Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To celebrate, we are sharing our tricks for making race day your lucky day. Even if you aren’t superstitious, you can’t go wrong with these race day rituals.
Lauren: I lay all all out my race clothes, shoes, and outfit the night before and double-check that I have everything I need. I always have some nut butter and toast and/or a banana as my pre-race meal. I never wear my race shirt until after the race. I always start chewing a piece of gum before the race starts.
Elizabeth: I carry a lucky penny in my shorts pocket that I found on a run. I listen to the exact same playlist of music that I train with. And I wear green shoelaces as anklets to raise awareness for rare genetic diseases. Some very special people in my family were impacted by a rare disease, and it’s also one of the reasons I fund raise for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
Courtenay: My race day ritual includes taking a shower to wake up, taking my dog for a walk to assess the weather, and having one cup of coffee with my breakfast, which is usually peanut butter toast or oatmeal. On the way to the venue, I check Facebook for motivation and encouragement from my friends.
Kim: I make my own good luck for a race by not leaving anything to chance:
–Wear clothes and gear that have been tested on a training run
–Fuel with tried and true brands and flavors
—Research the race course ahead of time and visualize yourself running on it
–Repeat a mantra chosen for that particular race
Tai Fung: My lucky race day ritual goes something like this:
–Potty
–Get clothes from “Flat Tai” layout
–Go back to potty
–Eat sports “nutrition” bar, wash down with Coke Zero
–Potty (surprise)
–Put on shoes
–Take a second to congratulate myself on being ready to leave way early
–Decide I’ve forgotten something, stand around obsessing over what it could be
–Realize it was list item, “Leave early.”
–Rush out of house, now late
—Remind myself that I’m not being paid to do this, and it’s something I do for fun
–Go out and have fun
Courtney: I don’t really have any superstitions but I can’t race if I haven’t gotten my morning constitutional 🙂
Janelle:
– Have the same breakfast of 2 slices of toast with jam on race morning
– For longer distances, I have to “get it out of my system” before I get in the corral
– Zone out to my music while waiting in the corral
– Take a photo while at the start line
– Fuel every 3-ish miles with Clif shot bloks
– Use my last bit of energy to finish strong when I see the end in sight!
If you need more good luck on race day check out the
Good Luck Box–there’s a special addition for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run!
Do you have any race day superstitions?
Insomnia is our pre-race ritual! 😉