Most athletes train for the race but never train for race day. The morning timeline, warm-up, pacing execution, mental frameworks — this guide covers every hour from race week to finish line.
The week before your race isn't about fitness gains — it's about showing up fresh without losing your edge. Here's the framework. Adjust times for your specific race and current fitness.
| Day | Session | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MON | Easy 20–30 min + 4 strides (100m each) | Last real training stimulus. Keep it easy. |
| TUE | Rest or light yoga / mobility work (20 min) | Full rest is fine. No intensity. |
| WED | Easy 20 min + 3×1 mile at race goal pace | Remind your legs what race pace feels like. Nothing more. |
| THU | Complete rest | Off. Eat well. Sleep well. |
| FRI | Shakeout run: 10–15 min easy + 4 strides | Just to move. Keep legs loose. No effort. |
| SAT | RACE DAY | See Race Morning Timeline → |
| SUN | Full rest + recovery walk (20 min optional) | See Post-Race Recovery Plan → |
Race is on Sunday? Shift the whole schedule one day forward. The structure is the same — the timing just moves. Keep Thursday as your last easy run day and Friday as complete rest no matter what.
The guide shows times relative to your gun time. If your race starts at 8:00am, gun time = 8:00am. Work backwards from there.
Complete this sequence in order. Total time: 15–20 minutes. The goal is to raise your core temperature, activate your glutes and hips, and prime your nervous system for race pace.
| Exercise | Sets / Reps | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Leg swings — front to back | 10 each leg | Hip flexor mobility, hamstring activation |
| Leg swings — side to side | 10 each leg | Groin and hip abductor activation |
| Hip circles (hands on hips) | 10 each direction | Hip joint mobility |
| High knees | 30 seconds | Hip flexor activation, cadence priming |
| Butt kicks | 30 seconds | Hamstring activation, stride pattern |
| A-skips | 2 × 20m | Running mechanics, hip drive |
| B-skips | 2 × 20m | Stride extension, neuromuscular activation |
| Carioca (lateral crossover) | 2 × 20m each direction | Hip mobility, lateral stability |
| Easy jog | 5–8 minutes | Cardiovascular warm-up, body temperature |
| Strides at race pace | 4 × 80–100m | Neuromuscular priming, race pace feel |
Cold or short on time? Minimum warm-up: leg swings, high knees, butt kicks, 5 min easy jog, 4 strides. Never go straight to race pace from standing still — especially in cold weather. Ten minutes of warm-up is the difference between racing and surviving the first mile.
The #1 race day mistake: Going out too fast in the first mile because you feel good. The adrenaline, the crowd, the fresh legs — everything tells you to push. The athletes who listen to that feeling spend the last third of the race watching people pass them.
How you recover determines how fast you get back to training. Most athletes treat the finish line as the endpoint. The work you do in the next 7 days sets you up for everything that comes next.
One-mile rule: Don't run the race in your head for days afterward. Whether it was a PR or a disaster — take the recovery days, eat well, sleep well. The race is done. What matters now is what you do next.
You did the training. You put in the early mornings, the tempo runs that hurt, the long runs that took a chunk out of your Saturday. Race day is just the day you get to show it. Use this guide, trust your preparation, and go find out what you're made of.
— Coach Tyler Reddy · Always Reddy Athletics
The guide gets you race-ready. Coaching gets you to a completely different level. Apply for The Athletic Rebuild and work directly with Coach Tyler for 12 weeks.