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Silly Mistakes (pt 2)

In Races of TTC (September 27, 2008 8:11 pm)

Last time I referred to “Silly Mistakes” which cost needless time. Now I’ll explain why

Arriving at the race venue with minimal time to prepare – Do you think Jan Frodeno arrived at the Beijing transition 20 minutes before the Olympic Triathlon was due to start? Me neither. So why create unnecessary stress by running around like a headless chicken just before your big event. When you are blaming your training for a poor result try looking at your time management and organisation instead
Not knowing the timings for the event such as your wave start time, when transition closes etc – Its in the race instructions. So don’t blame the marshalls! Just prepare in advance. Its as important as the last brick session!!
Leaving vital bits of kit – like a wetsuit – in transition when it is closing – as above. -Have a check list & be prepared
Leaving vital bits of kit at home – like a wetsuit! – See #3
Missing or not listening to the race briefing – Like the guy who took a wrong turn last year. It cost him the race!!
Not knowing the course - as #2. Its in the race information pack!
Overloading your bike with extras (4 water bottles, saddle bag with tools etc) – You probably need only 2 water bottles for an Ironman as long as you plan your fuel requirements in advance and know where the aid stations are (more planning) As for the extra tools, get your bike checked over in the week before the race and it will be OK on race day. You only really need to carry 2 tubs/inner tubes, 2 gas bottles and some tyre levers. This will all go into a small bag under your saddle.
taking forever in T1 & T2 – OK so you need to practice your transition skills in advance. It is the 4th discipline and is free time (i.e. its not genetic) but the occur in every triathlon so why wouldn’t you?
Not knowing where the mount & dismount lines are at the start and end of the bike – Walk through T1 & T2 when you have finished racking. Of course this does require you to arrive early. See #1

So as you can see. Most of these are a simple matter of being organised and being prepared. In fact, many athletes could make big improvements from just paying a little more attention to to these elements in their daily training. In the next few weeks I’ll tell you how.

Have a good weekend and have fun

Simon

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