Foto: ©CHRISTOPHE ANGOT - PHOTOSSPORTS.COM

The race has been hanging over your daily training sessions for months and guiding your way. There are several key points to remember and mistakes to avoid during those last seven days.

Dos

• Get enough sleep:
  Aim to start the day as well rested as possible in order to perform at your best. This involves scaling back your training schedule and getting plenty of restful sleep during the final week before the competition.
• Replenish your energy reserves:
  If your race is due to last longer than 90 minutes, fully stocked carbohydrate reserves are crucial to good performance. You should therefore aim for a high-carb diet three days before the race to replenish your energy reserves for the start line.
• Mentally prepare:
  Go through everything in your head and try to anticipate where mistakes might happen and find solutions. How and when will you travel there? What is your nutritional strategy? What is your race tactic? These are just three of the many questions you should be asking yourself beforehand.
• Check your equipment:
  Think about what you will wear on race day. Do you have everything you need? Or do you still need to buy something? Is your equipment ready or do you need to charge the battery for that electronic device you'll be bringing?

Don’ts

• Overtraining:
  The final days before the race should involve training at a reduced rate to recover, albeit at the same intensity, and not trying to make up for a lack of preparation.
• Making up for lost ground:
  The training you do today usually only has an impact after 4-6 weeks. It therefore makes no sense to try and make up for lost ground.
• Experimenting:
  A competition is not the place for experimenting as this often backfires. Don’t change things in the days right before a competition - this should be done much earlier.
• Letting doubt creep in:
  Doubt and worry can often rear their head in the last few days. Perhaps your knee is suddenly hurting and you're feeling weak. These ‘pre-competition symptoms’ are common and shouldn’t deter you. Have faith that everything will be OK.