Dangremond's April 2009 Mentor TEAM - CLOSED (WE'RE BUSY WORKIN' IT!) (Page 14)

Racing a Sprint Distance Triathlon

Tips for Beginner and Intermediate Racers

Nutrition

Breakfast 3 hours prior to wave send off

1 gel prior to swim 15 minutes before

1 bottle on bike - w/at least 300 calories – take water at aid station as you need it

1 gel with 3 miles to go on bike

Water or Gatorade at every aid station - take something!

Heart Rate Monitor

Wear it so you can see the numbers later - good information for you and information can be compared to races later in the season. Look for HR to be around LT or + during the entire race.

Race Strategy for an Experienced Racer:

Swim: Swim flat out Time Trial speed - maintain, form, but swim upper steady effort, back off last 50m, and ease into the end of swim.

Bike: Start out in a gear you can maintain at 90 RPMS, warm-up for at least 1-3 miles at a steady effort, and once you feel your breathing is more regulated you can start to push the pace a bit. After 3 miles, you can drop the hammer. This should be about 90-95% of LT effort- hard but not so hard your legs are getting fried or that you can't run.

Run: Run easy out of T2 - grab some water, slow down and get your HR down - ease into the run. You want to run the 2nd half faster so pick up the pace ever so slightly, check your splits/effort the first mile, and if you feel comfortable then pick up the pace. At the halfway mark, time to GO! Let it fly just like you were running the last mile and a half of a 5k. If you paced the race right, here is where you can make up a lot of ground and just go by people like they are standing still. It's only a short period of time so push for all you are worth. 

Race Strategy for a Beginner Racer:

Swim: Ease into swim, get into your flow and your own rhythm. Maintain form, back off last 25m, and ease into the end of swim.

Bike: Start out in a gear you can maintain at 90 RPMS (no bouncing in the seat), warm-up for at least 3-4 miles at an easy effort, and once you feel your breathing is more regulated you can start to push the pace a bit. After 4miles, you can go harder – not all out, just enough to get your HR up. Ride, hard but not so hard your legs are getting fried or that you can't run.

Run:  Run easy out of Transition 2 (T2)- grab some water, slow down and get your HR down - ease into the run. You want to run the 2nd half faster so pick up the pace ever so slightly, check your splits/effort the first mile (km), and if you feel comfortable then pick up the pace. At the halfway mark, it’s time to pick it up. If you paced the race right, here is where you can make up a lot of ground and just go by people like they are standing still. It's only a short period of time so push for all you are worth.

Breakfast 3 hours prior to wave send off
1 gel prior to swim 15 minutes before
2 bottles on bike - 1 w/at least 300 calories and one bottle of water
1 gel with 3 miles to go on bike
Water or Gatorade at every run aid station - take something! - and 1 gel at about 3 miles, before aid station so you can wash it down

HR: wear it so we can see the numbers later - good information for next year and this will be GREAT data to compare. Look for HR to be around LT or +

For Experienced Racer Strategy should be:
Swim flat out TT speed - maintain, form, but swim upper steady effort (just below TT effort), back off last 200m, and ease into the end of swim.

Bike - start out in a gear you can maintain at 90 RPMS, warm-up for at least 3-5 miles at a steady effort, and once you feel your breathing is more regulated you can start to push the pace a bit. Ride steady to moderate hard until 15 miles and then after 15 miles, you can drop the hammer. This should be about 85-90% of LT effort- hard but not so hard your legs are getting fried or that you can't run.

Run - easy out of T2 - grab some water, slow down and get your HR down - ease into the run. You want to run the 2nd half faster so pick up the pace ever so slightly, check your splits/effort the first two miles, and if you feel comfortable then pick up the pace. At the halfway mark, time to GO! Let it fly just like you were running a 5k. If you paced the race right, here is where you can make up a lot of ground and just go by people like they are standing still. It's only a short period of time so push for all you are worth.

For Beginner/Intermediate Racer Strategy should be:
Swim easy for 2-500 yds. and then maintain form, but swim steady effort (way below TT effort), back off last 200m, and ease into the end of swim.

Bike - start out in a gear you can maintain at 90 RPMS, warm-up for at least 3-5 miles at a steady effort, and once you feel your breathing is more regulated you can start to push the pace a bit. Ride steady to moderate hard until 20 miles and then after 20 miles, you can drop the hammer. This should be about 85-90% of LT effort- hard but not so hard your legs are getting fried or that you can't run.

Run - easy out of T2 - grab some water, slow down and get your HR down - ease into the run. You want to run the 2nd half faster so pick up the pace ever so slightly but not until after the 5k mark, check your splits/effort the first three miles, and if you feel comfortable then pick up the pace. At the halfway mark, time to GO! Let it fly just like you were running a 5k. If you paced the race right, here is where you can make up a lot of ground and just go by people like they are standing still. It's only a short period of time so push for all you are worth.

Well, kind of spur of the moment, but I just signed up for the Old Hickory Lake triathlon down near Nashville on the 27th.

With the injury and weekend conflicts preventing me from doing more races these last several weeks, I was just itching to get something on the calendar.  Unfortunately, Kentucky lacks much in the way of multi-sport races (relatively speaking), so I opted for one 2 hours away.

Looks like a good fit though -

1. Very beginner friendly (see the thread in TriTalk)

2. Time trial start to my first OWS, so not as much washing machine effect (right Terps?!)

3. Flat bike course, but with plenty of technical turns.

Needless to say, I'm excited.

Oh, and it's rather unconventional.  Due to the neighborhood logistics around the swim start, the race will actually be 400k swim, 1.5 mile run, 12.5 mile bike, 1.5 mile run.

Does that make it a quadrathlon or a triduathlon?

Be sure to stick around for your chance at the latest creation by Quintana Roo  - this will be awarded at the awards ceremony by random drawing - must be present to win! A QR Cd0.1 frame, fork, seat post, headset, and brakeset. Check out the photo below and click on the bike for more info....http://www.quintanarootri.com/QR_bikes/cd0.1/cd01.html

Yeah, that race was on my early list of July options.  Thought it would be fun to spend the weekend in Chattanooga (have only drive through it a few times), and the bike raffle had me drooling.

Maybe I could convince them to raffle another one in the Music City Tri????