Nothing new on race day

My first race of the season is getting very close. 25 days to go! I am very excited to race again. We have this week and next week to build our volume up one last time before tapering and racing!

Now is the time to figure out what I'll wear in the race, what I'll eat the night before and the morning of, what I'll eat during, etc. Something I teach when I coach and I follow myself is- Nothing New on Race Day. Basically you should have rehearsed everything before the day of the race. One mistake a lot of athletes make is going to the expo the day before the race and get all of this new stuff to try out and decide they'll try it for the race. Their stomach ends up not liking it and they do the whole race with a bad stomach. It just isn't worth it- stick to stuff you know for the race. Do exactly as you did in practice over and over again.

On Friday this week I will be doing a race simulation by doing a bike ride and run close to the distances of the race(50 mile bike/ 6-8 mile run) and I will start around when the race starts. I'll practice eating what I think I'll eat the night before the race on Thursday night and I'll eat the breakfast I plan to eat and I'll bring the gels and drinks with me I plan to use at the race. I'll wear what I plan to wear, etc.

Basically when it comes time to race you should have done it over and over so that nothing about what you wear or eat should be a stress on you, you know exactly what works for you and have it all figured out. There is no question of should I have a bar on my bike or a gel? Should I wear socks on my bike or no socks? This should all be figured out in practice.

Just remember- Nothing new on race day!