Together, we went through the equivalent of 160 pages for this moment : racing. Whatever the sport, the A-race an athlete is about to start is the pinnacle of its preparation, the opportunity to see all the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together smoothly. As I'm writing these lines, we're in spring 2020 and still in a lockdown situation due to the Covid-19 situation, and it sucks. It's in this unique moment of history we're getting through that you understand how much racing is important for the well-being of an athlete. You realise it's just not about your time and position in the ladder, but more about having fun with plenty of other people like you around. This is something that never really came to my mind until now, and that would probably not have been written down in that blog in another reality. So whatever is going to happen to you during your race, remember that at the end of the day, you are pretty lucky to be there in the first place.
Tapering is already racing
When you're finally getting into the last workouts of your training block, the job is done. You then enter the excitement of the tapering phase, because at that point all you have to do is to relax and think about your race strategy, while feeling your body finally getting the freshness it's deserving after so much effort. As a greedy fan of Dragon Ball Z — paid my tribute on the helmet, heh — I would compare it to Goku transforming and supercharging himself into Super Saiyan. Kind of.
« In the final week before a big race, all you can do is pray » is a sentence I read somewhere once, and these are some plain words of wisdom. You can’t get in any better fitness form anyway, but you can stupidly get sick, injured, or be too tired. In fact, you have to accept to lose fitness in order to perform at 100% of your capabilities on race day, and I found to be very challenging mentally. « Will I still be able to push on that pedal ? Will my body still be able to accept the bike-run transition ? Will I still be able to handle the fatigue of the last kilometres of the run ? » I was asking myself so many questions... On the one hand, I was feeling like a kangaroo full of energy and on the other hand, I was feeling like I would not be able to use the energy the right way.
I won't elaborate the tapering phase in detail throughout these lines, you'll find plenty of models around in books, video, or blog post. But what I have to say is that you must be incredibly careful about that phase, you have to experiment over time what training load is working the best for you, especially with triathlon when it implies 3 different sports.
I remember my first IronMan 70.3 in Indian Wells, and doing a 2-hour long ride including some solid tempo into it on the Tuesday prior to the race. I was following Cody Beals's plan1How do pro triathletes train ? My weekly schedule : part II, just to forget he was a pro and able to deal with such intensive workout prior to a race. I was definitely not, and I paid the price on the bike course, hardly keeping my composure around the 70-kilometre mark. It was not the only reason — hydration played a part as we saw in nutrition & hydration chapter — but it surely was a key factor, and I’m actually glad it did because « failing is learning ».
In the final week before a big race, all you can do is pray.
Over time I founded a tapering phase working well for me, but not really in line with what I read over in the books. Most of the coaches I read about that topic suggested a drop of 10% of the CTL in the tapering phase. To get to that point means lowering your training volumes by about 50%, but it's just too much for me and would let my ATL go way too high, meaning a damaging loss of fitness. As discussed in the data chapter, your TrainingPeaks fitness form should be between 20 and 30 for long-distance triathlon. An ATL of 20 was way enough for me for an IronMan 70.3, while my both IronMan 140.6 were completed with a starting ATL of 28. That was respectively a drop of 4% and 7% in CTL during that tapering phase, so way less than suggested and that is mainly due to the tapering phase length.
A well-executed tapering is what will allow you to perform at 100% of your capacity on race day, but if you overdo it during that time and don’t give your body a chance to recover and overcompensate, your months of effort won’t pay off unfortunately.
No excuses for messing up pre-race days
I'm always so stressed the days before leaving out to a race, you should really see me. It was even more the case for a triathlon where you have so many things to keep in mind, it's asking such logistics ! But once I was in the car or on the plane, ready to leave, my mind was shifting only to the race and this is because I made sure to have nothing else to worry about. « If you fail to prepare you are preparing to fail. » to once again quote Benjamin Franklin.
I’ve listed below some important points of my pre-race days routine :
- Practising transition. It always baffles me when guys in my age group spend double, even triple the amount of time I do in transition and wonder why their race times don’t improve. Just looking at the results of my IronMan Switzerland, I was exactly 4 minutes quicker for both transitions compared to my age group ! Can you imagine the efforts needed on the swim, bike, or run to compensate this deficit ? And I don’t think being even that good in transition ! For every triathlon, I made sure to go in both transition zones and walk the whole of the area, looking for visual cues so I’m not losing any extra time finding my bike, having an idea of the effort that will be required to complete it, how’s the exit is playing as well, without forgetting to have a look at the position of the toilet in case of emergency. Regarding transition bags I’m packing them in a logical way where what I bring out of the bag first is what I need… first. So for the swim to bike transition, for example, I first bring out my bib belt, then my gel pack, then my socks, then my helmet. I practised that specific order at least 3 to 5 times in the 10 days prior to the race, and the same goes for the bike to run transition. You have to remain cool and in auto-pilot mode as the excitement around you will be huge with other athletes.
