Hey there again! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer of training and is excited for the season ahead. Summer training for me is all about putting in good solid weeks with high mileage to build the biggest base possible and I'm sure each and every one of you are well on your way. After coming back from Smoky Mountain Running camp in North Carolina with some friends I spent two weeks training in Brasil at my grandfathers farm. I would describe these two weeks as a runners paradise, endless miles of dirt roads, hills whenever you need them, and beautiful waterfalls to take natural ice baths in after those hard workouts. But I want to make my blog differently than your average blogger, I want to give you guys some insight; not about training and what I've been doing but some “confidential” things that I believe help me run better and stronger. So with that being said flash-forward to the season, today I want to talk about rituals.
The Ritual
From my tennis days I developed a habit of creating weird rituals to maintain focus and I believe everyone should have a ritual to get their mind in the right place, whether it be a small local meet or the state championship. So here are my top secret rituals or routines leading up to any race.
Thursday Night:
1- Have to eat rice and steak (preferably Chipotle)
2- Most important night of sleep so go to bed at 10 p.m. the latest
Friday Night:
1- Have to eat rice and chicken (again preferably Chipotle)
2- Pack everything for the meet, spikes, uniform, socks, warmups, etc.
Saturday Morning (Race day):
1- Wake up nice and early, brush teeth, etc (morning stuff)
2- Uniform on, warmups on top
3- Arrive at meet- preferably an hour before the race, 10 minute jog
4- Relaxxxxxxx, maybe listen to some music, talk to friends
5- Eat a cough drop (preferably lemon)
6- 30 min before race, 10 min jog, striders, dynamic warm up
7- 5-10 min early, walk to the line, now here’s where it gets complicated…
8- Change socks, spikes on, left foot first (four knots left foot, three knots on the right)
9- Three or four striders/high knees
10- Quick team pump up, always jumping up and down
11- BANG and were off.
For me by keeping my mind focused on all of these tasks right up until the starting line helps me to forget the magnitude of the race and run solid and consistent no matter what. By not changing your rituals you can race the same if its raining, snowing (not in Florida), cold, hot, a state meet, or your schools home invitational. Hope you all enjoyed and see you next time!
