While writing the game day nutrition post, treatment I had some more thoughts that fell more into a “preparation and comfort” domain, order so here goes.
Get to the venue early. Register and get your area set up (bring an easy up), what is ed then start looking around at the warm up and competition area. If you’re lucky, you have a big crew and you can work together to workout a spot.
Work out the bathroom situation. I highly recommend handling your “morning constitutional” at home or the hotel. Unless you want to wait at a line at the venue or use a port-a-john. Also, because you’ll be hydrating and nervous, you’ll likely pee a lot. I like to find the most isolated restroom so I’m not waiting in lines or feeling rushed.
Bring your jump rope, chalk, tape, weightlifting shoes, wrist wraps, belt, foam roller, dowel and whatever stuff you’ll need. Keep them in a separate bag so you’re not stressing out about not finding a wrist wrap when it’s pilled in with Lara Bars. Between Bob, Tricia, Al and I, we’ll have a great deal of this stuff taken care of, but it’s important to understand what goes into it.
Watch the pre-athlete brief. Talk to your judge before you compete, give them your name, gym and thank them. Ask your judge if they are looking for specific things. If you are worried about a ROM issue, ask before the WOD. Do “rep checks” if they ask, or ask them if they don’t. Try to be as clear as possible, but know that once things get started it may be chaotic. You don’t want to find out they don’t like your elbow position of squat depth 10 reps in. Do everything you can to meet the ROM standards, even if that means slowing down.
Don’t over warm up. Figure out when your heat goes, and start your warm up no more than 30 minutes before. People will be highly motivated, and moving around like gerbils on crack. RELAX. Save your energy for the day ahead.
Be flexible. Expect some delays and the scores not hitting the board as quickly as you would hope. Don’t waste negative thoughts on this stuff.
You may like watching the heats and your competitors. I don’t. If I see really great performances, it stresses me out. If I see athletes failing on reps, it wears me out too. I would rather know the WOD, find a relaxing place and focus on my capabilities. But YOU may draw energy from the event. But you’ll have to find that out for yourself.
Bring enough shirts, and bring clothes a change of clothes to wear home. After wearing stretchy stuff all day, I love getting into more comfortable clothes to relax. THIS IS DOUBLY TRUE AT THE TOUGH MUDDER. Bring plenty of towels and things to get clean with.
If you’re in an out of town area, find a fun place to eat your post comp meal. In N Out ALWAYS works, but we’ve had some awesome meals while sharing our exercising “war stories.” Amici’s Pizza, Rancho Fresca, Hobbies, Champ’s BBQ – this is the tip of the iceberg. In the age of iPhones it’s easy to call ahead and set up a good place to share your experiences over a post event feast.
Workout of the Day
Strength
Back Squat
3 sets of 5, use 50% of 1RM
Rest 90 seconds after each set. This should feel light, but we will use this to build for the next month.
Metcon
AMRAP 7
10 Wallball Shots 20/14
10 Pullups