In this week's episode, we asked our community to tell us about their best and worst race days—what happened, what factors led to success or failure, and what lessons they learned. We then mixed in a bunch of our good and bad race day stories to come up with an episode that's full of actionable information about how you can approach racing, as well as a lot of laughs as we dig back through the racing archives. We also share coaching and training insights and answer listener questions related to mishaps on race sims, mental strategies for racing, bike care and maintenance, FTP in racing, and a whole lot more. Check it out!
Extended show notes:
Ironman weather watching has started.
Today, in northern NH, the weather could be a preview of Ironman Lake Placid weather: first driving, cool rainy, followed by 75-80F sun and 100% humidity - extreme heat index, followed an hour later by dropping humidity followed a couple hours later by a supercell which dropped 2” or more of rain in 30’, followed by sun / humidity again. In other words, welcome to mountain weather.
In sum: Anything can and will happen on race day. Be prepared for all types of weather especially in Lake Placid
Coaching and Training Insights
Katie:
When race sims don’t go as planned
Flatted at mile 78 of race sim and stem valve too short for my deep back wheel → had to take a ride at the base of the 11 mile climb, the most daunting part of the Sea to Summit course.
Bad race sims are scary because they can really shake our confidence going into race day. “What if this happens on race day??” // “Can I actually execute this race??”
Some things to remember:
If something bad happens on race day and it has happened before, good! You have had practice dealing with it.
Don’t waste any energy or headspace getting upset about what is happening. Just start doing tasks that will move you towards the next step.
Making sure I was locked in for a great run even after not getting to do the bike I wanted
Think about lessons learned when things don’t go according to plan that you can use for race day. For me, that was:
*MUST* check flat kit extremely carefully and make sure it is truly ready to go
For this race, have 2nd bike ready to go on car in case of catastrophic mechanical
Often, bad race sim = good race! (Note the reverse is not true: we have seen many athletes have great race sims and great races. But just as many have had bad race sims and good races.) Mindset shift = “would rather have this happen now!”
Finally, grateful this happened because I felt like I ‘saved something in the tank for race day’ -- otherwise I would have basically just executed the entire Sea to Summit race, making this type of race and sim different from our standard Ironman race sims where we never run the full distance
Thoughts on workout timing and race timing
Realized Sea to Summit starts at 5:30 am
To avoid GI issues can be helpful to try to dial back your sleep schedule a bit so this feels ‘normal’
BUT have to balance with getting enough sleep, which takes priority
The upshot? Plan a low stress race week
Getting cranky on a long ride (pissed off at drivers, frustrated with other bikers, generally bad headspace) → Solution: EAT! Your brain needs sugar.
Mental work in practice
Nikki Hiltz - W 1500 m race at the Olympic Trials (which took 3:55, a trials record -- 3:58 was the old record)
Their post: Some of the mental work I put into these Olympic Trials
Met with my therapist once a week
Kept randomly adding to my notes app things that motivate me, calmed me down, or instilled belief
“It’s not that deep”
“It’s just a race”
“I truly feel like this is just the beginning of my career”
“The same jump we made this year, we’re going to make that again next year” - Mike (coach) fall of 2023
“I’m doing this for me and not for anyone else”
“You’re going to perform how you practice”
Journaled positive self talk and manifestations
Meditated for 100 days straight
Jim:
Running in extreme heat
Jim Anderson heat index: What is it? Take the temp + humidity. Anything over 140, you start to get into challenging conditions. 150 is the danger zone and 160 is extreme. Your run may start at 140 and move to 160.
Slow down, run by HR. Be conservative. You can end your race season by getting a heat illness.
Take hydration
Try to plan a shady route
Most importantly, don’t get discouraged by your pace / HR.
In praise of trail running / hiking
For our long distance triathletes and ultra runners, the long run / hike serves us well. For Half Ironman and Ironman athletes, our primary goal is time on feet and a long run/hike is perfect.
Trail running builds in organic strength, Z2, tempo, threshold and mobility work.
It gets us acquainted with the outdoor elements: wind, sun, rain, humidity, heat, exposure.
A long hike is like a long race day; you’ll need to focus on pacing and hydration/fueling regularly.
This all helps build race day durability.
And it’s a great social activity. For Ironman athletes, grab a friend and/or family member, take a long hike! It’s not about pounding the pavement on your long runs during the specific prep phase; it’s more about time on feet as that is most race specific for most people.
FTP is relative
FTP = Functional Threshold Power
FTP is like playing centerfield. You know which ballpark you are in, you know your position but depending on the hitter, you may shade a little or a lot to the left / right / in / out.
Your FTP on your road bike uphill is way different than your FTP on your TT bike on the flat.
Use your long weekend rides and Race Sims with your race bike, in race position, to determine your ‘in context FTP’. You must relate your FTP and % of FTP for racing to your race equipment, race position and race terrain. Your FTP may be 10 - 15% lower in aero on your TT bike than it is on your road bike uphill.
Railroad tracks
Just a reminder to be very careful when crossing railroad tracks as they can quickly catch your wheel and send you crashing to the ground. Try to hit them at a 90 degree angle. If in doubt, stop, walk over them and then continue your ride.
Katie: YES! Another important insight from Sea to Summit bike course is that there are at least 8 railroad crossings including some very gnarly ones…
Main Content
Weather / terrain
Heat related:
Jim:
*First Lavaman OLY - heatstroke at mile 5.
*Syracuse 70.3 - started to fall over / list to one side before mile 1. Running as fast as I could at 9:45 pace going downhill. Only stayed in the race to see all the slow motion carnage throughout the run. Ran 10’ pace and was only passed by a couple of people in my AG toward the end. Everyone was absolutely cooked. Lesson: Heat kills everyone.
