Just recently we passed Valentine's Day where the phrase "love is in the air" was all around us.  Since then I've noted another phrase - "race season is in the air" now that our eyes are focused on the hopeful early Spring promised to us by Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day and our stubbornness as runners as we yearn for warmer weather and put an end to the winters that have entrapped us the last few months.  Plus, many of us have already registered for our Spring races and know that our training really needs to kick in with warmer weather and less snowy days around us.

With all that - we are here to help!

Audrey and I take a moment to give you our Top 10 list.  Similar to the David Letterman "Top 10" lists (please tell me you remember him - Audrey didn't making me feel so old) except for the fact that we didn't count down to number one and our list had one tip with a "Part B" that you won't want to miss.  What did I say on air again?! 😮 Don't worry - it was nothing to trigger the "explicit meter" - just something we runners have to talk about.

Instead of just giving you all the tips (that wouldn't be fair - you want to hear them in their context right?) let me share a hint on each one in the following list:

Tip #1: Is there something you need to do minutes before the starting gun fires off?

Tip #2: What is one tip we can learn from the elites to make our starting line experience so much better?

Tip #3: Is there something I can do at the starting line to prevent injury during the race?

Tip #4: How can I prevent the suffering I experience at the starting line, even on those hot days?

Tip #5: How can I prevent those "Oops" moments at the starting line and during my race? 

Tip #6: How can I prevent extra stress at the starting line?  We already covered a better way to handle the stress a couple tips before - but this tip is to help minimize that stress.

Tip #7: Is there anything I should do to prevent extra stress the first few miles of my race?

Tip #8: DO THIS even if you don't want to (especially for those longer races)

Tip #9: Is there something I can specifically do in my training runs to prepare me for my race?

Tip #9b: Is there something I can do the morning of my race - and on the starting line - to prevent those unwanted urges?

Tip #10: There's one thing that seems counter-intuitive as you prepare for your race.  Make sure you take care of this tip to prevent issues during your race.

We are super excited to announce the FREE Pizza PI Race from our sponsor Great 8 Virtual Races!  This 3.14 mile race will be held on 3.14 (March 14th)!  Come on over to sign up for their free race and find out how you can get a fun t-shirt for cheap.  We love their motto of the race to "Burn It - Then Eat It"!  Who doesn't love pizza?!  And who doesn't love to race?  As this is a virtual race you can run it where you want, when you want, and even how you want.  Grab a friend and sign up today!

Next, we are still excited for our facelift to our website - motivatemetorun.com!  Thank you to all of you that have reached out to us and shared how much you like our new design!  Don't forget to check out our site where we share additional information that we want to share (like our Run With Us page where we share our future races hoping we can meet you there) and give us a bit better place to reach out to you.  We would love to have you come over and click on Don't Miss an Episode (or just click here) where you can start being notified each time we drop and episode and additionally get that extra information from us (like race coupon codes and more!) to give you that extra bit of motivation.

Thank you again for joining us on another episode and we hope this quick list provided you with the tips you need to have your best experience yet on the starting line of your next race.  Please always feel free to reach out to us with your own questions of what you would like us to cover by writing us at alex@motivatemetorun.com or come to our Contact Us page and let us know!

Come check us out on Twitter (@motivatemetorun), come join us in our Motivate Me To Run group on Facebook, get updates at our Motivate Me To Run page on Facebook, and even our show notes at motivatemetorun.com.  If you have any questions you would like me to cover then email me at alex@motivatemetorun.com.

Finally - if you have appreciated this or any of our episodes, we would love to have you stop by iTunes and leave your all-favorable review!  This will give us even more access to big name guests, sponsors with amazing giveaways, and more!  Leaving a review will get us that much closer towards those goals!  I’ll thank you in advance!

Thank you for listening and look forward to catching up with you next time!

Happy Running! 

Coach Alex (RRCA certified running coach) and Audrey