If you are running on a track there is a right direction to run and a wrong one.  It’s simple, there are lines, even arrows to direct you but what is the “right way” to do the 6 mile loop you run near your house or the route you and your running group to take together?  There are many ways to name loops, which usually has no specification of direction.  In High School Cross Country we used to name the loops we would run after a person, road name, point of interest, and even an extraordinary event that happened on the run.  One guy jumped on, up, and over the back of a slow moving car in a park.  He got a loop named after him.  We had everything from the Waffle House loop, Spalla loop, and the MidBroadwell loop.  I never accomplished anything out of the ordinary on a run to have a loop named after me.  That was a High School goal that I actually wanted to accomplish!  Grades are cool, but a loop named after you for years to come, now that’s accomplishment!

So every time we decided to run a loop “backwards” there were questions.  It seems that everyone had a different opinion on what running it “backwards” meant.  One line of thought is that clockwise is running a loop “normal” and counterclockwise was “backward.”  I look to the track to refute this theory.  The “normal” way to run on a track is counterclockwise so this doesn’t work.  Another theory is the “normal” direction of a loop is the direction that it is predominantly run.  Although humans have very good internal calculators, this way to designate the direction of a loop is flawed because each individual has different experiences running loops in a certain direction, making this designation not universal.  Lastly, a way to designate direction is by the first time the loop was ever run.  The first direction anyone in the group runs the loop is the “normal” way; therefore, running it the opposite direction would be “backwards.”  This way makes the most sense to me and I have used it in my loop designations ever since.  Are there any other ways to designate loop direction that I missed?

I think I may ellicit the USATF in making an universal designation of direction for running loops.  I gotta accomplish something; I never got a loop named after me for the Cross-country team!  Honor Roll, scholarship awards, admission to a top 25 ranked University, sure that’s nice and I am proud of it, but many others have been able to do that.  I want a loop named after me!

This past year I ran a 10k where I didn’t do as well as I had hoped.  I didn’t perform up to my potential.  There it is.  I said it.  I have no excuses.  I had done all of my training, I had set an attainable goal, I didn’t have any physical problems while training, I was properly prepared to achieve my goal, but I didn’t…by 20 seconds.

So what do 20 little seconds matter?  They don’t.  What matters is that I did not reach my goal.  Why?  Negative thinking.

This was a large race and I was running with a group of about 20 people; however, I was the only person in the group that was seeded and “racing” the race.  There were two groups meeting at one location, about 1.5 miles from the start line.  The second group was late to arrive.  We had to wait for them because they had the keys to the building that we were going to use the bathroom in before the race.  I ran down to the street corner of the street the race was on to find another solution.  I looked up and down the street and did not see a port-a-let (or any other viable solution).  I asked a police officer if he knew where a restroom was and he responded, “I’m looking for one myself.”  I was distraught and forced to wait.  I’ve learned from experience that I must use the bathroom before every race; but that is for another blog at another time (I really push myself in races).  The other group finally arrived and I used the bathroom.  I then ran through crowds of people (non-seeded runners so not in a hurry as well) and got to the start line with about 5 minutes to spare.  A little distraught but ready to run nonetheless.  I’m always ready to run.

Side note on being ready to run:  I had a buddy the other day say, “Bro, I can run a marathon right now without training.”  Knowing that he has been deployed overseas and hadn’t been running much at all I responded with, “Dude, I could run a half at all times but a marathon is far man.  You could do it without walking at all?”  He said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Dude, I didn’t say I would run it fast.”  To that I say:  “whateves bro.”  We’re both way too hip for our age.

Back to my 10k.  I started off the race great, staying with the group I was seeded with and passing a few as well.  After the first three miles I started to get a little tired.  I hadn’t realized that the first half of the course was mostly downhill and the second half of the course was uphill.  I had just moved to a new non-hilly area of town and hadn’t run as many hills as I probably should have.  Nonetheless I pushed on.  I also noticed I was running a phenomenal pace for the first half of the race but could hear myself start saying, “take it easy a bit, you’re way ahead of your time.”  That was the first sign my mind was starting to take a trip to negative town.  As the hills grew longer and the temperature rose I quickly became fatigued and my pace was slowing down.  I started thinking about how I was late to the race, how I had to run that extra 1.5 miles, that I should have run more hills, that I should have run some of my long runs with a faster paced running partner, and that I hadn’t done something as simple as the drive the course prior to the race.  I just wanted to get done with this race.

