Hydrate!

Speaking of water, I can’t stress enough how different a long run will be if I didn’t hydrate properly the day before or day of. I’ll usually stop drinking it about 45 minutes to an hour before my run—having to pee on the trail sucks—but the day before I’m chugging like a maniac. And while we’re on the subject of water, ditch the vitamin water drinks or performance sports drinks. They’re mostly just full of sodium and sugar, which, oddly enough, dehydrates you even more.