Nothing New on Race Day

Jaime, my coach, has many mantras that are often repeated through the race

season. One that resonates with me is the mantra of “Nothing New on Race

Day”. If you’re going to introduce something new into your race day make sure

you don’t choose to do it the morning of the race. I’ve heard horror stories of

riders who put new wheels on their bikes the day of the race only to get a flat and

not have a way to repair or replace the wheel. Two personal experiences stick in

my mind that made me take Jaime’s words to heart.

My first experience came when I did the Rolf Prima Triathlon over in Cottage

Grove, Oregon. This was my first Olympic distance triathlon. Jaime wanted to

get some heart rate readings for the race and I wanted to know distances so we

agreed that I’d wear my heart monitor and wear my Garmin Forerunner. Since

the Forerunner wasn’t waterproof I’d need to put the watch on after I emerged

from the swim portion of the race. I kept telling myself I needed to practice

getting the Forerunner set up so I’d be ready to go but I would either forget to do

so or just leisurely set it up before I went for a run or a ride. On the day of the

race I still hadn’t practiced setting it up in a race situation. I ran into the transition

area, stripped off my wetsuit and started trying to get the things on I would need

for the bike portion of the race. I strapped the Forerunner on and then began to

try to get things set up. The adrenaline of the race left my fingers fumbling and

my patience at a minimum. The Forerunner wasn’t setting up quick enough, and

worse, it was delaying my departure from the transition area. I got on the bike

and rode out of the transition with my left hand on the handlebars and my right

arm clumsily trying to set my Forerunner so that I could read the data. Having no

success, I finally said, “to hell with it” and just started riding. I ended up finishing

the race just fine, but I also think the bike portion of my race would have gone

better had I known how far I had gone and how far I still needed to go.

My second experience is one that really sticks in my mind. This one occurred

when I participated in the RAT race in Redmond, Oregon. When Jaime and his

wife Heather moved to Bend Jaime was kind enough to loan me a Laughing Dog

Tri singlet to wear racing. At that time I was quite a bit heavier and so the singlet

fit pretty tightly around my middle. Fast-forward two months. I’m still wearing the

same singlet but I’ve also lost quite a bit of weight. It still fits but it isn’t as snug

as it once was around my torso. The swim portion of the RAT was done in heats

in a pool. Prior to that race the two other races I had done with the singlet were

done in open water with a wetsuit. I hadn’t really had a chance to assess how

the singlet would handle in a pool setting. Our group was led into the pool area

just minutes before our heat began. We were told we could get into our lane

once it was empty of racers from the previous race. Unfortunately my lane had a

very slow swimmer that didn’t emerge until approximately 30 seconds before the

race began. I jumped into the pool only to discover just how much weight and

girth I had lost. My once snug singlet was now very loose in the water. I could

feel the fabric floating around my body and panicked. I needed to get the singlet

off but before I could begin to remove it my heat began. I swam the race wearing

a nice drag singlet that felt like I was pulling a parachute down the lane.

What did I learn from this, other than listening to my coach’s wisdom? I learned

to practice every part of the transition, no matter how minor, and I also made

sure several days ahead of the race that I practiced with the equipment and

apparel I would be utilizing.

If anything this type of practice and preparation gives you a certain confidence in

your abilities once race day arrives. It doesn’t mean that problems won’t occur

(more on that later) but it does mean you’ve done as much as you can to prepare

effectively in order to be successful on race day.