By mile 4.5 I had arrived at negative town.  I could not stop thinking about all of theses negative things.  People began to start passing me and I didn’t care.  I tried to stick with a couple people and draft off of them but they had obviously not started the race at too fast of a pace.  I began to think, “I have a good time, I’m over this, I’m just going to coast to the finish line.”  So I coasted, right across the finish line, 20 seconds after my goal time.  I didn’t know I had missed my goal when I finished because my chip time was different than the clock time and my watch time was pretty close to my goal time.  It was up to the chip now.  I was just glad it was over.

So why did I run so poorly?  The only reason was negative thinking.  I once heard someone say that running is 90% mental.  I agree.  You have to tell yourself you can go farther and run faster.  You have to believe that you can achieve the goals you have in front of you.  The most important thing I learned in college was in my undergrad psychology class:  “You can’t worry about things you can’t control.”  That is not saying you can’t learn from your mistakes.  For instance, next year I plan to drive myself to the race and get there with plenty of time.  But there is no reason for me to get upset at the temperature of the race or the hills.  Next time I can train on more hills and run in hotter weather; however, while there in the race you can’t change you training.  So deal with it, keep running, get past it, don’t think negatively, achieve the goals, and learn from your mistakes.  Too easy.

This blog wasn’t very funny.  I think I’m still upset about this race.  Oh yeah, and I also learned in psychology class, don’t dwell on the past.  But that was the third best thing I learned in college.  The second most important thing I learned from college psycology was to look the opposite sex directly in the eyes when flirting.  60% of the time it works all the time.

Hello Serious Runners.  Here at seriousrunning.com we would like to thank you for all of your support and would like to tell you about a couple of new features we’ve added to improve your experience.  We like to think of seriousrunning.com as a community for all of you who are as serious about running as we are.  Hi-ya-didily-ho neighbor.

First, we have developed a way for you to show your beautiful mug on the website utilizing avatars capabilities.  Click here to create your gravatar if you don’t already have an Internet personality.  All you have to do is register with the same email address that you used when registering with this website.  Then you’ll be surfing the cyberwaves with the pose of your choice.  Anything gnarly, rad, or sick will suffice brah.

In addition, we have given you a goal to work toward; (because your running and life goals weren’t enough) to become an internet all-star!  Now you get credit for giving back to the community.  Click here to view your member ranking and see how you can increase your accomplishment level.  You could go from a “couch potato” to a “serious runner” in no time.  All while staying in your pajamas!  Stay tuned for posting contests with some pretty cool prizes.  We know, the feeling you get from posting in the community is prize enough for you, but we would still like to give something back to you.  We insist.

Lastly, because we appreciate all people, runners and non-runners a like, you can now link anything you are doing on SeriousRunning.com to your Facebook account.  Let your friends know what races you are going to run, trails you think they should check out, and whatever else you think your friends want to know about…and what they probably don’t care about as well.  Also, if you want to join the circle, then join the Facebook group, “I Get a Runner’s High.”  Do it.

I give your running work out a 7 out of 10.  Does that rating of your run make you feel better?  Do you need someone giving you positive reinforcement?  That’s fine, we all love some positive reinforcement but do you need it during or right after your workout?  You should be doing it for you and how it makes you feel afterward.

I have found that the things that make people the most happy in life are achieving goals they set for themselves.  Maybe your goal is to run a marathon and accomplishing that will give you great sense of achievement.  A more fit body is good goal to have.  You can get pretty good positive reinforcement from other people with a fit body.  Make achieving your goals your positive reinforcement.  But how do you determine what your work out should be in order to achieve those goals?  Make a training plan, track it, and accomplish it.  Tools to help you along the way are coming soon to this site!  Be excited.

Your daily workout and run is your own workout and run.  You set your daily goals, but the only person that can tell you whether or not you really achieved them is your body.  Someone recently told me that non-verbal communication was more important than verbal communication, which I agree with; however, they told me this over IM, right after arguing the value of text messaging over speaking over the phone.  I’m not sure how reliable the source is.

So how do you rate your workout?  You can post your workout on the web and wait for comments from other runners.  Or you can find your target heart rate and monitor it as you exercise with neat-o gadgets.  I however am of the old school line of thought and agree with Mr. Tom Petty when he says, “You Gotta Listen To Your Heart.”

