Race Strategy And Other Pre Race Ramblings

Three days from now I will be competing in the longest and most challenging race of my life. The Legend 70 triathlon in Lawrence, KS is a long distance triathlon that includes a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Over the past 4 years of racing, I have always done a great job of ensuring that I am very well prepared for every race on my schedule. I can honestly say that this race has me a little nervous. I am confident in my physical ability to complete each of the 3 legs individually but at this point I am just hoping and praying that I can put it all together on race day. 

Although my only goal is to finish the race prior to the course cutoff time of 8.5 hours, my training and previous race experience allows me to calculate an estimated finish time for myself. My current estimation has me finishing between 7 - 7.5 hours broken down the following way:

Swim: 1 hour 

• 58 minutes puts me at a 2:45/100 yard pace which is probably on the slow side, but I don't plan to push it very hard

Bike: 3:18 - 3:30 

• This would be averaging 16 - 17 mph, again a conservative estimate based on not wanting to abuse my legs too much on the bike
• If I were to pull a surprise out of my hat, it would come on the bike as I always seem to perform much better on the bike during competition

Run: 2:27 - 2:44

• This would be an average of 11:15 - 12:30 min/mi 
• This is the leg that I am most unsure about as I'm not sure how much my legs will have left by this time in the race. In addition, I have some past experience of fading late in half marathons. 
• I am fully prepared to include walk breaks during the run
• Lastly, it will be approaching mid-day when I start the run which means that I will be running in the heat of the day with the sun high in the sky. This has also caused me issues before

With a lot of practice I have worked out a fueling and hydration plan for the race. My in-race fueling will include granola bars, Nutrigrain bars, Jelly Belly Sport Beans, Boom Energy Gels, and Gatorade Endurance Chews. I plan to have a bottle of water and bottle of Gatorade in transition. On the bike I will have 2 bottles of Gatorade as well as my hydration pack with water. The bike route is a "+" with an aid station at the cross roads. I should be able to refill water bottles at least 1 time passing through that aid station. There are plenty of hydration stations along the run route and I plan to stop at most of them to take in just a little water or Gatorade at each.

As for fueling, my current plan has me taking in 200 - 250 calories during both T1 and T2. On the bike I will take in a gel, packet of sports beans, or sleeve of energy chews every 10 miles. During the run, I will take in 1 item every 3 - 3.5 miles (at the end of each of the 4 laps through the course). 

So there is the plan. Besides staying on time with fuel and hydration, there are a couple of other key items that I need to remember during the race:

• Stay calm during the swim and try to manage my adrenaline level and breathing
• Don't push it too hard on the bike and keep a steady pace
• Go out very easy on the run, if I have anything left in the tank, push it hard during the last lap through the finish

So this brings me to my request to all of you reading this blog. On Sunday morning, any thoughts or prayers sent my way would be greatly appreciated. I'm also well aware that many factors associated to the race are out of my control. Flat tires, high winds, heat and humidity (as well as a million other things going through my mind) are all out of my hands. For me to succeed, I will need everything to come together that day. 

Now, all there is left to do is to relax, rest, eat and give it my all come Sunday.