Racing — Top Mistakes at the Hood to Coast Relay

Coach Joe English

Mistake #1 — Going out too fast on leg 1 — It may seem obvious, but the devil is in the details here. Too many treat their Hood to Coast legs like any 10K road race they would run. They got our hard on that first leg, as if running a 10K race on its own. This is understandable in many ways. For one thing, you want your team to think that you’re as fast as you put down on the planning spreadsheet and for another you’re feeling the excitement of the race and the pent-up adrenaline of sitting all afternoon in the van waiting to run. But the problem is that by going gangbusters in the first leg, you end up destroying yourself in the later legs. Pace yourself for a 30K race, not a 10K — think of this as a 30K event with three long rest periods in between the running. This may mean holding back on the first leg, but the benefit is actually being able to run faster on the other two legs, which also makes you look great to your team.

Mistake #2 — Standing up all day and night — The next big issue is the constant standing around before and after your runs. It would be enough to run 30K and not sleep, but if you spend the whole time standing around cheering then your legs are going to be that much more deprived of rest. There’s a nice balance that you need to find between cheering on your team, getting out of the van, and resting. My advice — get out of the van, sit down, and cheer while sitting on your butt.

Mistake #3 — Not eating and drinking enough after running — The key to surviving Hood to Coast is actually to help yourself with your recovery after you run. The best way to do this is to immediately start eating and drinking after your first and second legs to give your body the tools to recover. Right after you finish running (in the first 15-20 minutes) try to eat about 15G of protein and get a good dose of carbohydrate into your system. Anything from Chocolate Milk to a turkey sandwich will do the trick — but eat as soon as you can. Try to drink 32 ounces of electrolyte fluid in the first hour after running as well. Doing these two things will make a world of difference when it comes time to run again.

Mistake #4 — Not getting any sleep at all — Your body can take you a long way, but unless you are an avid fan of rave dance parties, a total lack of sleep is not something that you can handle. Eventually you will shut down and need to sleep. Take the opportunities where you can to shut your eyes and grab at least a few minutes of sleep. In particular, sleeping a little after your first leg will help keep you moving.

Mistake #5 — Drinking alcohol before running –Do we even need to say it. Drinking alcohol before running is a bad idea as it robs you of unninperformance and dehydrates you. Just wait until you get to the beach before breaking out the brews and you’ll be fine.

Don’t forget to have have a blast out there and avoid getting caught peeing on the side of the road (a violation that can get your team disqualified). Have fun at the race folks!

Coach Joe English, Portland Oregon, USA
Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

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