Whether you're new or experienced with racing, the pre-race routine is important to ensure you're ready to go once the gun / hooter sounds. It can be the thing of nightmares to think of all the things that might go wrong before the race, from car break-downs to sleeping in, eating the wrong food or not having the necessary equipment. Having your pre-race routine down pat can give you comfort and put you at ease, each of which helps you really focus on the task ahead of racing.
Here are some things to consider and prepare for pre-race:
1. Race week training
You won't get fitter in race week. In fact trying to "cram" in training is more likely to be detrimental than positive on race day, likely leaving you tired, flat and demotivated. But that doesn't mean a "couch taper" (sitting on the couch all week) is the way to go, either!! During race week you want to keep training as usual but at a reduced workload, in particular, less volume. Maintain the intensity in sessions, just less of it, until 2-3 days pre-race when you should reduce the volume AND intensity to give your body a chance to rest. Get some quality sleep, too. At any time during the week, think about the effect of whatever you're doing at that time will have on your race day performance.
2. Equipment check
Not having equipment that is ready to go on race day for want of pre-race maintenance and servicing is preventable...by having some pre-race maintenance and servicing performed!! But before that you will need to be sure you have all the necessary bits and pieces of equipment, ranging from goggles to bike, helmet, shoes (bike & run) and more. There's a number of equipment check-lists around you can refer to. So assuming you have all the gear you need to be sure that it is in good working order and not likely to fail during the race. The main item to check is your bike, at a reputable bike shop, but also includes checking your goggle straps, shoe laces and similar things. Time spent making sure they are ready for the race removes one more potential concern.
3. Pre-race eating
Your pre-race eating routine can make quite a difference to your comfort during the race, which then carries across to your enjoyment. Basically, you don't want to eat things that will upset or be sitting in your stomach like lead weights during the race. For sprint and Olympic distance events your routine really begins about 2 days before where you shift the balance of foods towards lower fat foods, with good amounts of carbs. Stick to familiar and simple foods that won't feel like they're weighing you down. For these shorter races the need to carbo-load is less. The day before the race is the time to reduce the amount of fibre you're eating, and is not the time to stuff yourself full with food...which would inevitably still be in your guts during the race...yuk!! On race morning just have something light to take away your hunger - you'll have enough energy already stored to get you through the race.
4. Race day logistics
Knowing what to do on race day helps you to be prepared when the start time comes around. The first thing to plan for is how to get to the race, allowing for traffic, parking, etc...this can take some time. When you get to the race site knowing the layout and in particular registration, will then allow you to complete tasks like registering, getting numbered, knowing where you leave gear bags, and getting in/out of transition. Think ahead to what you need to do and the logical sequence of steps to do that, which includes setting up your bike and transition area as you (hopefully) planned it during transition practice in training. The process of setting up need not be confusing...and don't hesitate to ask questions of event marshals.
5. Warming-up and starting
Since you don't do harder training sessions without warming up, so you should also warm-up before races. Here's a suggested sequence of activities to help get ready for the race start: set-up transition, go for a 5-10min run, put your wetsuit on, get to start line about 20min before your wave start, swim for 5-10min, wait for your start while remaining loose and relaxed. Doing a short run and swim helps to warm you up, get your blood pumping and eases your nerves and anxiety about what is ahead by doing activities that are familiar to you.
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