- Check, double-check, triple-check your bike. I’m about to tell you a terrible truth, and I know you’re about to judge me the hard way but welp… I don’t know how to change an air chamber tyre. Yes, how is that even possible for someone doing a race without assistance ? Well, firstly I was riding in tubeless to give myself some rest on that point, and secondly I was actually chasing time so any bike mechanical problem would anyway have led to a DNF as I didn’t care about being a finisher. Still to avoid that, I made my absolute best to make sure the chance of it happening would be the smallest possible. My bike went to the bike shop before every race for a complete check-up, and once at the race location, I made sure to ride 2 kilometres or so to check it had no problem during travel. As some transition areas could be windy, especially the ones at sea, I was using some scotch packaging tape to strap it firmly between the seat post and the transition bar. I was always adding plastic film around my both DI2 battery packs to protect them against the humidity or possible rain, and I was always checking my tyre pressure in the morning. Throughout my 4 triathlons, I never had a significant problem, the biggest issue I had was during IronMan Switzerland with my crankset making a weird noise, but I guess it was due to the rain pouring down on it.
- Shave legs and arms. We had a glimpse at this point in the bike training chapter if you remember, and it took me quite a mental process to shave my legs for the first time. In the world we’re living in being hairy for a man remains a strong symbol of masculinity, and being shaved will raise a lot of questions from people around you. When you aim to chase seconds on the bike, you will not have much choice left though. Mark Cote and Chris Yu, two employees of my favourite bike brand — Specialized — in charge of the manufacturer wind tunnel conducted a test concerning shaved legs and the associated aerodynamics2Wind tunnel data indicates shaved legs are faster - Velonews. The findings were consistent across the dozen of cyclists they used: at the same speed, each one was saving around 15 watts, shaving off — oh, oh, oh — between 50 and 82 seconds over 40 kilometres ! As it was so effective, they ran a second batch of testing, this time asking the cyclists to shave their arms3Shave your arms and ride faster ! — Road.cc. Results were slightly less impressive than for the legs — less surface — but still substantial with a time saving of 19 seconds over 40 kilometres ! Just doing the maths, it’s 280 seconds gain on an IronMan 140.6 course… Yes, 4 minutes and a half, and all it costs is a shaver ! So have a talk with your partner, you now have solid facts.
- Bring two sets of goggles. On the morning of 2019 IronMan Switzerland, it was pouring down showers of rain, and the visibility was absolutely awful. The only goggles II brought with me were black tinted, and I had a nightmare swimming that course as I just wasn’t able to see the BUOY around me. I can confidently say I lost over 3 minutes on that swim, and so for Challenge Almere-Amsterdam I took action by bringing two goggles sets, one clear and one black tainted. The sunrise was absolutely stunning that 14th of September and so I was glad to be using the black tinted again. But at least I didn't have to worry again about that while waking up. Another positive thing is that if it ever happens that you break your goggle straps in the morning — reading the Internet it happens way more often than I thought — you’ll have a replacement pair ready to use. We’re never prepared enough.
- Bring two triathlon suits. While I was preparing for Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, I went over the Internet to read some race reports about it and see if I can get any tips out of it — It’s always interesting to do this by the way. I ended up on the feedback of a French professional triathlete, and unfortunately after an extensive search, I can’t find it again. Still, he was saying that on race day the weather was windy and pretty chilly, which can be understandable as the race is held mid-September in the windmill country. So he did something I heard for the first time; he actually wore two triathlon suits in the water and on the bike, allowing him to get more comfortable on the saddle, and more importantly, to have two layers on the skin to keep him away from hypothermia. He then removed the first triathlon suit on the bike-to-run transition. What. A. Smart. Move. As the temperature on the morning was just 13 degrees Celsius with an expected peak of 21 degrees Celsius only in the afternoon, I tried that pro tip wearing my two triathlon suits for the swim and bike legs, and it worked in a marvellous way !
- Sleep mask and earplugs. In the recovery chapter I've discussed how sensitive I became over time to light and sound. It’s a no-brainer for me to bring my sleep mask and earplugs wherever I go, but even though you’re not in the same spot as me, I would definitely recommend you to follow this tip and bring your own on a race event. If you end up in a hotel room where people next door throw a TV party or if the curtains are broken, you’ll be glad to be able to still get the hours of sleep required to perform at your best level.
