Tri Talk Tuesday: Race Day Tips & Tricks

Today I'm linking back up with Courtney at The Tri Girl Chronicles, Phaedra at Blisters and Black Toenails and Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?!for Tri Talk Tuesday. This week's topic: Race Day Tips & Tricks

Pre-Race - Quelling the jitters

Race day can be super stressful. Depending on the race, your morning-of jitters can be anywhere from 'eh' to 'AHH!'. Pre-race jitters are normal, and they're good in many ways. It's what gets you amped up and ready to compete. But if you're stressing so much that you aren't enjoying the race, well, that's just miserable. Here are some tried and true ways I have reduced my anxiety pre-race

1. Set that Alarm EARLY

Not a Great Example b/c this race started @ 11:00 a.m.

I know, this one sucks. Most triathlons start at zero-dark-thirty as is, and getting up early isn't everyone's strong suit. If you're one of those people who can wake up and roll out the door (i.e. Hubz, hate him) then just ignore this one. But if you're like me, my brain and body take forever to warm up and get going in the morning. I have to be awake at least 30 minutes before I can be trusted to actually do anything. I set the alarm about 2 hours before my planned departure time. This isn't just so that I can mentally get woken up - it's so I can eat! I like to take care of business (if you get my meaning) before I leave the house so as to avoid leaving the uncomfortable bathroom business to the nasty start line port-a-potties. At Muncie I woke up at like 4 a.m. and just laid in bed watching Netflix while I drank my gatorade and chowed down my bagel. It wasn't rocket since. But it DID give me an opportunity to actually be awake by the time we left. It also leaves you with plenty of time to make sure you have all of the odds and ends so you're ready to leave on time....

2. Plan Out a Schedule

I may be too type A for some people, but hey, it works for me! I HATE being rushed in the morning. Hate.It. Hubz likes to roll out of bed, get in the car, show up 2 seconds before the gun goes off and do his thing. This makes my skin itch and belly ache just thinking about it. The day  before a race - while  I'm packing my Transition bag and going through my gear - I plot out a schedule for race morning. This requires knowing a lot of things: what time does transition close? Is there a pre-race meeting? Is it Mandatory? How far away will we have to park? Figure out these variables, then work backwards:

2015 Race the Bridge Olympic

8:15 a.m. Race Start

7:50 Meet mom & Dad outside of transition

7:45 Transition Closes

7:00 Hubz drops me off @ Eva Bandman Park

6:50 Leave for Eva Bandman Park

5:00 Wake up for race day! Drink 2 bottles - 1 H2O, 1 Gatorade. Eat Bagel. Mix iced coffee

Now you've got a schedule, just reverse the order and voila!. It takes all of the guess work out of race morning and you really don't even have to think about anything.

3. Tell Your Sherpa & Support Crew How They Can Help

This is one I often struggle with. Friends and Family want to be at the race to support you. Great! They want to be there before you start. Um. Hmm. After so many years of competitive swimming I'm pretty used to being on my own at the start. In fact, I prefer it that way. With so many people around I get self conscious, 'Are they having a good time?' 'Am I ignoring them?'. It sounds selfish, but I need race morning to be about me. Sound like you? Tell your crew! My mom is always looking for ways to help me at races and I had to just be blunt with her: You can help me out on the course by cheering for me, smiling at me, and giving me positive feedback. Right now, I need to be in the zone. She totally gets it. Before we discussed that...it was awkward! Be kind, be thankful and be appreciative, but be honest.

4. Set a playlist

I always have a pre-race pump up playlist. We usually listen to it in the car on the way to the race. Sometimes I'll just put my earbuds in while I"m setting up in transition. It helps me get focused and get my mind right before the race.

Post-Race Tips & Tricks

1. Pack Post-Race Clothes

Seems like a no-brainer, but add this to your transition to-pack list. I always pack a comfy dark colored shirt (because no one needs to see your boob sweat at brunch), flip flops, and some shower wipes. Nathan makes a great body wipe that I keep in my bag, but baby wipes will work too. Nothing feels better than getting that salt and sweat off of your face. Also - flip flops! Make sure you pack a comfy pair for your worn out feet. For longer races or if we're traveling far I pack my compression socks. Whatever it takes to be comfy!

