Pre-Race – The More Time, the Better:
One of the most overlooked items of the pre-race morning is your time management before the actual start to the race. By the time you actually start the race, you will have picked up your packet, pumped your tires up, set up your transition area, been bodymarked with your race number, warmed up, and much more.
The last thing you want to be doing on race morning is running around trying to find a spare tube for the tire that just flatted while you were pumping it up – only 20 minutes before the start of the race. Now your heart rate is sky high and you are very anxious – what if I can’t find a tube? I won’t be able to start…
Now imagine the same scenario, but with the flat tire happening an hour and a half before the race. Now with much more time and now very more relaxed. No high heart rate and no anxiousness as you know you have time to get everything taken care of.
So, try and arrive early – at least 1:30 before the start of the race. Know your pre-race routine and, whenever possible, pick up your race packet the night before the race.
Hydration…In the Winter Months
As we all know and have found out, hydration is key in the sport of triathlon. In the spring and summer months, it is very easy to easily think about hydration and fluid needs. However, in the colder months of fall and winter, it is a little harder to actively think about the needs of your hydration.
But, just as in the spring and summer we “know” that we need to do a great job keeping hydrated, the same applies to our workouts in the cold months of winter as well. While we may not “feel” the effects of dehydration as much during the workouts, the after effect will be the same – dehydration.
With the worse effect as death, hydration in the winter months is something we should take seriously as athletes. Numerous studes have found that a reduction in body weight of two percent results in an average decrease performances of 22 percent and a reduction in VO2 max of 10 percent. Meaning, it is very easy, even in 30 degree temperatures to lose 3 – 4 % of your body weight within a 60 minute run.
So, drink up, and drink up all year. Stay hydrated throughout the winter months to increase your performance and to maintain a greater and faster recovery time.
Consistency, Fitness, and Speed
As a coach and a triathlete for over 10 years, I am often asked the age old question – “How do I get fast?”. And, as we all know, there is no one sound or easy answer to that question.
However, as athletes and as coaches, we often hear that this coach or that coach’s methods are the best and will make you as fast as possible. And, as often is the case, methods and coaching philosophy can take an athlete to the “next” level.
But, before we can get to the speed that we all want and aspire to have, we have to have fitness in order to produce the workouts to attain the speed. And, in order to have fitness, we have to have consistency in our training. Consistency is the key to the overall training program and the training block. Consistency in terms of days working out per week, amount of time in the sport of triathlon. As we all know, the longer we all have been doing something, the easier it comes. The same applies in terms of running, biking or swimming. Merely swimming more will help with overall fitness, which then we can produce and translate to speed.
Not necessarily having consistency in terms of swimming Monday, run Tuesday, etc.., but conistency in terms of getting to and in the workouts. Even if you cannot hit the exact interval or know that you will not be able to do all of the planned time, any workout is better than none. Always increasing aerobic fitness is key to then gaining speed. And consistency in training is a great, and one of the easiest ways to improve aerobic fitness. Like the Nike slogan of 90′s – “Just Do It”.
Keep it fun, keep it consistent, and the fitness will come. Once the fitness comes around, then speed can be applied to the program and this is where a coach can and will help you improve.
Have fun and keep training. Consistency counts!