This is not really going to be a post about tips for beginners, just more of a log of what I have been doing leading up to the big day. This next race is important to me for several reasons but, as I map them out in my mind, they are all pretty important for different reasons. For me, placing some sort of objective or goal about the race keeps me going. It keeps me from getting tired and saying, “I’ll just skip this one.” That objective, for the next three races is to be able to say that I own Southern California despite being Phoenix Web Guy.

I know that there are plenty more serious runners out there than myself. As a matter of fact, I am sure that they are all registered for the same races that I am. Regardless, I have picked three cities that I plan on visiting that I will be running in. The first race is the Orange County Half-Marathon. For those of you that don’t know, I was born and raised in Orange County which makes it almost nostalgic for me to be able to finish this race. I am extremely excited and have been preparing for this for months. What exactly have I been doing? Well, here is a peek.

No Alcohol – I have been without drinking for a number of weeks leading up to the event. In an effort to make sure that my body is in top physical condition for the race, my happy hours have included 8-9 miles, water, sweat and pain.

Strength Training – In the past few months, I have had very few real off-days. On my non-running days, I have been hitting the gym, working on getting my endurance up for the race. I have also been focusing on stretching and strengthening “trouble spots” or areas of my lower body that I have had issues with in the past by working on the muscles around those areas.

Watching My Diet – I have actually planned three days worth of meals leading up to the event. The recommendation is actually four but I figure that the three I am doing this time is better than the big fat goose egg that I did for the last race. I am not terribly strict on my diet but, I have been staying away from fatty foods… including cheeseburgers.

Multi-Vitamins – I try to take vitamins every day but I have become almost dependent upon them. I make sure that I have them every day for lunch. I know that is not the recommended time but getting them in at all is huge for me.

Reading Advice – I have been reading a ton of advice on training and working on fine tuning my running form and mental approach. I have also been working on my running form, which has been extremely helpful in getting my pace down to where I would like for it to be. Some of the other articles that I have been reading include pre-race meal advice, recovery advice and hill training as well as gym workout recommendations.

Getting Mental – Visualization is a huge part of obtaining any goal. As I run, I use visualization techniques to keep me going when things begin to start getting tough. A really helpful visualization technique is replaying the distance that you have already gone. This is especially helpful when you are 60-75% complete. Although I try to remain positive, I am also trying to be prepared for the worst. There is nothing worse than getting injured in the big race and a close second is not reaching your goal. For this race, I just really want to kill my previous times. I would usually be happy with just finishing but I am on a bit of a mission. Although I have done some hill training already, after looking at the elevation charts, I am mentally prepared for the challenge that will be there during the race.

Musical Mayhem – I don’t really do playlists for all of my races but I am thinking that I should begin to. I love dance music and there are some pretty motivating tracks by Armin Van Buuren that I absolutely love. I used the program djay to make my own 36 minute mix. I also added enough other music to take up two hours. Since my goal is under two hours, I better not hear the entire playlist. I’ll share the list after the race. I am trying to keep all of the music at or above 120 beats per minute. If you do this, you will begin to notice that your cadence subconsciously begins to match the music.

The one thing that I am extremely grateful for about deciding to take up running again is that I have never been so in tune with my body. When you put your body in stressful situations, it reacts. I have been able to learn to listen to what my body needs and address it when the time comes. Doing this has helped me to live a more healthy lifestyle and stay fresh for my daily job. Working out on a regular basis does wonders for your mental well-being. I am sure that some of you already know or have even experienced this but it can not be said enough.

I hope that some of the readers are able to find some of this information helpful and please feel free to share any preparation techniques that you might have.