With 34 of us signed up for the Spartan and about the same number of us doing the Open WOD's, this weekend will prove to be fairly taxing on our bodies.

Do your best to get a lot of rest before, inbetween and after your different workouts over the next couple of days. Rest is king.

Eat a bit more. Sure, we are all trying to maintain weight, lose weight or keep unwanted weight off. What we should not forget is that our bodies rely heavily upon easily accessed stores of glycogen. These stores are the first to be burned through. They are the most easily convertible sources of energy and will power us through a good deal of the race Saturday. Glycogen is the first to burn and the first to be replenished by food intake. So, if we tear through 18.2 Thursday night or Friday morning, and don't make a good effort to replace the energy we used...(and get a good night's sleep)...we will find ourselves feeling depleted and sluggish for Saturday.

So, eat more...more healthy food. What exactly are we talking about when we say healthy food....CrossFit says "Eat a diet of meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar." Pretty simple. We can get the sugars we need from a little fruit and the amount found in the rest of our foods.

During the race, as we burn, don't be afraid to eat the higher sugar energy shots or have some liquid other than water. Our bodies will be looking for any source of immediate energy and those are more quickly and easily assimilated into our bloodstreams.

Lastly, hydrate. Drink some water...and then have some more. Sip the stuff all day. Every process in our body is dependent upon water. `It isn't supposed to be overly warm for the race, but we will be doing ourselves a disservice if we show up already dehydrated. Then, make sure you drink as much as you can at each aid station.

Take care of yourself over the next few days. Pay attention to what you know you should be doing and it will pay off in big ways. See you there!