Lorem IpsumTransition zone of Challenge Almere-Amsterdam. You have to know by heart the exact location of your bags, or you’re entitled for some useless stress and minute(s) lost.
These are just some of the things I learnt ahead of the race itself, but I’ve got more to share regarding the race itself in a few lines. For now, learn to relax and enjoy your time out there.
I remember perfectly that moment, I was riding alone for 40 minutes when noticing the photographer. I was in a low-low at that time and fighting mentally against the fatigue and the loneliness of the situation with no one to cheer for you.
On race day, trust the process
We had the opportunity to discuss the topic quite enough : completing an IronMan 140.6 is a hell of a task. Yet despite being close to breaking around half of the bike leg on both races I’ve done, I still felt totally in control. I mean, I knew exactly what I was doing out there, I was like a plane on automatic pilot just trying to have a look at my weather radar trying to avoid turbulences. For Challenge Almere-Amsterdam I told everyone on social networks I was going to break #SUB10 on that day, adding to the “live up to the hype” environment on top of the usual stressful race conditions. I ended up executing an almost flawless race strategy : nutrition & hydration protocol, swim-to-bike and bike-to-run transition, pacing strategy, mental management… Thinking about it months later I’m still super proud of that triathlon piece of art despite that few little experience on the field. I was able to deliver because of these two simple rules on race day :
- Making all the mistakes possible and learning on my previous B races in the season.
- Training hard and trusting my training.
It’s honestly almost as simple as this. I lost my chip on the swim-to-bike transition at IronMan 70.3 Indian Wells, and made sure for every other triathlon to have a look at it during the transition. And so on for all the rest. I tried to train harder than anyone else for a year, so what would be the point if not relying on it on race day ? I came to win on the field, no matter what someone up there would throw in my face. « Just try my friend, I’m waiting for you. » was my mindset.
We are kind of getting back to the mental strength chapter there. For the sports psychologist Bob Rotella, racing is about 3 things :
- The first step is to train your talent in practice.
- The second step is to trust your talent in competition.
- The third step is to keep repeating the first two steps.
I actually couldn't have said it better. If you start to overthink, the odds of you starting to underperform are quite high. Just acknowledge that you're prepared for the mission, free yourself to perform, and let your body what you've trained to do it. You'll most likely make mistakes throughout such a long race; simply accept them happening and maintain a winning feeling regardless of the circumstances. Get prepared mentally for this, and when it will happen; get it out of your head and focus again on your performance. You will not be able to change it anymore, so to quote the celebrated 16th century French essayist Michel de Montaigne : « Not being able to govern events , I govern myself. »
Some race pro tips
Racing a flawless IronMan 140.6 is about some natural talent — let's be honest —, preparation, experience, and — let's be honest again — a bit of luck on such a long race. Of all these parameters that have been already discussed, I could add some tips I learnt from my own experience or from professional triathletes :
- Strap your shoes on the bike. This can sound the most obvious of all the tips, but I'm still seeing so many triathletes not doing it. You must learn to fix your shoes on your bike ahead of the transition with elastic, and then filling in the shoes while you're riding on the bike getting out of the transition zone. You can shave quite a few seconds using that skill, especially when the transition is endless like IronMan Hamburg for example.
- Protect your goggles strap. As far as I know, most of the 70.3 and 140.6 are now starting in a rolling start way which I think is a good thing, making the whole thing less stressful. That was not the case for Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, which was an age group mass start. As I was striving to save every second possible I was in front of the pack, and was by far not the best swimmer, I got overpassed quite a few times. On a turn I didn’t see someone in front of me and got kicked in the face, but fortunately my goggles didn’t move. I’m not sure how much it helped, but having my goggle-straps-under my cap surely played a big role in avoiding any disaster. Make sure it’s the case for yours, it doesn’t cost anything and should make it way harder to have them kicked off your face in case of collision.
The overview of Challenge Almere-Amsterdam bike course on BestBikeSplit. You can even load the expected weather and get your time adjusted depending of the wind and rain conditions on that day !
