How to Get Organized and Prepare for Any Race 

Thinking about signing up for a race soon? Let finding this article be your sign from the universe to just do it! Already signed up? Great! Let’s go! Let’s get right to the point of this article, which is of course, how to get organized and prepare for any race. 

Overview

It doesn’t matter whether your race is a 5k or a 100k, you will need to sit down and get organized. This process involves a few key steps, which we will break down in detail below.  

1. Establish your timeline for training.
2. Assess your current capabilities. 
3. Determine your goals.   
4. Build your macro chart. 
5. Figure out your weekly workouts. 
6. Commitment and consistency. 

Establish Your Timeline for Training

Start by taking your race date and plugging it on a calendar. From there, work your way backwards and count how many weeks you have to prepare. When I create this chart for myself or clients, I like to use a new google doc and build a table, creating a row for each week I have for training til race day. You can use any calendar that works for you though! 

Assess Your Current Capabilities 

If your race was today, how do you think you’d do? It’s absolutely okay to not be race ready today, but it’s good to get a feel for how big the gap is between where you are now and where you want to be on race day with your fitness and endurance. If you already have a base of being able to run 3 miles without stopping right now, then you can start your mileage build up plan there! 

Remember to gradually build, week by week. A good rule of thumb is around 10-15% increase at most each week. Meaning, you don’t go from 3 miles to 6 in one week! Something more like 3 to 3.5 or 4 would be much wiser. Make your increases incrementally to help you safely build endurance over time. 

This is also a great time to think about visiting the doctor or getting some new blood work done IF it’s been a really long time since you’ve been or if you’ve had any health concerns since your last race. 

Determine Your Goals

Are you trying to set a PR (personal record) for this particular distance? Or just finish without being miserable and sore for a week? Or something else in between? Having a clear vision for what your goals are will help you with planning your training. If you are trying to run fast and be competitive in this race, your training runs will need to be more intense and at faster paces. If you are just happy to finish and don’t care if you’re the last across the line, then your training runs will need to focus on just gradually building up the duration of your runs, with less emphasis on speed or tempo runs. 

Build Your Macro Chart 

This is where you figure out a rhythm for your training sessions. One successful method is to try to do similar workouts on similar days each week. This gives you structure and helps you with consistency week after week. For example, Saturdays are my “long run” days, because I have more time on the weekend. Here’s an example from an 8 week build up for a 5k race:

Key: 

• ST = Strength Training
• R = Recovery 
• XTC ## = cross training low impact cardio & number of minutes 

To read more about this specific plan or explanations of ST, R, or XTC, please check out the blog post, “Fitness For Real Blog’s Free 8-Week 5K Training Plan.”  

Figure Out Your Weekly Workouts 

Next, drill down a little on that chart and add detail to those workout plans. So for example, in the chart above, ST is strength training, so now we need to fill in what to do for strength training for a Monday or a Wednesday in any particular week. Decide what the warm up will be, followed by the exercises and how many sets/reps/how heavy each will be. Finally include some foam rolling and stretches in the cool down section. 

Do the same for the run days, and think about what those will look like. Will you do all your training at the same place? Out and backs? Loops? Or mix it up every time? Invite some friends? How will you measure it? Distance, time, or both? 

Another great tip is to start a notebook to keep track of your different workouts and runs. Write down details to keep track of your weights lifted or run times for each training run. 

Commitment and Consistency

As you start getting organized, you will also feel more confident in knowing you are laying out a framework to stay committed and consistent to the process. You can’t cheat race prep! It takes weeks and weeks to build changes in the body that will make it possible to be race ready! 

These changes happen in multiple body systems, such as the cardiovascular system. You have to increase the ability for your heart and lungs and blood vessels to work together to help you last that long. Your musculoskeletal system has to have time and regular workouts to build up muscle strength and endurance as well as connective tissue such as ligaments and tendons. The safest way to build up your mileage is a slow and gradual increase, week after week, month after month. Commit to consistency and let your planning charts be part of your accountability! 

Conclusion for How to Prepare for Any Race

Preparing for a race doesn’t have to be complicated. Hopefully with these simple steps, you can take action today and start getting ready to not only finish your race, but also enjoy it! Embrace the process of training and knowing there are no shortcuts or easy hacks. But commitment and consistency will take you all the way. Good luck and please connect with me and share pictures or stories of your race day success! 

Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer: This post contains a link to Amazon, and I am an affiliate. If you happen to make a purchase after clicking my link, I will make a tiny commission. Thank you in advance!