Make the most of the most important day of your training.

Coach Valdez is has a book due out this fall: "SmartRacing," which will detail all the tools you need to conquer the finish line.  He shares with you how to treat Race Day as the most important day of your training.  Most running books get you through the training, but leave out what to do (and not do) on the most important day.  Drawing on the accumulated wisdom from his pacers and his runners, 

Coach Valdez gives tips you can use to finish strong, whether you finish a half in 1:25 or a full in 6:00.  The book will be available at our SmartPacing website, at the Pacer Booth at the races we Pace, and through Garry Gribble Running Sports in the Kansas City Area.   

Here are some tips to Race Smart.

Don't Rush.  Drink Enough.

The SmartPace teams will walk briskly through the aid stations to allow you to get enough to drink.  Depending on the pace, they will walk 10-60 seconds per aid station.  They will try to let you know when an aid station is coming up so you'll have your nutrition ready to take as well.  You'll find them after the aid station by looking for the pacing sticks, which they'll carry throughout the race.  

Imagine 13 (or 26) dominos lined up.  Which domino has the greatest impact? The first one, right?  In the same manner, the first mile is the most crucial, make-or-break mile of the race.  Therefore, you need to be the most conservative with this one.  Vice versa, the last mile is the least critical so you can afford to be the most aggressive on that one.  But, what do most people do?  The opposite!  

Just like the first mile, the first aid station is the most important, make-or-break aid station to determine how well people can keep their ‘gas tank’ from going on empty while the last aid station is the least important towards overall race performance.  Again, what do most people do?  They rush through the first ones until they’re forced to walk through the last ones.  We’ll encourage you to get what you need in the aid stations.  And, it begins most importantly with the first aid station.

Nothing new on race day.

• Make sure you've practiced with your nutrition (before & during the race), your drinking & your race outfit.  
• Run a training run at the same time as your race starts so you can rehearse it all, including your nutrition.  Run at or slightly below your race pace for the middle miles of your long runs.  
• Buy that new shirt & gear at the expo, but save it for a training day. Save the untested race shirt to wear after the race.  All your training runs have been rehearsals for your big race day.  Don't risk it. (Ask us about our collossal mistakes with Frosted Flakes & new shoes!)
• Dress as if it is 15 to 20 degrees warmer than what the thermometer reads. When you step outside for a run you should be chilled, not comfortable. Bring throw-away clothes & gloves if necessary.  

Make sure your GPS watch is helping you 

"Your body will go as far as your mind tells it to."

Start picturing your race day.  Remind yourself of your goals (A, B & C).  When the going gets tough, you'll want to make sure that you have them first & foremost in your mind.  Our experience is that for every negative thought, you add 1 second to your time because in that moment you will slow down if you dwell on some aspect of giving up - your body will be only too willing to slow down.  This is why your thoughts need to be productive to limit this tendency.    

Keep thinking about crossing that finish iine & how great you'll feel.  Picture yourself running a Smart Race & achieving your goals.

Don't worry about the things you can't control. You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.  We all run the race in the same weather and with the same terrain.

Call out your cheerleaders!

A cute girl in the crowd yelling for you by name will pick up your pace when you need it.  Order a MyNames bib with your name on it from Races2Remember

 You may also want to have your friends and family download and print out a copy of a Races2Remember FREE Chase Chart. This will help them figure out when you'll be at several different locations along the marathon route to meet you and cheer you on! 

"[Running with the SmartPacers] made the thinking part of the race a somewhat non issue and I was able to just run. That made it much more relaxing and fun!"