Cross-country racing requires careful and strategic preparation before race day. Many factors, including weather and terrain conditions, may impact race results and should be carefully considered when planning for cross-country competition.
Training on the course before an event can help prepare runners for what lies ahead, while proper nutrition and hydration practices must begin days before an event. Hydration practices should include balanced electrolytes to achieve maximum effectiveness.
1. Plan Your Warm Up
Successful cross-country racing hinges on adapting your abilities to meet race conditions. Bob Geiger notes that each course presents its own set of unique obstacles; most races feature steep or long hills, which can throw off your rhythm, or narrow bridges and sharp turns around trees that force you to alter the speed, forcing you to slow down or accelerate unexpectedly, which disrupts effort levels and pack positions.
Acing rhythm breakers during races requires specific training. To develop these skills, complete workouts that simulate terrain and elevation changes you might experience on the course, such as long hill repeats or interval training workouts that feature strenuous efforts over short distances followed by recovery periods. In addition to your weekly distance and tempo runs, consider including hill repeats and distance/tempo runs as a form of practice for when race day arrives.
Before your race begins, eat a nutritious and restful dinner and sleep eight hours. However, avoid overindulgence, as an overly full belly can hinder your start and pace. Also, remember to bring water with you to stay hydrated throughout the day.
2. Practice Your Pace
Establishing and practicing your pace is integral to successful cross-country training. If this aspect of your routine has yet to be implemented, incorporate it into your weekly workouts as the race nears. Avoid starting too fast, as that could put undue strain on your legs; don't start too slowly and risk falling behind the competition.
Bob Geiger points out that an effective way to develop your pace is to run or walk a hilly section of the course ahead of time, giving yourself an understanding of its terrain and what it may look like on race day.
Mass starts can be chaotic as runners search for their starting positions, making it essential to take time and establish a comfortable rhythm on the race course. Also, remember to accelerate down hills - though hard on flat roads, doing this will help compensate for any lost time when speeding down that incline! Finally, don't hesitate to pass people if necessary - do so in an intelligent and controlled way.
3. Take Deep Breaths
Training should include controlled breathing exercises to optimize muscle oxygenation and better manage pace. Patterned breathing helps strengthen your diaphragm, which allows deeper breaths that increase running economy.
If you need assistance practicing controlled breathing, try taking deep breaths through your nose and out through your mouth - this exercise will help relax you and focus on your race more efficiently.
Maintain strong legs as you navigate your way around a cross-country course. As highlighted by Bob Geiger, Cross-country courses vary significantly in their terrain, layout, and off-distances, which can have an immense effect on pacing; to maximize performance, it's essential that instead of looking at your watch, you gauge pace by how it feels rather than by time alone.
Driving ahead to your race location and walking the course to familiarize yourself with elevation and terrain is also recommended to gain an edge when planning and running a race. Doing this will save both time and money down the line!
4. Hydrate
Hydration is of paramount importance when preparing and participating in races. Hydration helps your muscles work more effectively, maintains an adequate energy supply, and decreases injury risks.
Bob Geiger emphasizes that you should drink water or sports drinks throughout your day and an hour before running a race. If experimenting with sports drinks interests you, do so during training runs until finding what works best for you.
Before your race, try to limit the intake of foods with high levels of fiber - too much can cause an upset stomach! When dining before racing, opt for something light and easily digestible, like granola bars or bananas, for easy digestion.
Before your race, review the course carefully to know when and where water stations will appear. Also, consider adding O.R.S. Sport electrolyte tablets into your water bottle the night before and 90 minutes before starting to increase fluid reserves and help build endurance reserves.
5. Get a Good Night's Sleep
An essential component of running is restful sleep, particularly on race day. Many runners experience pre-race nerves, which make it hard to fall asleep on race night; as such, the best strategy would be to aim to get enough rest throughout the week leading up to your race, including limiting T.V. viewing or tablet computer use that emit "blue light" which disrupts circadian rhythm.
According to Bob Geiger, plan to arrive at the starting area one to two hours early to register (if needed), warm up, and find your place in the corral. Use gear checks to save yourself from carrying extra clothing with you if available.
Before your race, do a 10-minute jog and dynamic stretches to warm up your heart and muscles, and eat a carb-rich meal such as pasta or chocolate milk to fuel you throughout.
