#1 Pre-race week rule – Nothing New
The following is an email I received from Hobbit (Hobbit and Tom Singleton on the left) a few days before the Little Rock Marathon. Timeless, excellent advice for the experienced and first time marathoner.
I’ve had several folks email me and ask what they should eat in the next few days and, most importantly, the night before the race. Answer – what you’ve been doing before your long mileage runs in training. Studies have shown that the most important meals you eat are TWO days before the race, so even though all pasta dinners are the night before the race, what is really going to start you off on the right foot race morning is what you had to eat Friday night, not Saturday night. (And those of you doing the back-to-back races need to be sure you are well fueled on Thursday night as well.) Same goes for rest – the sleep you get on Friday night is the most important (many of you won’t sleep well the night before the race, so sleeping well every other night this week is crucial). If you can’t abide pasta and your pre-training run meal has always been rice and beans – don’t eat spaghetti the night before the race just because you think it’s the “right” thing to do. Remember what has worked best for you and stick to that. The same thing goes for race morning. If what you’ve been doing is eating half a bagel with a little peanut butter 30 minutes before you start running, well, don’t get up 3 hours before the race starts and have bacon and eggs. And PLEASE don’t overload on the high-caffeine energy drinks. If you’re used to drinking a cup of coffee before you run, do it, but don’t decide to add some other drinks for the “pick me up” factor. There is also no need to drink a gallon or two of water before the race. Stick to what you know. Oh, and don’t believe everything you hear from runners and walkers at the Expo – they lie, constantly. Sure, prune juice with pork sausage may be just the ticket for that guy who’s telling you he runs a 2:55 marathon (or he may be some joker who runs a 5:00 marathon pulling your leg). Don’t start second guessing yourself because someone you’ve never met has decided to impart his “extra special running secrets”.
And speaking of the Expo – we want you to go to the Expo and look at every single vendor. Buy new clothes, (I do my best shopping at race Expos – Tom has the credit card bills to prove it), pick up that new gel you’ve never seen before, or get that new pair of shoes that makes you feel like you’re walking on a cloud. And use them – in training for your NEXT marathon or half marathon. Please do NOT wear that super cool new outfit for the first time on race day, eat that new gel at mile 10, or think that those new shoes would be the bees knees in your finish line photo. Stick with the tried and true – what has worked for you in training is what you need to do race day.
In the vein of nothing new – carry your water and your fuel. This is particularly important if you are drinking a sports drink or eating a gel other than the one that will be provided at the water stops. Nothing is more miserable than having to hit every port-a-potty along the route because you decided you’d ditch your fuel that has worked for you for 22 weeks and eat what the marathon provides – that was a big part of your training: finding out what works for you. Don’t throw your plan out the window just because you think it’s uncool to carry your water belt. Another benefit to carrying your own water is being able to drink on your time schedule and not on that of water stop spacing. A simple math problem – you drink water every 20 minutes, the water stops are approximately 2 miles apart, if you run a 10 minute mile, they will probably be just about where you need them.
However, let’s say you run an 8 minute mile or a 12 minute mile, or a 15 minute mile. Those water stops won’t be where you need them at all. If you have your water with you, you can drink when you need to and refill your water at the water stops when needed (believe me, the volunteers will be happy to let you fill up your water bottle, in fact, most of them will offer to fill it up for you). You also have the extra advantage of not having to slow down at every water stop – you can sail around those folks who are clogging up the route trying to get to the water or sports drink.
This is not the week to quit smoking (and yes, I know some runners who smoke), start smoking, change your eating habits (I don’t think trying to lose 10 pounds between now and race morning is in your best interests), change your drinking habits (I know some runners who drink a beer or a glass of wine or whatever the night before every one of their long mileage runs, but it’s also not the time to go on an all night bender either), or paint your house (I have never had an uncontrollable urge to paint my house the week before a race, but to each his/her own).
NOTHING NEW, NOTHING NEW, NOTHING NEW!!!! Got it? Good. 
Hobbit