My 5K race is tomorrow morning. The race starts at 9.00 am, and looking at the weather forecast, it is clear that it is going to be a cold race.

Temperatures tomorrow morning are going to be in the low 30’s ‘F.  It will however be dry.  These are not ideal conditions for racing, so how will I prepare myself, ahead of the gun going off?  Here is my plan:

• 30 minutes before race time, I will eat a pack of energy chews and wash them down with water. 
• I will then visit the bathroom for the last time before the race.
• With 20-25 minutes to go, while still in warm clothing, I will do some warm up drills.  I will do some lunges, some A-skips and B-skips, and maybe a couple of other things.
• I will then go for an easy 10 minute run, where I will throw in 3-4 shorts bursts at my target race pace.
• I should be nicely warmed up after this, and the key will be to stay warm at the start line. I will be wearing old clothes to stay warm, and will only discard them with a few minutes to go.

I plan to race with my watch, so I have a record of the event.  My plan is to ignore it however.  This should be easy, as it will be under the cuff of the gloves that I plan to wear.

The final part of planning for a cold race, is to ensure that I have a full change of clothes for after the race.  It is very important to get out of my sweaty race gear, before I catch a chill.

I am excited to race tomorrow.  A report on the race will be in my next blog post.