Race Prep 212a - Logistics Preparation and Visualization

Note - Course 211a is an alternate course for those of you who are running your hometown marathon and need to prepare logistics locally. 211a and 212a are prerequisites for and may not be taken concurrently with 211b and 212b.

212a - As part of my race prep and mental prep for a marathon, I consider it important to plan for a successful travel day. This course in race preparation involves preparing yourself for the least stressful day of travel. This 'course' will focus on how to ensure you physically reach the starting line with the least amount of travel stress.

I always double check all of my reservations two to three weeks ahead of marathon day...flight, hotel, rental car...and begin to create the mental image of what it will be like to go through the routines of traveling. By preparing in advance what it all will feel like and look like, it enables me to be more flexible and feel less stress if something doesn't go exactly right.

The timeline (decide on the best travel day for you) - I know the marathon is on Saturday morning and that I like to have a full day of rest before I run. I have set my travel day for Thursday to allow for a flexible time schedule and for a day to unwind.

The flight (logistics) - Thursday morning begins with a flight around 9am. If it is at all possible, I highly suggest purchasing the direct flight to your destination so as not to risk any layover issues. Of course, we all are budget-minded these days, but $50-75 to reduce travel time by several hours and to remove the risk of weather or mechanical delays is worth the piece of mind to me. If anything, save the layover for the flight home. Also, try to schedule your flight earlier in the day (but not too early), so that you have plenty of time built into your schedule to get to your destination.

Mental preparation for flight - Imagine what time it will be when you need to wake up for your flight. For me this is about 6:30am (not too far off of when I normally get up...for Chad, this will be sleeping in). Imagine yourself with your bags mostly packed so that you can leave the house without a rushed feeling. Imagine everything that you have to do to get to the airport. Are you getting a ride? Are you driving? Do you know where you will park? Do you know how long it will take to get there? Imagine yourself arriving at the airport in a relaxed mode with plenty of time to get through security. Imagine yourself waiting at the gate with an excited feeling. Imagine your flight leaving on time.

Rental Car - Do you need a rental car or are you going to catch a cab? We're going to need to rent a car to get to St. George, so I have revisited our rental reservation. I picture myself boarding the shuttle to go to the rental counter. I'm picturing the car we will be driving. I picture myself in the car. Preparing for the drive is also essential. Ask yourself if you will need a map. Do you need to get one before you leave? Are you going to be okay with simple google map directions? Do you know the address of your destination? I imagine myself on the drive, with good weather, arriving at my destination safely. We will arrive at the airport at 10:15 Pacific time, then probably take about an hour to get our car. The mental note of having a timeline reminds me that we might be very hungry and will want to take a snack and have lunch when we arrive. Not including the time in the airport or at lunch, the drive will likely take 1hr 45 min to 2 hours to get to St. George. When we get to St. George, the time will have changed back to Mountain time, so it will likely be 3:00pm local time when we finally arrive.

Hotel - Do you know where your hotel is located? Have you checked the address on the map to have a mental image of where it is located in the city you are visiting? How far away is it from the start/finish line? Are there restaurants nearby? Is it close to the expo? These are all important questions to have answered before the reservation is made or before it is too late to cancel. What is the check in time? Because we will arrive after check in time, our plan is to immediately check in and take in our bags. Another set of questions - did you request a non smoking room? Do you have the proper bed size? Do you have any other special needs from the hotel? Is there breakfast in the morning? Is your room in a quiet area of the hotel? The rest of the evening is up to us. We are traveling with another couple (yay Tara!), so our evening plans will likely be with them.

Once your day of travel is complete, you have other things to focus on. Hopefully you have prepared in advance for any issues that might come up during travel. Hopefully you arrive a happy, hydrated runner.

(On a personal note, I know some of you are wondering if I actually think to this detail when planning for a marathon. The answer is yes. Definitely. I am 100% mentally prepared for marathon weekend when I have a goal race. This stuff works. There are other ways to do it, for sure, but my way definitely works for me. I also consider the visualization of it all extremely important...I am actually picturing myself checking in at the hotel and speaking to the person behind the desk. It is completely over the top, but I think it helps.)