 6 Two Days Before the Race
Chapter 7 Day and Night Before the Race
Chapter 8 Race Morning
Chapter 9 Warmup
Part III. Racing at Your Personal Best
Chapter 10 Wise Mental Skills
Chapter 11 Time-Trial Racing
Chapter 12 Competitive Racing
Chapter 13 When a Good Race Goes Bad
Part IV. Your Next Personal Best3
Chapter 14 The Days After the Race
Chapter 15 The Weeks After the Race
Chapter 16 Your Next Personal Best
Online Resources
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Part I. The Conditions for Your Personal Best
Chapter 1 Defining Your Personal Best
What
Who
Where
When
Why
How
Chapter 2 Training to Race Wisely
Balancing Consistency and Variety
Consistency
Variety
Balancing Stress and Rest
Stress
Rest
Adjusting Your Training to Race Wisely
Testing
Race Prediction Workouts
Tune-Up Races
Reacting to Declining Performance
Reacting to Plateaus
Reacting to Improving Performance
Nutrition
What’s in the Products
Hydration
Before a Workout
During the Workout
After the Workout
Mental Skills in Training
Chapter 3 Designing a Winning Race Plan
Intention
What is your intention for this race?
Goals
List your conservative goal.
List your public goal, what you’ll tell friends and coworkers you hope to
do.
List your private goal, what you’ll tell your best friends you’d like to
make.
List your super-secret radical goal.
Gear
What are you using?
What are you wearing?
What if it’s really cold?
What if it’s really hot?
What’s your anti-chafing plan?
Prerace Nutrition
What do you plan on eating for dinner the night before?
Breakfast on race day?
Race Nutrition
Please list exactly what you plan to eat and when (either by time or by
mile markers). Ditto for hydration.
Pacing
What’s the plan?
How will you hold yourself accountable to this plan? What if your
equipment doesn’t work?
How will external factors such as weather, terrain, or crowds affect this
plan? How will you alter the plan in response?
How and when will you warm up to best execute this plan?
Mental Strategies
List three workouts from this training cycle in which you learned
something about your mental and physical abilities.
What mental strategies or tricks do you plan to use in the race?
List your fears about the race, and how you plan to cope should they
materialize. Mark each one as either “in my control” or “out of my
control.”
Include any other contingencies that seem relevant.
Recovery
What will you wear in the minutes after the race?
What will you eat and drink in the minutes and hours after the race?
What will you do in the minutes and hours after the race?
Chapter 4 Travel Plans
Getting There
Flying versus Driving
Traveling with a Bike
Where to Stay
Host Hotel
Off-Site Hotel
Rental Home or Condo
Camping/RV
When to Get There
Timing Arrival at Altitude
Other Considerations
Packing List
Managing Expectations
Part II. Timeline for Racing Wisely
Chapter 5 Week of the Race
Intention and Goals
Race Week Workouts
Races Lasting under an Hour
Races Lasting One to Four Hours
Races Lasting over Four Hours
Non-Workout Time
Visualization
Plan Logistics
Practice Non-Aerobic Activities
Pack
Consider the Next Race
Race Week Nutrition