*IM St George - passing out at mile 2 on the run and nearly again at mile 11. Lesson: you can’t train at 40F and then race at 90F.
Katie:
Patriot Half 2021 - SO hot and didn’t manage it well
Other Environmental Challenges:
Jim: Kansas 70.3 - 3-4 foot waves which smoked most of the field. It became a survival situation just to get back to shore.
“Worst race ever was Ironman Florida. The day before was beautiful weather. Tested the swim course and it was fast. Day of the race there were red card conditions with winds going 20 mph and gusts up to 35 mph. The swim had rip currents that made it feel like I wasn’t going anywhere. After the first loop I stood on the beach and threw up a bunch of salt water, then went in for the second loop. I barely made the swim cutoff, and a huge number of athletes didn’t. I was noticeably bloated and my gut felt awful. I didn’t want to drink or take in nutrition. The ride somehow felt like 80 out of the 112 miles had headwinds. When I got to the run the sun was setting and it got cold. During the run I would go into the portalets to get warm.”
“Lake George 70.3 circa September 2016ish. Race day was 40 degrees and pouring rain. I chose not to start because the conditions were so miserable, but I hung around to volunteer. They called the race before most participants made it to the halfway point on the bike because so many people were getting hypothermia. (So amongst the worst races, but it was good I did not start).”
Freak things
Jim - anything can happen and will happen
Muskoka 70.3 - hitting a rabbit at mile 17, losing all hydration / calories in the front aero bar bottle.
Vineman 70.3 - just missed getting hit by a falling tree that took out two people. (Also, swimming in a 3 foot river, half the field was walking instead of swimming.)
High LSS
“Losing my entire wallet on the way to catch our flight to CA from Coach Katie’s apartment: I arrived in California feeling giddily excited and grateful, with barely-discernible nerves. (This, despite losing my whole wallet—license, credit card, school ID, etc.—mere minutes before we needed to check our bikes at the Boston airport! Enormous shoutout to Coach Katie for speed-searching the car, Robin for keeping me sane while I frantically turned every bag I brought inside-out more times than I can count, and Noah for knowing what to say on the phone when I called in utter distress.) By some miracle, TSA let me board the plane to our race without any form of identification.”
Nutrition
“One time I used Gatorade chews I had never trained with before and I actually pooped my pants in the final mile of a 90 degree half marathon.”
Crashes
“Season Opener 2024 - wet course and challenging cycling conditions. I had a good swim and was hammering the bike. Pre-race, Katie gave us a warning that there was a sharp right hand turn after a downhill and to watch out for it. I thought that had come and gone (Katie I did listen to you!) so had settled into aero and was cruising...hit a downhill and picked up speed to ~40 mph...and then saw the turn fast approaching. Tried to get to my brakes but hit a divot in the road, slid, and lost control. Launched myself into a telephone pole, helicoptered, and slid to a stop about 20 feet later. End result was that I was okay: nothing broken, a concussion and cracked helmet, lots of bruising and road rash, and two severely sprained ankles. EMS and the volunteer who watched the crash told me I was probably 6 inches away from a spinal cord fracture or worse.”
BEST Races
“My best race ever was a local sprint. Everything went right. I got on the toes of some fast swimmers and held on, then held a strong 21mph 12 mile ride, did my 5k in sub 7 miles and came in 11th overall in a field of about 200.”
“BOGO here: Harvest Triathlon 2022 - I wasn't racing but showed up to take photos of some teammates. Ended up meeting a new team member and had a great time. I convinced her to volunteer at our water bottle station at Patriot Half the following weekend which I was racing. She did and I ended up outperforming all of my expectations and having the race of my life. And to make it all a little better, at the finish line I got a big hug from the person that I'm going to be marrying in September.”
“Best race ever was probably my last race--Mighty Montauk Oly on June 8th of this year. It was really the first time I felt like everything clicked in a triathlon. Nutrition was spot on, could possibly have gone harder on the bike, but I was consistent which set me up for a great run. I have been doing triathlons for almost 10 years and it's the first time in recent memory when I could actually run the run. In all the time I've been racing, until recently, I have failed to recognize the skill that is required for triathlon--being smart on the bike, ensuring proper nutrition, keeping form on the run, knowing how to pull together data from your watch/HR/power, etc. and combine that with what your body is telling you based on conditions. It was great to have a race where it felt like someone flipped a light switch. Also lets me know I have a lot left to learn, but it has already given me confidence and helped me view what is going right or could be better in training sessions.”
Listener Questions
From Seb: “I get we need to fuel a certain amount of carbs per hour on race day, how does this change when doing e.g. Z2 training? I would assume we need less and could go for maybe an entire workout before fueling?”
Anything over 75’, you should fuel. When in doubt, fuel more
How should I maintain and take care of my bike between rides? What products should I use and how often should I maintain it?
Ideally wipe your bike off after every time you use it. Every other time is fine, too. Lube your chain every ride or every other ride. Recommended products below:
As a first time Ironman participant, should I have a goal time?
No. Your goal is to finish. We can set up some broad pace ranges for the swim and bike but the run is a big wildcard for first time Ironman participants. The goal is to survive!
Once you can run the majority of the IM marathon then we can start setting more concrete goal times.
Challenge of the Week
Katie: Mobility! Try EC Fit Monday Mobility video
Jim: Do a 60’-90’ Z1/Z2 ride with cadence between 90 - 100.
Gear Pick of the Week
Katie: SEAL SwimRun Paddles and Finis Swim Buoy