So what are you listening for?  Muscle soreness.  Muscles soreness comes from minor tears that you get from intense work outs.  Runners usually feel muscles becoming sore 12-48 hours after their run so it looks like you are going to have to wait a bit for the daily rating.  What happens is that the tearing of your muscles is part of an adaptation process which leads to you being able to achieve higher stamina and strength.  These improvements in your level of fitness come from the stressing of the muscles and then them recovering.  So push yourself in your intense runs then make sure that you take enough “rest” days to allow them to recover.  When in doubt, listen to your heart…which is a muscle of course…a love muscle.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

To Be Stong You Must Feel Strong…well, really you need to feel sore.

I like “being in the zone” just as much as anyone else, but we all need to challenge ourselves in order to learn and grow.  When I am “in the zone” you will usually find me on the basketball court, on the golf course, or maybe even conversing with someone of the opposite sex.   If you want to find me “zoning out” just look to my comfortable leather couch and no further.  I’m probably watching some pointless reality show; but enjoying it nonetheless.  So obviously there are many types of zones to be in but today I am challenging you to get out of a zone; your comfort zone?. Where is your comfort zone?  Check somewhere “inside the box.”

Every time I go for a run over 10 miles I try to run somewhere new.  Whether I am starting from my house or traveling by car to a trail-head, I try to experience a new environment on my run.  This weekend it only took 4 miles from my house to get out of my comfort zone.  I ran to a lower socioeconomic area of town early on a Sunday morning where I did not see one person that was the same race as I.  Being around people that don’t look like you is one way to get out of your comfort zone.  Here are some of the things that I noticed in this zone that I was not used to:  a quick handshake on a corner with the two parties retreating quickly in opposite directions, presumably an illegal transaction.  A makeshift soup-kitchen which consisted of a van, a couple of tables, and huge metal container of soup in an empty parking lot with a lot of people happily being served.  A man yelling at a woman walking behind him in a crosswalk saying, “I’m yelling at you because you won’t hurry up.  I’m late to go see my girl!”  She responded with, “I wouldn’t be walking this slow if you hadn’t gotten me pregnant, (explicit name)!”  She looked to be about 8 months pregnant so was understandably walking slowly.  So what does this mean?  It means that in order for us to grow and understand ourselves we must go out of our comfort zones and experience things we may not ever experience.

Running can take you out of your comfort zone.  Not necessarily by traveling to a different place than you are used to but the fact that you are constantly pushing yourself and challenging yourself to achieve new things you have never attempted.  Every time you think about slowing down but instead keep running is moving outside of your comfort zone.  People generally put a lot of effort into keeping their lives constant, but I challenge you to push closer to the edges of “your box.”  I’m always trying to stay edgy, that’s why I watch MTV sometimes to see what the kids are up to.  You have to make a conscious effort to break down your comfort walls.  Although I am a strict proponent of running, try starting with changing up your exercise routine with other activities other than running.  Better yet, try other exercises while still visiting seriousrunning.com and reading this blog daily!  Talk about edgy!

Just like we strive to diversify our investment portfolios (I’m risk-loving so I don’t adhere to this mantra) and our diets we need to diversify our exercise.  I know what you are thinking, ‘I run 5ks and marathons.  I diversify my work-outs.’  Sorry, that doesn’t count running man.  While running is great for the overall health of your body, it does puts stress on the same joints and builds particular muscles more than others.  That is why I recommend adding some other activities to your training.  Some suggestions are mountain biking, hiking, or kayaking to work out different muscles which will actually help to improve your running.  If you are an avid runner, I understand, try changing your running patterns by running on more trails or running steps.  Obviously, I think just by running a different route you are getting outside of you comfort zone so try that at the very least.  Exercising outside of your comfort zone prevent injuries (unless you fall off your mountain bike or something) and will leave your body more balanced.  Now you don’t have to drink as much V8!  Sweet!

Please stop being a square (box) and become a well rounded individual like our ancestors, the original “Renaissance People.”  No, I don’t mean showing your wealth by being rounded (fat) or eating so much that you throw up because you can afford to.  Don’t waste food, there’s soup kitchens in parking lots!

The first time someone told me they had exercise induced asthma I said, “Yeah.  Everyone has trouble breathing when they exercise.  That’s what’s suppose to happen.”  I equate exercise induced asthma diagnoses the same as ADHD diagnosis by saying the child has difficulty paying attention in class.  Every kid has trouble paying attention in class, class is boring at that age.  When I was in school my teachers used to tell my parents that I had trouble paying attention in class and determined it was because I was too smart for the speed of the normal classes; therefore, I did not pay attention.  I may have had higher intelligence than my peers, but for instance, I didn’t already know my multiplication tables before attending class, they were just boring, that’s why I didn’t pay attention.  Who needs multiplication tables anyways?  I’m going to be a cartoonist when I grow up!

