🧬 The logic is simple: the microscopic muscle damage from any intense session needs 48-72 hours to fully resolve. Train hard today and you arrive at the start line with residual neuromuscular fatigue — right when you need that clean recovery window. (PMID:41922043)

Breakfast
& Lunch

Easy-to-digest carbohydrates: white rice, potato, pasta, banana, bread. No excess fiber, no new foods. Moderate protein. Stay hydrated throughout the day.

Dinner
⭐ Key

The most important meal. Simple carbs, low fat and protein. Early — before 8pm.

✓ Pasta + plain tomato sauce · rice + grilled chicken · baked potato

Avoid at
dinner

✗ Spicy food · ✗ High fat · ✗ Alcohol · ✗ Excess fiber (legumes, large salads, broccoli) · ✗ New supplements or teas you've never tried

⚡ The truth nobody tells you

The night before the race is almost never the most important one. Nerves, an unfamiliar hotel, your arrival time — most athletes sleep poorly that specific night, and that's fine. It's normal.

What really matters is accumulated sleep quality over the 2-3 nights before. That means tonight — Thursday — and Friday night matter more than Saturday night.

Tonight's routine:

→ No screens 60-90 min before bed

→ Cool dark room — Bogotá's temperature already helps

→ Zero caffeine after noon

→ Get EVERYTHING ready tonight — your mind won't let go of open items if they're not physically sorted

Adjustment

Why it matters at 8,530 ft (2,600m)

Hydrate more

Altitude-induced diuresis dehydrates you faster than you feel

Zero alcohol

Its effect is amplified at altitude. Nothing tonight.

Adjust expectations

If you arrived from sea level less than 5 days ago: add 10-15 sec/km to your goal pace

Review the course

Once. Identify the climbs. Decide your pacing strategy for those sections. Close the app.

👕 Clothes & gear

☐ Complete race kit — nothing new, always what you trained in

☐ Shoes — the ones from your long run, not new ones

☐ Tested training socks

☐ Race bib + safety pins (minimum 4)

☐ GPS watch charged to 100%

☐ Thermal layer for the start (45°F / 7°C in Bogotá at 8AM) — throwaway or gear check bag

🍯 Race day nutrition

☐ Gels counted and in your kit pocket

☐ Breakfast planned — nothing new, all tested

☐ Water + electrolytes for the pre-start hour

📍 Logistics

☐ Alarm set (5:00-5:30 AM recommended for 8:00 AM start)

☐ Uber scheduled or route to Parque Simón Bolívar confirmed

☐ Start corral confirmed on your bib

☐ Gear check bag prepared if applicable

🧠 Mental

☐ Pacing strategy reviewed by section — once

☐ Playlist / podcast downloaded for offline

☐ Phone charged — and social media closed before bed

📚 Race day vocabulary · Español at the MMB

All the training is done. What you do today doesn't give you more fitness — it only protects the fitness you already have. Today is a day of care, not conquest. Sunday is the day of conquest.

Coach Henri 5x MMB · USATF Coach · PMPRunning

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