Marcus Farris
Sep 8, 2018 · 5 min read

The quiet Cleveland skyline crept into view while I dutifully followed my GPS toward the parking area for the 2018 USA Triathlon National Championships. From a distance, I could tell that several exits leading to the shuttles were already blocked off. While I was surprised the race organizers saw it fit to close down the exits a solid three hours before the first wave setting off, I was thankful that I allocated enough time for race day variables that were out of my control. After three more reroutes, I made it to the shuttles with plenty of time left over to set up transition.

After hundreds of hours preparing for race day events, even if they are not of National-level caliber, every racer owes it to them self to create the most stress-free race day morning possible. Setting up a transition area before sunrise in a new city around a crowd of strangers, preparing your body for a maximal sustained effort isn’t exactly something you can easily replicate at home, but a few key measures taken hours before the gun can ensure you’re set up for a breakthrough.

  • Transition Area
  • Often called the fourth discipline, most athletes can make up a lot of time in their race by tweaking one or two aspects in their T1 and T2 on race day.
  • Keep it Clean. The fewer essentials you have in your transition area, the better. When your adrenaline is raging, your hands are wet, and you’re struggling to peel off a slippery wetsuit, the last thing you need is to spend more time searching for your gear. Laid out next to your front wheel, you should have no more than 1) helmet 2) bike shoes (preferably clipped in if you’re comfortable with flying mounts) 3) running shoes and socks (unless you’ve practiced running in shoes without socks) 4) race belt with your number and nutrition attached 5) visor and shades if it’s a sunny day. That’s it. More than that, and you’re asking for a longer transition time…with one other addition.
Only the essentials
  • Mark the spot. In larger races, it can be increasingly difficult to locate your steed out of the water, so consider laying all the aforementioned items on a towel with a distinctive color, a strip of reflective tape, or even place a lawn flag next to your goods. Whatever you use, just make sure it’s not in anyone’s way.
  • Rehearse. Walk the route you’ll be taking out of the swim and off the bike so you’ll know precisely which row your transition area is in. If you’re lucky, perhaps you’ll be next to the guy or gal who brought their fluorescent Speed Concept that sticks out like a lighthouse. Time spent searching for your transition area is time your opponents are putting on you with no extra effort.
  • Nutrition
  • While optimal nutrition needs vary greatly among individuals, and, indeed, among different lines of thinking, two simple considerations can apply to every athlete for any distance.
  • Transition areas are not for eating. Whether you popped out of the water after a brief swim during a sprint or you just spent two hours navigating Kailua Bay, your body can wait another ten minutes before its next feeding. While you’re transitioning, you have enough to worry about; if you’re not progressing on the race course, you should not be eating. Out of the water, your sole focus is getting your helmet and shoes on and settling into your aero bars. Then, and only then, should you consider reaching for your race day fuel, whether tucked in your tri suit pockets or secured somewhere on your bike or race belt.
  • Practice a liquid breakfast. Asking your body to produce a maximal effort while trying to digest solid food is a bit like asking a boxer to throw and uppercut while parrying an incoming punch simultaneously. During any endurance activity, especially on race day, your body’s priority is delivering oxygen to skeletal muscle, the type of muslce responsible for forward locomotion. Demands from smooth muscle, the muscle responsible for, among other things, moving food through your digestive system, are secondary at best. Gastric emptying will be slowed and nutrients will not be assimilated, that is, turned from the whole food you consumed into ATP, the body’s energy currency, nearly as readily. Consuming a liquid breakfast, like a smoothie with all your usual favorite pre-race foods, will save your digestive system some effort while you’re crushing the competition. During the weeks leading up to the race, practice consuming a mostly liquid breakfast an hour or two ahead of a training session. This will give your system enough time to empty your stomach and assimilate the fuel before your effort.
  • Calm Before the Storm
  • It’s nearly impossible to fully replicate race conditions during training. That’s what makes race day so special. You’ll find that your sweat rate, heart rate, and adrenaline are all elevated even while you’re standing at the beach, waiting to pluck your toes in the open water for your warm up. Surrounded by fit looking athletes, your mind may start to wander and wonder. Have I done enough? Did I eat correctly? What have I forgotten? Here’s how to take control of those thoughts and potential worries to stay cool and collected before that plunge into the first leg of your race.
  • Positive thoughts only. As podcaster and endurance coach Kristian Manietta loves to repeat to his athletes, “positivity is a performance enhancer.” Pay attention to your thoughts as you’re adjusting your wetsuit or finishing your final pre-race activities. If you find yourself doubting, worrying, or thinking too much about your training, be aware that that type of thinking will not allow you to race your best. Everyone has nerves, everyone has their own battle they’re facing. You are not the only one on the starting line thinking you could have tweaked your training, or eaten better, or made some change that would improve your performance, not by a long shot. Whatever the circumstance, you’re there because you care about your sport and you made the extraordinary effort to participate, and that counts for everything already.
  • Visualize Success. It’s been shown that simply thinking about success can have a real impact on your actual success. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Think about how those waves won’t bother you, how aero you can be, how smooth you’ll look as you run the course. Picture yourself crossing the finish line with a smile on your face and let that be your motivation, not your place on the podium, or whether your time will be better than last year, or whether you can beat that other racer with the fluorescent Speed Concept.
  • Box Breathe. Five counts on the inhale, five counts hold, five counts on the exhale, five counts hold and repeat. This method of breathing has been well studied and shown to reduce stress and activate your rest and digest part of your nervous system. Whatever anxiety you bring to the starting line, getting in at least two or three minutes of focused box breathing will help steady your heart beat and will contribute to your race day focus.

Marcus Farris

Written by

Passion for endurance sports, steeped in military esprit, driven by a desire to learn, strengthen and share.

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