Even though I was skeptical, I now know that exercise induced asthma is a real problem for many runners.  Exercise induced asthma is when you get an inflammation in your breathing passages, making it more difficult to breathe for a period of time.  There are many possible triggers and each runner has their own, but some are contaminants in the air such as smoke, pollution, vapors, or dust.  If you have exercise induced asthma try not to ever run in a Middle Eastern country like Iraq; it’s pretty dusty.  Other things that can induce the asthma are respiratory infections, cold and flues, humidity, and even emotional stress; however, once you begin running you relieve stress so don’t worry about this one.

EIA can not be cured but it can be controlled by medication.  If you think you may experience EIA contact your heathcare provider and schedule and appointment…or stop exercising.  Something you can do until then is breathe through your nose when you are resting after a long run.  When the air goes through your nose it warms and humidifies the air before it reaches your lungs allowing for clean breathing.  When you meet your doctor discuss different types of inhalers that may help you and work out a program for how often and when you should use the product.  Some healthcare professionals recommend using inhalers before or after a run depending on the severity of your symptoms.  Try a couple of different routines and see which one works best for you.

Or you can do like our forefathers did:  don’t run if you are sick and don’t run when the air quality is so bad you can’t breathe outside.  Well, I guess they didn’t have to worry about poor air quality like we do now; unless they were sending smoke signals or something.

The other night a friend of mine was hungry after a late night at work where she hadn’t eaten dinner so she ordered a plate of french fries.  The time of the order was actually at 1 in the morning.  My first reaction was, “that sounds great!  I wonder if they have any honey mustard here?”  But then I thought, “wait, a meal of just fries?  Aren’t fries supposed to be a side?….of course they have honey mustard, it’s a restaurant.”  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for breaking the social norms when it comes to eating; I used to put sprite or orange juice on my rice checks cereal when I a kid, but a fried side as a meal?  That was a bit too much for me to swallow…literally.  Ok, so it wasn’t that hard to swallow.  I had some of them without being offered any at all.  No honey mustard though.

I have found that there are two types of eating habits of runners.  There are those who run to be able to eat whatever they want and those that eat whatever they want and THEN decide to lose weight so they start running.  The first group is typically the more serious runners.  I am a member of the first group.  That doesn’t mean I can eat any type of food after a long run, it’s just that I don’t have to worry about the portions and can cheat a little bit on the types of food I eat.  A good treat after a long run would be a humongous burrito, chips and salsa, and a couple of Dos Equis.  However, although I have always been a runner, I haven’t always been a runner of the first group.  I haven’t ever run to necessarily lose weight either, I just didn’t coincide my eating habits with my running calorie burn.  About 2 years ago I weighed 30 more pounds than I do now.  Although I was still running, and doing about the same distances  that I run today, I was doing all of the other things that would immensely offset my intense workouts, helping me maintain a more roundish figure.  Now I’m more like a V!  I’m thinking of changing my middle initial to “V” but keeping my same middle name; which doesn’t have a V in it at all.  Don’t think that’s impossible.  Let’s just say it wouldn’t be the first time that I have successfully had everyone refer to me as a name other than my legal one.  I am the proud owner of a successful alias!

I used to eat fast food at least 10 times a week.  It was good, cheap, and convenient.  I don’t cook.  I still don’t cook but I don’t eat fast food either.  I eat meals out about 2-3 times per week, depending on what my coupon situation is.  When I eat at home, I eat mostly cereal, soup, Spaghetti O’s, tuna and other items that come out of a can or box and you can eat in a bowl.  I honestly have not had one plate in my dishwasher in the past month.  Not one.  I’m thinking about investing in some more bowls.  I’m a simple man, that’s probably why I enjoy the simplicity of running.

So I decided I needed to shed the extra weight I was carrying around.  It actually wasn’t as fun being large as I thought it would be.   I thought I would be a lot more jolly.  So what did I do about it?  How have I been able to lose 30 pounds and keep it off?  Well, I took my simple style to my diet.  I don’t eat fast food and I don’t drink soft drinks that are not diet.  Plus I keep running.  Same distances, same schedule, same speed as I did before; the difference is what I put into my body.  If you are seeking to lose weight, running or other exercise won’t do it alone.  That is why runners who are looking to merely maintain their size, running and eating unhealthy becomes a zero sum game and you remain the same size.  So, if you want to decrease your size, you MUST eat healthy.

