Runners in last year’s edition of the EDP Rock’n’Roll Madrid Marathon.
More than 15,000 people are nervous. Some more than others, but all of them share a kind of anguish because of the 42 odd kilometers that awaits them this Sunday at the EDP Rock’n’Roll Madrid Marathon. It’s his thing. Even the most seasoned in the distance feel that respect and it eats away on the eve of a race that made the winter rush by. More than three or four months of training, resignations and kilometers cannot be thrown away a few hours before the big day for not taking care of the last details. It is enough to be clear about a handful of recommendations that are worth their price in gold.
Before the race
Rest consciously . Just as you have applied yourself to follow your training plan, in the same way you must rest with discipline before the race. That day you have an excuse to avoid museums, not to drive or wear slippers. At most, a short walk to relax your long-suffering legs for the whole afternoon.
Drink mineral water . Hydrate without experiments. That is, without rinses, juices or drinks that you do not know. At this point in the party you will be surprised by your extraordinary facility for not retaining liquids.
Hydrate without rinsing and eat pasta without getting full
Recharge hydrates, but without going overboard . It is one thing to eat pasta until you feel full and quite another to binge. The day before is one of the worst times for excesses. I advise against napping to avoid possible sleeplessness at night.
Provision your minerals. The next day you will lose sweat for a couple of hours in a sauna. And you will also reduce minerals. If you have been lucky enough to take mineral supplements in recent weeks, congratulations. Do it one more day. The magnesium with potassium are sold at any pharmacy and are dispensed in orange or lemon flavored effervescent tablets.
A moment of the Madrid marathon route.
Choose your battle clothes. You already know that the clothing will be of absolute comfort and confidence. They will be the favorite garments that you have already had to use in previous races and long training sessions. No brand new shirt, pants, socks and much less the shoes. A beanie will be a good idea, whether the morning is sunny or cool. And if it rains, then the visor will be essential.
Go list of accessories. The dorsal-chip must be conveniently centered and attached to the shirt, even reinforced with a spare safety pin. The watch with GPS will be full of battery and you will already have thought about how to charge both the gels that you will consume during the race in the least annoying way, and a 20 euro bill in case an injury forces you to leave and you want to take a taxi. An old long-sleeved T-shirt, which you don’t mind throwing away before the race, will protect you from the morning chill. Possibly someone will recycle it later. There are more and more men who warm up with a small empty water bottle, one of those with a wide mouth. It is very useful in the event that the availability of a service is complicated. It is enough to hide the bottle under the skirts of the pants and there are no more explanations.
Prepare the backpack. You will leave it in the cloakroom, with its corresponding number sticker, and nothing you need can be missing. Aside from the dry and warm clothes to suit each one, add a small tube of Vaseline to protect the areas of greatest friction, such as armpits and groin. A piece of tape or Band-Aid will work for men who are afraid of their nipples. A pack of tissues will be blessed in case the rush leads to a bathroom without toilet paper. Obviously, as is usual in each one, do not leave home without a mobile phone, your keys, your card and some money. There are also highly recommended hot-cold gels to be applied to the legs after the beating.
Forbidden brand new shoes, socks and pants
Light dinner. Yes, there is also some pasta, always pleasant and digestible. The ideal thing would be to spend a couple of hours later in the bathroom and leave all the remains of digestion there before going to bed.
Sleep as much as you can. You’ve reviewed everything and just need to go to bed. The night before they put her to sleep. This is not the time to get mystical or hysterical. Self-motivation and insomnia are such for each other. A couple of alarm clocks on time, a generous glass of cold water and a good read help to fall into the arms of Morpheus.
Recreate the countdown.For the big day you will have already calculated at what time your two alarm clocks should ring. If the race starts at 9:00 a.m., you will have to plan backwards the times with a certain margin of tranquility. Four hours before you start running you should have had breakfast. And it will be the same as you usually take on race or training days, without excesses and without astringent foods. You must leave your house or hotel with a completely empty intestine. The stomach of a marathoner in action can be unforgiving if it harbors leftovers from breakfast. You will already have planned how to get to the starting line and you will have deducted the time of that movement, in addition to the time you will use to find the wardrobe. Reserve several minutes to gently warm up and stretch and another time to position yourself in the drawers without being overwhelmed. Then will come the three, two.
The Ethiopian Atsede Baysa wins the Boston Marathon. CJ GUNTHER (EFE)
After the race
Raise your arms for posterity. 42.195 kilometers later, plus all the gratuity meters that you will surely have added for poorly drawing the curves, you will reach the finish line. There you must smile for the photo that you will surely buy later with the excuse of the memory. Next, they will put the medal on you and you will drag yourself to the cloakroom, along the way your legs will release the accumulated lactate residues while you hydrate yourself with water and isotonic drinks, and eat a piece of fruit.
Stretch very gently. When you reach your backpack, you will change your clothes as best you can and you will spread on your legs, gently rubbing, the hot-cold cream that you had already managed. You will try to do some stretching, without forcing, and you will see how far the floor is from your hands.
You will eat, drink and bless the siesta. A couple of hours after the race and after one of the best showers of the year, you will eat something soft so as not to stress the liver. It will serve some vegetables, rice or some grilled meat or fish. It is important to recover fluids with drinks with electrolytes without being disgusted by a cold beer with which to toast the marathon passed. Then the sacred restorative siesta awaits you and to end the afternoon, a short walk. You will appreciate a gentle self-massage, lumbar stretching and legs up. To sleep you will not need to lower the blinds. The next day it will hurt to walk down the stairs, you will suffer when tying your shoes and you will forget about running in a week. Then it will be a matter of practicing the piggy trot and thinking about the next marathon convinced that it is so beautiful to run it, how to prepare it.
