Day of Race Routine for Cross

Day of race routine. Getting to a CX race and getting organized

Getting to a CX race and getting organized is key to a successful venture. I have been using the same routine for the past few years and it works well for me. Perhaps sharing this will help you get ready as well. 

Time the food and arrive early

I like to arrive so that I can get there and ride the course casually right away. This means, arriving before the race three before you is over. Get there and get your pit bike out and get changed into non-race kit.  Put in the required pressure and go to the start/finish. Once the winner goes through, begin riding the course slowly observing tricky spots and opportunities. You should be able to slowly get in 2 laps, being careful not to foul racers completing ahead of you, and not run afoul of the officials by riding the finish straight. 

Once done, head over to reg and get your number.  By now, your are less than 2 hours to race time. The race meal should be already eaten. I like to eat my breakfast 3 hours before which is usually oats with walnuts, blueberries, maple and butter. Sometimes a yogurt too. Always drinking water to supplement.  In the final 2 hours I like to top off with either a banana, a partial Clif Bar, or an Gojo applesauce packet if I get hungry. 

Warmup

Once back at the car, PIN numbers on the race kit and start a warmup. The actual warmup is the subject of another article. But this should be about 1:40 before the race now. Do a structured 20-30 min warmup, and be ready to go back onto the course for 2 hotlaps as the race 2 before you finishes.  Identify areas of the course that you need to concentrate on and consider tire choice and pressure. 

The final hour 

Once this final course inspection is done, things are getting compressed. Get back to the car, get both bikes ready or get the pit wheels ready. Change into race kit and do a some warmup work to stay loose. With warmups on, a bottle in a pocket, and  your espresso and untapped maple in the other pocket, bring pit bike/wheels to the pit at 30 min to go. Find an area near the start to stay loose and get ready for callups.  Sometimes I will ride slowly or jog a few 50m strides in my riding shoes on the grass. Yes, I said jog.

With 15 min to go, take the espresso and untapped and get ready for call ups. Keep the warmups on and hang them on the start fence at 5-10 min to go. 

Go time

The hope here is that you will have a sequence of events, planned with enough time, to get optimally ready with the most self reliance. It is always great to have pit help and jacket handlers, and when they arrive, it's a bonus. If they aren't around, be ready to help yourself with this guide. 

Nothing ever works perfectly. However, concentrate on the key tasks at hand and be ready for curve balls. The number one thing is to be on the line ready to start. Warmups can vary and food may be forgotten. But keep an open mind and be positive, and you too can be charging to the front effectively when the whistle blows. 

Time efficiency -- Make your lunch

Make your lunch

One of the key factors of good training regimen is eating right. Consistent nutrition is a building block that will help you every step of the way.   I am a huge fan of eating real food as part of training. This is important to me off the bike as well. 

One of the best things you can do to control your diet and eat well is make your own lunch. It has so many benefits. One, you save time overall. It may take a little time to make in the morning and you then have to get it to work, but it pays off. It takes me 5-10 min to make lunch snacks for the day. It rarely takes me 5-10 to go get lunch. What do you do with that time?  Eat at your desk or go for a quick run and eat at your desk after. Two, you eat way healthier than food you can get out in most cases. Pack things with a minimum of ingredients: almonds, carrots, Greek yogurt, apples, bananas, oranges. For a sandwich, I usually just eat a PB&J on wheat bread. But it is just as easy to grill some chicken one night, and then slice that up for a few sandwiches. Make a wrap with avocados or other veggies.  

Making your own lunch is so key to a healthy race weight and feeling great, try this challenge.  If you eat a little less than healthy for lunch (giant burritos, burgers, meatball subs) commit to making lunch for 5-7 days. Just try it. Then, on the next day, go get your old lunch. Note how your stomach feels at 2:00 and how you feel.  I guarantee making a healthy lunch with a minimum of preservatives will make you feel better. 

Not every situation at work works. But if you can some or all of this into your day, you can get some extra miles in, feel better, and be on the way to being a better athlete at any sport. 

Openwater swimming for your first triathlon

OMG!!  The Swim!

For any new triathlete, the swim is without a doubt the hardest hurdle to overcome if you haven't come from a competitive swimmer background. There is no doubt an advantage to having years of laps in a pool and swimming races when you line up in open water. But, being a non-kid swimmer myself, sometimes these expert swimmers don't quite understand what anxiety this leg brings to a non-fish.  Having panicked HARD in my two first races I developed a plan to try and overcome. 

One, plan to buy a wetsuit. The buoyancy you get from this is measurable. The first time you get one and go into the water, you will feel like you are popping out up to your chest like a channel buoy.  You can get a decent sleeveless wetsuit for $99-$150 that is cheap insurance.  Not only does it help you float, and keep you warm, it helps you swim a little bit faster too!

Two, on race day, get into the water before the race and get your face wet. Acclimating to the water temp is very helpful to overcoming the initial shock of getting into the water for a scrum with 50-100 friends.  Also, during acclimation, pull on your suit to make it as comfortable as possible on your chest. I find that in putting on the suit sometimes, it doesn't come up my legs enough and the arm straps are pulling down too tightly. Pull up on the crotch of the suit to get more of it up into the upper body and relieve this pressure. If you can't  get into the water before the race, wade in at your start slowly and take a few seconds before starting. 

Three, don't fight the crowd. If the first turn is a left, line up on the right side and slowly start off. Lining up with the crowd only lends to increasing anxiety as you bump and collide with other swimmers. Quick geometry says that you are adding only a minimum of meters by doing this. Racing in calmer waters will help you relax and get into a rhythm. In most cases, things will bunch again at the first turn if it is in the first few minutes if the swim and then string out.  Some races offer streaming starts where 3 people start every 10-20 seconds. This is an amazing development for new racers. Check this out if you need it. 

Four, be as fit as you can. Swimming 2-3 times a week is the best way to get fit for a minimum of time. If you are just starting, swim a portion of the race distance for a few weeks and then work your way up. Your first triathlon should be a sprint or Olympic distance. That way, you are swimming 500-1500 yards in the race. When starting, if you haven't been swimming in a while, swim as many laps as you can consecutively, and then take a 30-60 sec break.  In the race, this could be simulated with swimming freestyle a bit and then popping up for a few seconds of breaststroke to get your bearings and breathe if required.  

One thing the start of a race brings on is panic in many. Being out of breath compounds this. After swimming for a few weeks, integrate what I call a start drill into your workout. After a warmup of 200-500 yards, do the following:

2x50 yard sprint with 5 sec rest after each

2x100 yard swim at your pace with 15 sec rest after each

Repeat this 2-4 times

This workout gets you breathing hard, and then you have to turn right around and swim a consistent 100yd while managing your breathing. The first 100 in each set is what I have found best simulates open water starting. This ability to swim and manage breathing will give you confidence when you have that feeling in a race. 

Hopefully you can put these few things together to help your first swim. Triathlon is a great sport that requires a lot of skills that produce great overall body fitness. Completing your first open water race will also give you the confidence and mental toughness that will help in many other situations in life.

Dave Connery is a USA Triathlon Certified Coach, Masters/Age Group Racer, and father of two kids.  H-factor Training is a business that works with real world athletes trying to balance their activities with their work and family at any level.