2. Plan What You're Going to Eat

It's important to eat for recovery after a race. Also, FOOD. Some races I'm not that interested in food but some, whew boy, give me a buffet. Especially if you're out of town figure out where you're going to fuel after the race. I like having that already planned out (and often have a reservation in place) so that I'm not plagued with "where do you want to eat?" by my support crew immediately after the race. People, I just did a sprint/olympic/10k/13.1 - I don't want to decide things!!

3. Move around throughout the day

It can be tempting after an especially hard race to go home and become one with the sofa. Don't let it happen! Get up every so often and walk around. Stretch! Also keep drinking fluids (I think beer does count, in moderation) to help get the lactic acid flushed out. The more you move around post-race the easier it will be to move around the next day. Trust me on this one. 

Above all - enjoy every moment! Take every opportunity before and after the race to realize that you're doing something FUN! Whenever you start getting anxious just remember: plenty of people will never get the chance to do these things. Enjoy every minute. Be thankful

Happy Running!

What did I miss?!

Waking up early - hate it or love it? 

Tri Talk Tuesday - Beating the Heat

Today I'm linking back up with Courtney at The Tri Girl Chronicles, Phaedra at Blisters and Black Toenails and Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?!for Tri Talk Tuesday. This week's topic: Beating the heat.

Summer in Kentucky means a lot of awesome things for me. Longer days, bourbon trail touring, back porch sitting, pool swimming and zoo visiting. I love all of it. One pesky little addition to all of those, however, is the heat.

As of 7:25a.m.Yikes

And not just heat, but humidity. Oh the humidity. The kind of stuff where you're already soaked in sweat before you make it through your warm up. Several weeks ago the humidity was so thick at 6:00 a.m. (so pre-sun) that it was actually foggy. Seriously.;

So what's a triathlete to do in these wicked summer months? After 7 years of living, running, and training in the Bluegrass I've come up with a few tricks that can help you get a handle on the heat.

- Plan your workouts around the heat
Some of you may not like hearing this, but time for a dose of truth: the coolest part of the day is in the morning. Before the sun comes up. Yes, that early ass time you haven't seen since you were coming home in college. But for summer training in some climates early mornings are a must when it's 85 degrees and 70% humidity by 9 a.m.

Also, pay more attention to your route in the heat. Usually run through the neighborhood without much tree cover? Maybe switch to trails to find some shade. This worked for me yesterday actually and it was a really nice little run. It's also important on long rides and runs to make sure you  know where you can refuel. Plan a route that has plenty of water fountains or store stops and bring cash for that ice cold gatorade at the sketchy gas station in the middle of nowhere. Which leads me to..

- Hydration Hydration Hydration
Hydration is always important but it's key for hot weather.  Firstly, make sure that you're hydrating well in advance of a long outdoor effort. If you wake up the morning of a 50 mile ride and your pee looks like iced tea, you're starting off with a deficit and you may not have enough time to make that up. And if you're not looking at your pee, then you're not truly invested in getting the most out of your training. Seriously, check your pee. It's not gross. Well, not that gross.

As far as hydrating during activity, there's a lot of debate about how much and how often. The old adage was "early and often" but now there's a lot of information out there about hyponatremia that's changing some opinions. I've had a lot of luck with what I learned from Be Iron Fit about my sweat rate. Sweat rate is complicated but it essentially involves figuring out how much water weight you lose after a vigorous effort. It gives you a number that specifically tells you how much you should be taking in each hour during a workout or race. If you're training for a longer race (specifically in a hotter climate) I highly recommend doing it!

- Summertime Specific Gear 
I love putting away my gloves, scarves, and balaclava at the end of the winter and pulling out my summer training stuff. This includes my nathan handheld and a series of hats and visors. These are a must for me when the weather and sun heat up.

Favorite Landsharks Headsweats Visor

- Sunscreen
This falls in the category of "Do as I say, not as I do." I try to put sunscreen on before going outside but...yeah, I forget a lot. What I won't forget is how miserable I was after TriFest back in May when I just got roasted during my first Olympic. I was a crispy critter. It took me 3x as long to recover from that race because I was so sunburnt. It really made me sick. So apply sunscreen!

