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| Race went alright- 14th pro |
Monterrey reminded me that even if you have been doing triathlons for year and years and years, there are a few things you should do and some you shouldn't when approaching your first race of the year.
Do This- Practice swimming in your wetsuit before the race. Even if you've had the suit for a few years and swam in it many times. If it's been October since you've worn it then get out for a few open water swims, or even practice in the pool a few weeks before the race. The added buoyancy of a wetsuit changes your body position in the water and the extra pressure around your chest and shoulders can take some getting used to. You never know, you might have put on a few extra pounds of "muscle" over the winter making that suit a little tighter than you remember.
Not That- Unroll your dusty (and possibly moldy) suit on race morning and wriggle into it for the first time this year 15 minutes before your race starts and figure you will be good to go.
Do This- Clean your bike! If you're like me and you've spent a winter training and poorly maintaining your equipment then race week is a good chance to give everything on your trusty steed a good once over and rub down. A new chain will feel great and make your gears spin much easier. Check the cables and make sure they're not frayed or rusty. Riding on the trainer is actually worse for your bike than outside because you just sit there and sweat buckets of corrosive droplets onto your cables, housing, chain and everything. Check it out, get it cleaned and make sure everything is running smoothly!
Not That- Wipe your frame off quickly with a t-shirt and spin some lube onto the chain figuring you will be good to go. Your bike is a machine and if you want it to carry you at a high speeds and serve you reliably you need to make sure it's got good working parts before you take it to the race track. A bike shop will be able to help you with this. For instance, my shop told me that my brake cables were probably fine but my derailleur cables definitely needed replacing. I appreciated them saving me some money and not just replacing everything they could.
Do This- Sign up for a "rust buster" race where you can practice going through the motions on race day but without the pressure of a big event. Just remembering all the crap we have to bring with us on race day needs a little warm up sometimes. The rust buster could be a local duathlon or you could hold your own mock race as a training session. You don't want to be scrambling around the night before a big race trying to find where you put your race flats, or race belt, or gel flask or any of those items you haven't used in 8 months because they only come out on race day.
Not That- Like a true pro I completely forgot rubber bands for my bike shoes and a race belt at the local duathlon I did a week out from Monterrey. Oh, and also an extra sticker for my disc wheel after I'd aired it up. Sure, they were only minor details but all part of my pre-race routine and all little annoyances that threw me off. You can be sure that the next weekend I had everything packed and ready to go for Monterrey.
Do This- Practice with the nutrition that will be on course at your big race. Sometimes, what you use in training is different than what's provided at a race. Either bring enough of your own with you or practice with the products that will be served up in the race. I think it's good to utilize aid stations both on the bike and run so you don't have to lug around 15 lbs of food and hydration with you. Also, if you happen to drop a bottle or lose your nutrition (happens all the time) you will be fine since you know you just take from the aid stations.
Not That- Try out the tasty new cheddar cheese pretzel chips they're handing out on race day because they look pretty good. Never mind, you've never had them before and your stomach may revolt like it's a Ukrainian protestor.
Do This- Practice with the equipment you will use on race day. Most of us know not to "try anything new on race day." The triathlete creed seems to be- "train like it's race day every day." You may already do all your long rides on deep dish aero wheels wearing your race kit and aero helmet. (Don't forget the compression socks!!) However, if you don't use your race gear that often then I would suggest doing a few training sessions with it (or a rust buster race) just to check it out. Make sure your tires are good with no nicks or dry rot. Figure out how much body glide you need to rub over your body to prevent chaffing in unseemly places. Make sure you can see where you're going when tucked in the aero position with that giant egg looking thing covering your scalp.
Not That- Just don't do it.
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| I don't care how fast it is. I reserve the right to make fun of anyone wearing this helmet. |
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