I’m not a nutritionist, so I can’t tell you want to eat, but I can tell you to eat healthy if you want to lose weight.  From my experience, if you are tired after you eat, you either ate too much or ate a lot of fat.  Wake up and eat a carrot!  Then go for a run and burn that carrot plus some!

So I think it is time to get new running shoes.  I have put about 400 miles on my current shoes.  I tend to hold on to my shoes longer than I should firstly because I am cheap; but secondly because I hate trying to pick out the perfect pair to replace my broken in shoes.  Face it, no two running shoes feel the same and it takes some time to feel completely comfortable in new running shoes.  I’ve only had three types of running shoes in my last 6 pairs.  My current pair is a brand that I had never tried before.  They are the Brooks Trance 8s and I love them.  They had the perfect blend of stability and cushion that my body and running style needs.  However, we must try new things to grow.  I am now out on a mission…to find the best shoe I can find.  Maybe it will be a cushioned running shoe, maybe it will be a stable one, maybe support; I don’t know, maybe it will something cool I’ve never even heard about.

So the reason I know my shoes are worn out is that I started feeling the first signs of shin splints on a track workout today.  Just over a week ago I started a 9-week training plan to race a half-marathon.  I’ve never raced this distance before and am excited to see how fast I can do it.  I haven’t raced this short of a distance in about 6 months and have not been to the track much during that period.  I think the track had something to do with me feeling the splint in my right shin.  For now, I’m going to run the track backwards before I find the perfect shoe…unless my body tells me otherwise.

Please comment and make any suggestions.  I’ll keep you posted on how my search goes and what I learn.

You’ve been running a lot lately.  You are training for a big race and more importantly, you are a runner, that’s just what you do.  You run; everyday.  Even if you are feeling a little sick or maybe tired, you still go for a run.  Running cures everything.  “I have a fever and the only cure is…more Running.”  Sorry Christopher Walken, but that’s just not the case.

Many runners hate taking a day off from running; conversely, skipping rest is the most common over-training injury.  Weird.  Your muscles need rest.  Running puts strain on your muscles which causes microtrauma and small tears.  Your muscles gain strength when your body is able to rest and repair them.  Without recovery, these tears become more susceptible to injury and over-training.  We as Americans never over-eat, over-analyze, or over-heat (I’m a blog artist, interpret “over-heat” however it strikes you) so why do we over-train?

It is because we live in a go fast, work-hard society which I am all for, but we need to have some perspective on this.  For instance, if you are sick, it isn’t a good idea to exercise heavily.  A good rule of thumb to keep you from overextending yourself is if the symptoms are from the neck up, like a head cold, you are fine to run.  If the symptoms are below the neck, like a chest cold or diarrhea, it’s better to not exercise and stay inside…perhaps close to a toilet.  If you are sick, you need to rest and get the sleep you need.  One common mistake is to give up sleep to exercise when you are feeling ill.  It has been proven for centuries, the best thing for any illness is sleep and rest.  I mean, we all know that “Doctors” were created by Universities who just wanted to charge students tuition for 12 years rather than the standard 4.  It increased college tuition revenue by 200% but it didn’t change the fact that the universal cure for any illness is rest.  So rest.

Believe it or not, you don’t have to run everyday.  I read a runner’s blog today who had been running for 6 years and a month straight, without one day off.  His 1-mile PR was just under 7:00 min and his other PRs were about at that same level of accomplishment.  According to these PRs, I think he would have benefited from a day off.   Give your body a rest and take the day off.  A good alternative is to stretch or do some light exercise.  You can go for a walk with your significant other or children, play a friendly tennis game, or play some B-ball down at your local YMCA.  You can still exercise without straining the same muscles you do everyday when running.

I know you are a Serious Runner.  You’re on this website aren’t you?  It’s fine though.  Swallow your pride, put on your comfy pants, sit on the couch, make a bowl of peanut butter and take a rest day.  It’s really not that hard.

If it makes you feel better, do like this guy did.  Put on your running shoes and clothes and fall asleep on a palm tree patterned couch.  Then, wake up and tell yourself you just came back from a 6 mile run!  Repeat as necessary.

