Prepare to race

I thought I would share some advice to get you all performing at your best.

The week of the race

First off, All your intense training should be done by now and you should be allowing your body to rest and recover. This can either mean backing off all together, or as I am doing, do some light activity with maybe a couple of short (60 second) bursts at race speed. This should not stress the system but should act as a way to get the body fired up and ready for race day. It teaches your body to remember what it should feel like to be running at the desired pace. If you do this, remember this feeling and try to replicate when you are feeling tired in the race.

Secondly, you should be hydrating yourself well. Use between now and the race to make sure you are topped up with fluids. I can't stress enough how much performance you lose through being dehydrated. It's hard to hydrate fully in just one day so make sure you are sipping on water regularly. I actually like sipping an electrolyte drink in the days leading up to the race.

Food. There is no need to stuff your face on pasta to carb load but try to eat healthy food that will contribute to supplying your body with the required fuel for the up coming race. There are lots of food and drink products out there that are full of "empty" calories. Avoid overly processed food and you should be good. This may go against what I have just said a little, but I also like to eat Chicken Noodle Soup as it is high in sodium and will aid in the hydration process.

Sleep. As the nerves build, you will find it harder to sleep. Also, we have to get up pretty early on race day morning to get to the event and park, so it is important to be getting the required sleep early in the week. It is already Thursday so try to make an effort to go to bed early tonight and get earlier on Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday night is normally a right off so don't worry if you don't get a good nights sleep before the race, this is normal. Try to sleep well on Friday night and you will be good to go.

Preparation. All of your training should be done now, so as far as preparation goes, checking your equipment and packing your bags is the priority.
Pack your tri bag tonight. Lay everything out on the floor in stages of the race and make sure you are not missing anything. You will add your packet contents when you have them. This is what I will have:

Prerace Nutrition:

• Energy Gels
• Energy Drink

Swim:

• Wetsuit
• Goggles + a spare set
• Timing Chip (Given to you at packet pickup)
• Race Swim Cap (Given to you at packet pickup)
  
• Spare swim cap (Optional) to wear under my race cap if the water is very cold.
• Bodyglide lubricant to stop chafing from my wetsuit. I put this around my neck and armpits with a little on my ankles and wrists to help the wetsuit come off

Bike:

• Bike with number (number is given to you at packet pickup)
• Helmet and number (number is given to you at packet pickup)
• Bike Shoes as I have clipless peddles
• Sunglasses
• Gloves are (optional) but I do not put these on to save time
• Water Bottle with Energy Drink or Water and Energy Gel.
• Bike Computer (optional)
• Socks (optional) I do not race wearing socks to save time in transition.
• Spare inner tube, tire levers, CO2 or mini pump + tools. (if you want to be able to recover from a flat).

Run:

• Race belt (optional but highly recommended) for holding my race bib. This can be put on on the move to save time.
  
• Running Shoes with elasticated laces to save time putting them on.

Extra Transition Equipment:

• Small Thin Towel to put things on in transition.
• Small hand towel if my feet are overly sandy
• Spare water bottle to spray my feet if they are overly sandy
• Camera (optional but highly recommending to capture you and your friends doing something amazing).
• Bring a flashlight or head light if it's a really early start. (Malibu)

I may have missed something out but this is a good starting point.

Other advice:

• Dress up really warm on race morning with your kit underneath so that you get your core temperature up before the race.
• Keep your area compact and tidy so that we can all fit on the designated racks. (See image below).

A tidy transition area that doesn't take up too much room.

• Keep it simple. If you don't need it, don't bring it
• Make sure your tires are pumped up to the maximum pressure stated on the tires on race morning. Bring the pump in the car and leave it there after pumping up the tires. You will not need it in transition as it will just take up room.
• When setting up on transition, please alternate bikes on opposite sides of the rack. (see image below). This allows each athlete to have the most amount of space between bikes and will allow us to fit on the rack. You will approach your spot from the side of your bike.

Helmet on handlebars and bikes racked on opposite sides

• Get in the water 15 minutes before the start of your wave, (given to you at packet pickup), and get used to the water temperature. Do some short race effort bursts to warm up.

Some good advice can be read here: