1. Taper. Keep your work-outs short and sweet or at a low intensity this week. High intensity is fine as long as it is early in the week and really short. Anything over race pace would be considered high intensity this week. Race pace runs and bikes and swims are fine, but keep them short. No distance tests. "I need to make sure I can do the distance..." This line of thinking will not get you your best results on race day. You are as fit as you are going to be for the race right now. Accept that and do what you can to have your best race. If you feel the need to go long this week. Do it early and do it slow. But my suggestion is you don't do it at all. In my opinion good work-outs this week are short in nature, work up to race pace, and then are followed by good nutrition.
2. Eat "clean" This week should be less active then your previous weeks. See above. Try to eat clean this week and monitor your intake. You should not be as active this week so you should reduce your consumption. Also this is not the week to decide to go "Paleo" or change your diet in any way. Eat a clean version of how you have been eating.
3. Hydrate. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. More water then usual this week if you are a poor water drinker.
4. Recover. Sleep, Nap, Rest. Yes all those things. Thursday night(or the night prior to the night before the race) go to bed early. You will probably not get much sleep the night prior to the race, so get a good amount when you can. Mobility should also be a focus this week. Use the extra time you have from your reduced training load to work on your issues. Shoulders, hips, and hamstrings!
5. Beware of the group. Once at the race site you may feel pressure to do what your group is doing. Don't. Know what works for you. Going out to bike the course may work well for the stronger athletes. It may spell disaster for the new or less strong athlete. Know your body and what you need.
6. Mental prep. Know why you are racing. Make sure and spend sometime reminding yourself why you are out on the course. Every one's reasons are different. When the race gets tough or the weather is crap, you may well need to remind yourself of why you are doing this to yourself.
7. Equipment Check. Prior to Thursday go through all your equipment. Make sure you have everything you need and it is in working order. Go through your swim gear, put it on, make sure there are no surprises. Check over your bike. Are you using a race belt? Hat? Sunglasses? Are you ready for rain? A cheap poncho can make pre-race more comfortable. This is also a good to time to lay out your transition area at home. Make sure you have everything you need.
8. Race day is here! Set up your transition area. The earlier you can get to the race site the better. Sometimes you can do this the evening before. Make sure and walk the transition areas and take note of where you will come in and go out of each transition area. Walking them 2 times will usually put them in your memory banks.
9. Warm up. This is difficult for some as well. Race day is exciting. Make it a priority. Take your bike for a quick spin if you can, if you can not get to your bike go for jog. Try to break a sweat. Make sure and get in and swim if you can. This will lesson the shock of the water and warm up your shoulders. After you warm-up if your wave is still a while off make an effort to stay warm. This is not usually difficult in the summer months but can be a challenge in the spring.
10. Finish Strong. Never push to your limit until the run. Always save some. Especially on the bike. If you destroy your legs on your bike you will bonk on your run. Save it for the run!! Finish Strong.
Thanks all. Have a great race!
Coach JG
Jen G. finishing strong at Trinona 2010!
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