On my long run this weekend I ran up behind another runner, in a less than desirable part of town, which made it obvious that we were both on a very long run.  As I approached the other runner I could see her waist band full of water bottles and thought to myself, “How far she is going?!”  I was personally on a 14 mile run in which the only stop I had planned to make was to release some hydration not to add to it.  However, I do have a running friend that has constructed a map of every water fountain, hose, cooler, and runner friendly establishment in town and plans his runs accordingly.  Now that’s serious.  Maybe I’ll get him to post the map.   I bet mapmyfun doesn’t have this capability.  I wouldn’t know though, I never go to that lame website.

The other runner and I began talking.  She was going about 14 miles as well and asked me the question, “You don’t have any water?!”  She was amazed that I didn’t have any for a 14 mile run which lead me to thinking, how come I didn’t have any water?  I did know of two water fountains along my route but I didn’t stop at them.  What makes me different?  What are techniques that may allow me to go a little farther without water?  It is surely not due to my genetic make-up.  Just ask anyone who has had to post up on me in a game of basketball or sit in a chair I have recently sat in after a long run, I’m a sweater.  To put it in perspective, it takes me about a 4 mile run in 70 degree weather to make my whole outfit drip with sweat.  Some say it’s heredity, I say it’s body efficiency.  Don’t be jealous that my body knows how to cool itself off better than yours.  My body is a machine, not to mention, my future is so warm, I gotta stay cool…that was lame.  Probably the opposite of cool.

At any rate, not being properly hydrated can lead to fatigue, decreased coordination, and muscle cramping, not to mention more serious implications that can lead to hospitalization and even death.  Hydration is something everyone who is active needs to monitor.  When running long distances over 8 miles it is best to start hydrating a few days prior.  I have found this is the best way to make sure you are ready for your run.  I constantly make sure I am well hydrated.  When I think of my hydration for the day I don’t consider any liquid intake other than sports drink or water.  I have found the best thing to pre-hydrate is to make weak sports drink.  You can buy the powder based sports drink (this is cheaper too) and mix it at half the recommended amount or even less.  This beverage tastes the same, well weaker, and while you are not exercising it allows you to intake more fluids without giving you unnecessary extra calories or electrolytes that you don’t need during the day.  My pre-hydration is why I require less liquids while running.  Don’t hesitate, pre-hydrate.

Consuming large amounts of fluid directly prior to your run is not a good way to hydrate.  You should only drink about 16-24 ounces of fluid before every run.  During your run it is a good rule of thumb to try to drink 6-8 fluid ounces per 20 minutes; however, every runner is different and only you know your body.  I don’t bring water with me on a run unless I am going to run more than 14 miles in a moderate weather day.  However, that’s just my preference, but I don’t even like bringing a house key with me or a even a shirt, they’re just so constricting.  Bring whatever amount of water you feel comfortable with.  Also remember to not let the weather fool you on how much water you bring on your run.  Too often runners think because it is cooler out that they will not sweat as much and therefore do not need to hydrate as much.  This is a misconception which can lead to serious dehydration.  A good rule of thumb is for every pound of weight you lose from sweat (weigh yourself before your workout, then after) amounts to 1 pint of water.  So figure out about how much water you usually lose when exercising and hydrate accordingly.  After your run you should drink from 20-24 ounces, or more simply, until you aren’t thirsty anymore.  Try not to “gulp” down any water but drink it slowly to give your body time to disperse the liquid efficiently.  Just like oil makes an engine run efficiently, water makes a body purr.

Your race hydration amounts are more intense than your normal run but it is good to practice your race day hydration.  Just like your practicing your race pace, practice your drinking rhythm for race day.  Where do you plan to stop for water?  It is good to view a map of your race’s water points so you don’t get caught needing water when it is not available.  Also, when you do get your water I have found it is more beneficial to slow down or walk when you drink it.  It doesn’t take that much time and your body with thank you for not giving it a shockingly huge gulp of water as it is banging itself up and down on the pavement.  Slowing down also gives you a chance to make sure you are drinking the correct liquid that you chose to.  I ran a marathon that had red bull girls handing out red bull at the water stations.  The problem was that Red Bull’s hired help was a lot more attractive than the race volunteer staff.  It took about 4 cups of red bull for me to realize that none of the good looking girls had water or sports drink.  Did that mean I stopped getting red bull?  No, I just stopped drinking it.  Drink up!