Short-course racing lessons

Racing is where all your training comes together in a single performance, where any mistakes will cost you time and placings. With triathlons involving three legs the scope for things to happen is increased, which also means there are many lessons to be learned. Here's some lessons I've learned about short-course racing.

Time your start
Almost all short-course triathlons use wave starts to spread the field out, which you can use to your advantage to get a good start. What you need to do is note the start time-of-day for the first wave (or any other wave before yours) on your watch, add the time gap to your wave to the time-of-day you noted and there is your start time. You can rely on it being accurate because race timing relies on it being accurate. Then use your watch on the start line to count down to the start time of your wave to the second, switching your watch to stopwatch (or other) mode just before you start. Simple, and means you will always be first to start AS the hooter goes.

Warm-up well
A short-course race is hard and fast. If you were doing any individual session at that intensity you would do a good warm-up, and so you should still do on race day. You will be limited to running and swimming, but that is OK. Start your warm-up 30+ mins or so before your start time with a run, plus stride-throughs as if you were warming up for a running race. Stop to put your wetsuit on, then head out for a swim, including some short efforts of 20-30 strokes, plus maybe a practice start or two. Give yourself a few mins to relax before your actual start time, after your warm-up, and you will be ready to go hard from the gun (or hooter).

Cut out the clutter
Your equipment for short-course racing should just be the basics. You don't need the same range of gear as in long-course, like nutrition, etc. For the bare minimum you can cut out things like socks, spare tyres, pumps, excess water bottles (1 only), hats and the like. Cut out the clutter and think lean, mean and fast for your race gear.

Think fast to be fast
Personally, I only wear a hat / visor on a easy run and never when I'm doing a fast running sessions. So I'm certainly not going to change and wear a hat / visor in a race when I want to go fast because sub-consciously I associate that with going easily. You want to think fast to be fast, where habits in training should prepare you for how you want to race. Train the way you want to race, and carry that forward into your race.

Know transition layout and course
This is a basic tip for any racing, but especially so in short-course racing where seconds count. Be very sure you know your way through transition, and where the likely congestion points are going to be so you are prepared for them when it's crowded during a race, and your HR is through the roof. Similarly, know the course, especially the last parts of the run course which can tend to twist and turn before the finish line so you know what room you might have if you find yourself in a sprint finish - not all parts of the course are open, clear and smooth. Be prepared by knowing ahead of time what is coming up.

There's only one pace - fast
The beauty of short-course racing is that it is not really long enough that you're going to bonk like in long-course events. Even for Olympic Distance, a gel or two (or three, depending on duration) during the bike leg should ensure you don't have fueling issues, which means you can concentrate on your pace even more, which is fast. The worst case is you need to slow down a little, recover, then pick up the pace again. Of course you need to take in account your fitness level and experience, but your aim should be to maintain your highest possible pace for the duration of the event...and to concentrate on doing so.