- Race against your own ghost through BestBikeSplit. I guess that maybe 10% or so of athletes know the IronMan bike course on race day, either because they live in the area and had time to review it, or because they already did the race in the past. I'm not in this position, and I actually discovered the bike course of every single triathlon I did on race day. But I was still in familiar territory thanks to Strava route builder and BestBikeSplit. Most of the time you should be able to download from the event website the .gpx file of the bike course, but I always preferred to do it on my own as it's way better to memorize it. Then I was using BestBikeSplit math and physics engine to output the best possible power-based plan to have the fastest bike split possible given the course conditions and my fitness abilities. It's a thoroughly useful tool — yet a bit complex I have to admit — to get a solid idea of the time you'll be up to on race day, and even more importantly, to pace your efforts the right way when it comes to a hilly bike course. The Wahoo bike computer can natively download the generated file and display the power target you should aim for throughout the various segments of the race for the intended time / distance / intensity factor. The same can be done with Garmin but will require you to download the BestBikeSplit App on Garmin connect. Even though I was not able to keep it up 100% of the time, it has been a miracle tool for me to be in automatic pilot for most of the bike course, and it's worth every penny of the $19 monthly subscription you'll use in the month of the race. Then just unsubscribe.
- Forget your mistakes quickly. We've discussed it just a few lines before, but I thought it would be useful to send another wake-up call about it. « Like the bamboo tree, bend but don't break » as the anonymous prophet said. Just focus on the next step of your race strategy, whatever happened previously. If you're aiming for a #SUB10 performance, you should anyway have some buffer on your total race time anyway, and so you need to make sure you're not compromising anymore of it by losing your focus and mind energy on these 2 minutes lost just because you crash getting out of the bike transition.
- Do your best SpongeBob impersonation. It was absolutely amazing to watch two times IronMan world champion Patrick Lange racing and winning Kona in 2018. It was actually the first time I was watching the IronMan world championship and it has allowed me to gather a wealth of information about the best out there. I remember every time Patrick Lange was getting through an aid station, it was just a perfectly executed ballet. He also offered such a laughable and memorable moment with a Coke bottle, in case you haven’t seen it ! That being said, I noticed how much he did his best to use all the resources available to cool him down throughout the run, especially the sponge. He was changing them at every single aid station, putting one into his cap and two around his chest in his triathlon suit. This is something I made sure to use also to assist in cooling and limiting the temperature increase of the body due to my efforts. The Omius headband as discussed in the run training chapter can definitely be a pretty nice addition if you’re competing in a tropical environment.
- Don’t eat straight in the run. As I write I’m preparing myself for a marathon, and every Sunday long run is an opportunity for me to remember how difficult it is for the body to absorb nutrition while running. It really takes time to get used to, and even if you are, you can still be in trouble from time to time. Whatever the triathlon distance, I always made sure to let my body settle into the run before thinking about nutrition. This change in discipline is traumatic for your body and GI system, whatever the number of key brick sessions you did. I think 20 minutes or so is the least you should wait before ingesting any food or gel.
The time is now , the place is here.
— Dan Millman
- Forget your heart rate. We’re getting through the last few lines of this blog, and you should have noticed that I barely mentioned heart rate all along. We discussed the reasons, but some of you still might be using it because you don’t have the opportunity to use a power meter either on the bike or the run, or because you just feel more comfortable having an eye on it. Whatever the reason, my thought is that heart rate is absolutely pointless on race day, because the purpose of a race is to go all-in to your limits anyway isn’t it ? As I wrote it, you should be in automatic-pilot mode and know your body enough to let it fly or be saving energy whenever you feel it based on your race strategy.
- Abandon your dignity. During Challenge Almere-Amsterdam something really struck me while I was on the second loop of the bike course. I saw people in front of me — which means they were pretty decent athletes also on a #SUB10 pace — stopping to pee at the aid station W.C. If you just read the competition rules, they were doing it right as most of triathlon races are prohibiting peeing outside of the dedicated facilities, risking a yellow card or stop-and-go penalty if you are caught by a race referee. I never respected that rule — the only one I was actually flouting on purpose — because at some point when you’re chasing the time you just have to play with it. Abandon your dignity and learn to pee strategically throughout the bike or run course. As for the bike, the best place is obviously when you can totally relax your body to let it go, so preferably while descending when you can do coasting. You need to make sure of two things : that anyone behind you is at least 20 metres away and that you are carrying water to wash yourself, otherwise your skin will be burning in no time. The same strategy goes either for bike or run. On both my IronMan 140.6 distances I had to pee 3 times in total, 2 times on the bike and one time on the run. If you notice that you have to pee too much, it’s either because you’re taking too much fluid, or insufficient sodium within that fluid to retain it in your body.
Here we are, I think I’ve shared almost everything I learnt over the course of one year in triathlon. Nothing will ever beat your own experience, but if I only managed to help you save a few minutes from your race time, or motivated you enough to pursue your dream, I definitely will consider I succeeded in the mission behind this blog. Now you have the key to the truck, so… «The time is now , the place is here. » — Dan Millman