- Prepare to alter expectations 
When conditions are hot and humid just accept you may not get the workout you planned for. And that's ok. According to Runnersworld.com, the Dew point (an indicator of humidity) can actually have the biggest impact on your effort. From July through August here our dew points are typically in the 60's. That means that most workouts are going to be 'uncomfortable'. This is one reason why I like Heart Rate training in the heat. Then you're running based on YOUR capacity and not some pace you set when temps were reasonable. For more awesome advice and info on hot weather running, check out the RunnersWorld Article here.

- Embrace the heat
While there are many ways to cope with the heat, there's no way to avoid it all together. So what's the remedy? In the words of SwimBikeMom, "Suck it up Buttercup." Get out in the weather early in the season to start acclimatizing to the heat. The worst thing you can do, in my opinion, is do all of your summer workouts on the treadmill or trainer. Particularly if you have a summer race! You need to get used to training and working in the heat so you have a true idea of how it effects you. So embrace it, love it, and get used to it.

What did I miss? Any other good tips for beating the heat?
Do you like running/biking in the summer?  I do. I hate the winter. 

Happy Running!

Tri Talk Tuesday - Transitions

Today I'm linking back up with Courtney at The Tri Girl Chronicles, Phaedra at Blisters and Black Toenails and Cynthia at You Signed Up For What?!for Tri Talk Tuesday. This month's topic? The transition!

Transition can be like a black hole for me. If you don't have a game plan going in, you can lose a lot of time. Now maybe over an iron distance race a few extra minutes on your transition don't really matter, but they definitely do on a sprint! So how do you nail your transitions?

PLAN
Like the rest of your race you should have a strategy for your transition. Don't just lay everything out willy-nilly and waltz through T1. One of the best pieces of advice I've taken from Don Fink's "Be Iron Fit" (which you really should read) is the Top Down/Bottom Up method. When you go through transition take everything off from the top down, then put everything on from the bottom up. I literally say it outlaid in transition as I'm rushing.

T1: Goggles off, Cap Off, wet suit off (if no stripper), bike shoes on, nutrition in belt/pockets, sunglasses on, helmet on --> GO!
T2: Helmet off, shoes off, socks on, shoes on, race belt on, visor on --> GO!

You should also have a good checklist of what you need for the transition area. I lay mine out before the race in our spare bedroom. I have a list for 1) Before the race 2)  Race Nutrition/Hydration 3)Swim 4) Bike 5) Run 6) Post Race. The night before I lay it all out by category, then carefully pack it in my Transition bag.

From before Tri Fest

On race day, I tend to lay out my transition area with bike in the front and the run in the back. Extra nutrition and sunscreen go in the middle. I've also done it with the bike on the left and the run on the right, since my transition area was a little cramped once. It really just depends on your own mojo.

Whatever your strategy, come up with set it up, stick to it and...

PRACTICE
Transitions, like running, swimming, and biking, are an event in the race and should be practiced just like the other three disciplines. My training plan has several workouts that require a transition-type setting. The practice of going from one discipline to another isn't just good for your body -  it's good for your brain. Put yourself through the rigors of a transition well in advance of race day. How do you practice for transitions? Early and often!


PATIENCE
I'm of the opinion that I'd rather do something once slowly than several times quickly. For me, If i take the time to breathe and focus in transition then I may lose a few seconds, but I gain a lot in confidence. For instance, in Shelbyville this spring I threw my socks on over wet feet with the sole goal of getting on the bike as fast as possible. No Bueno. I had to fiddle with them in T2, I had to stop on the run several times and fiddle with them. During Tri Fest I decided to lose some time and actually sit down and take the time to put my socks on. Loads better. I'm also picky about my hair. I hate my hair bouncing around crazy. I hate flyaway in my face. So I take a few extra minutes to fix my braids/bun/ponytail but spend the bike/run happier.

Whatever your set up for the transition, if you plan, practice, and have patience with it it will enhance your overall race experience.

I am really enjoying the link ups and reading all of your blogs! Thanks for your comments last month - it is so nice to know people are actually reading :)

Happy Tri-ing!

Transitions: Love 'em or hate 'em? Any tricks you can share?