Category Archives: REFLECTIONS
Simple but good advice for the Long Distance Tri race day
With the Tri United 2 and 70.3 Phillipines races coming up and Timex 226 at the end of the year, you may want to read this:
Pre race
*Breakfast around 2.5- 3 hours before the race.
*High G.I carbs/reduced fibre foods best like white bread and jam or bagels etc. Bananas and coffee good if you are used to it. Caffeine is good for endurance but don’t suddenly experiment on race day. Keep it simple. If you are used to eating just rice, then that is ok.
*Don’t try anything new on race day or race week….i.e. don’t radically change bike position the week of a key race because you saw someone else doing it! Also don’t suddenly think you can do a flying mount with no prior practice. In Australia we call this a ‘brain explosion’!
*Base the nutrition plan around 1g carbohydrate per body weight per hour. Do the math. In general a mix of gels and other food is best especially in hot weather. If gels I find ones that are not ‘chocolate’ work best in a hot climate. Hydrate regularly. It’s almost impossible to drink ‘enough’ in SEA.
*Try food out before hand on harder tempo ride or run.
Race.
*Keep swim steady throughout. HR spikes are not a good way to start a race. If going for the podium or overall victory in an elite sense then a hard first 200 metres is critical to getting a good bike position on the road but in general age groupers respond best to a ‘moderate’ approach to the swim. After all, it’s a long day out there.
*Aim to negative split bike and run. You will have the best run and overall result relative to your fitness if you do.
Race is to the end, not T2! A common mistake of 85% of people out there. Watch how the women do it. They do this better! A lot of racing is controlling your emotions. C’mon guys.. it takes some balls to back off.
First 10k of bike and first 2k or run must feel ‘easier’. Settle in to go the distance physically and mentally.
Focus on each small segment of the race at all times. The bigger picture is often daunting. Break it down in smaller, more manageable sections.
Smile when you can, it works for the Kenyans.. and also Chrissie and Natasha!
Reducing the Noise
I am constantly working on reducing the level of ‘noise’ in my life and subsequently enhancing the quality of my life and relationships. I think more often than I would like to, I sabotage my training efforts by overloading myself with other factors outside the heavy triathlon volume I have adopted. The benefits gained from eliminating these unwanted factors could be great, and are especially important when trying to reduce overall fatigue from training/balancing work/life responsibilities and achieving one’s goals.
Moderate the things that don’t really matter and take steps to improve productivity, health and performance. Every morning ask yourself, ‘what are some of the actions that I could take today which will directly impact my ability to achieve my goals’? Most times I think people ruin their own potential success by doing things that are useless, or worse, counterproductive. Does constantly surfing the internet directly support the most important items in your life? Does watching TV late every night and not getting enough rest help you in your workout the next morning? Do erratic eating and sleeping habits due to a full social calendar help you become the best athlete you can be? Habits like these are very hard to break, but being aware that you need to do something about these points already gives you an advantage.
‘Noise’ can come in different shapes and forms as well. Traffic, travel and negativity are also factors that add up to this equation. Finding ways to expose myself to less of these to some degree helps to make me a better, stronger person.
What I find is that by reducing the noise around, I have been able to ‘accept/absorb’ more training volume which I might not have been otherwise able to do. I can also recover better and have better quality sleep. At the end of the day the body will always follow what the mind instructs it to do.
Here are some other points which I believe can help you along the path to sporting success:
Consistent daily training. This is training at a level that allows you to come back the next day. (An aerobic focus) and have less holes in the weekly program. Adjust your intensity accordingly.
Wake up and get going. The most important thing that you can do each day is get out of bed. If you don’t plan to do anything for the day, then nothing will get done. My dad always told me, “If you want to get a job done properly, ask a busy person!” So get moving and give yourself the best chance of getting the day’s tasks done.
Always work on your relationship with your partner. You need the support of the ‘team’ around you and the cornerstone of all of this is your partner. Be on the lookout for what he/she needs and know that you have to give in order to receive.
Success in business and athletics comes from the cumulative effect of many small decisions. It is the sum of small successes day in day out which leads to personal excellence.
Posted in REFLECTIONS
