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Race Day Troubleshooting Tips [FINAL]

Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
edited June 1, 2019 10:46PM in General Training Discussions
After hearing folks ask about my process for dealing with race day issues at Mont Tremblant, I am resurrecting this document and hope to present back to the Team in a better format. 

  1. Here is the Most Current document (Doc in Google Drive)
  2. Please make any edits or additions you can think of.
  3. If you hate THE GOOGLES, you can make suggestions here too, but ideally only for NEW things not edits. 
Many thanks in advance!!!!

~ Coach P
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Comments

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Ok, folks, I think only one person has really chimed in on the document, see what we can do right here in the forums. 

    If you have ever "come up with" or "heard of" a great race day tip...please share it here. 

    If could be about putting your wetsuit on or warming up pre race or dealing with a headache on the run or managing really cold water for the swim. Lots of options...drop your notes in here as a thought and we can take care of adding them to our document!!

    Thanks in advance!

    ~ Coach P
  • Chris OubreChris Oubre
    To help with putting on my wetsuit, I bring two plastic Walmart bags. I put them on my feet to help them get through the legs.  The magic comes when I don't pull the bags off.  The wetsuit holds them to my feet.  I leave them on as foot protection while I wait for my swim start. I chunk them right at the end.

    salt pills in a ziplock bag don't rattle as I run.

    Watch the kayakers at swim start to see if there is a current.

    Practice the song YOU want to be singing on the bike. That way you can flush out whatever annoying song was playing in T1 as you got out of the water.  

    On the run I use a ziplock bag to hold ice. I refill it at each aid station. While running I alternate it on my arm pits, neck and kidneys to help cool off my core temp. 

    Dont tape ape your food to ypur bike. It eats up your Os FTP gains in wind drag. 

    On a 70.3 I try to hold my pee till I get to T2. Then I pee as I sit down to put on my shoes. If anyone asks, I just sweat a lot :-) 

    practice with Red Bull. It really helps settle my stomach and clears up my headache. It's on the course usually. 


    On the bike bike if you are good no to be longer than you though you may need more food. Do a check at the second to last aid station to make sure you can make it. 

    Keep at at least one old Gu wrapper in your bento. If you get a nasty flat that tears your tire you can use the wrapper as a patch to prevent the tube from bulging out. 

    Practice using a CO2 cartridge to inflate your tire. Race day is not the time to figure out how to use that dongle. 
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    @Chris Oubre thanks man!!!  Anyone else have good racing tips or lessons learned to share? 
  • Dave TalloDave Tallo
    Will hit this tonight. I'm a walking encyclopedia of sh&t that can wrong on race day.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    Random little tips:
    • Putting on the wetsuit - something on feet like socks or plastic bag; turn the wet suit inside out except for the bottom 4', then pull up each leg a bit at a time. *Then*, put Body Glide, or Dow Food Grade Silicone spray all over feet, ankles, lower shins, lower forearms, wrist and hands. This greatly eases getting the legs and arms off. Don't forget lube on the nape of the neck, especially where the zipper is, to prevent abrasions. Finally, put your watch UNDER the sleeve, to make it easier when pulling off.
    • Trying to get a top on in T1? Don't pull it over your head; step into it and pull up.
    • Got a penalty? DON'T try to make the time up by going a little faster; that will just booger your run. Ditto for a flat tire.
    • Put spray-on sunscreen in your T2 Go Bag, then spray on shoulders, back, arms, and neck while coming out of transition.
    • Wear contacts? Put a spare pair in your T1 bag, in case your goggles fill with water and mess up the lenses.
    • Zip up your top just before the finish; you want a good photo, don't you?

  • David HowardDavid Howard
    For those with hard tail boxes like my PR6 "Q box" I load the otherwise dead space in lid with JIK TP. I also made a form fitting bag out of small bubble wrap for all the do-dads after loosing a pressa adapter in the bottom wedge (it's still stuck there) and it eliminated the annoying rattle from loose CO2s.   

    I use a long teardrop bento box and made the mistake of not protecting/separating a "rollaid roll" of chewable salt stick tabs. Once wet (sweat/Bottle splash) they fused together and to the paper. Before..and from now on I'll use a cut down Ziploc bag (don't need the zipper) I usually fold in thirds  to create 3 chambers each with salt stick caps and a Tylenol and maybe a few BCAA caps. This fits nicely in tail and leaves the biggest part for gells.


  • [Deleted User][Deleted User]
    Make sure to wipe down the inside of your swim goggles before heading to the race site. That way you won't have to use a volunteer's shirt and be late for the swim start. Nothing more annoying than a smudge right where you want to site.

    Try on all your gear before heading to the race. I packed my SPI belt with my bike tools and when I got on the bike the belt wanted to slip down around my backside.
  • Dave TalloDave Tallo
    Sorry for the late return to this.  I posted a thread on this a few years ago - some good stuff from members there, too. 

    https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/16484/what-could-go-wrong-a-constructive-inventory#latest


  • Dave TalloDave Tallo
    Also cut and paste from this one.   I cranked out a good inventory! 

    https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/231565#Comment_231565

  • Rich StanbaughRich Stanbaugh
    some tidbits...
    • No pockets in a speed suit: I re-package (take out of original wrapper & cut into bite sized pieces) my solid food into snack-sized zip lock bags and zip them inside the speed suit.
    • Tylenol on the bike: I know I am going to take it, so I tape it to my aero bar for easy acess.
    • If I cannot leave shoes on my bike, I rubber band them together so that I can carry them in one while pushing bike, then pop the rubber band and put them on at bike mount.
    • Nothing in T1 bag apart from helmet and, if required shoes. Everything else taped on bike. During the first 10-minutes of bike, food goes in speed suit, etc. so that bike is "clean."
    • I keep a wet washcloth in plastic bag in T2 bag so that I can give face/eyes a quick scrub before running. Gets rid of all salt buildup from helmet sweat band and only take a couple seconds.
    • Apart from shoes/sock, 100% of run items in plastic bag to be dealt with on the move. Nothing transfers off of bike to the run except me.
    • I cover entire body with Bull Frog sunscreen in the morning before putting race kit on. It stays on all day and gets rid of the risk associated with not having everything covered. With Bull Frog, I sometimes don't need to add Sunscreen the rest of the day.
    • When drinks on run course are too strong (Red Bull or concentrated Gatorade) I grab a cup of water and mix them.
    • On the bike, I carry 1 tube, a tire boot, 2 CO2s and a small patch kit with a chain pin in it. I can repair two flats, a cut tire and a broken/bent chain (eg, chain comes off chain rings and gets bent by pedal. None of that is desirable, but can get me going faster than waiting on Bike Services to find me on the course.
    • I keep a wrist sweatband on aero bar for wiping eyes under visor.
  • Mark StahlkopfMark Stahlkopf

    "When drinks on run course are too strong (Red Bull or concentrated Gatorade) I grab a cup of water and mix them"

    I do this as well. sometimes I'll mix water/Gatorade but most of the time I grab a cup of Gatorade & dump it in a cup of ice.

  • Mark StahlkopfMark Stahlkopf
    • Make sure you water bottle cage (especially ones behind the seat) can securely hold the crappy bottles handed out on coarse.
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick

    FYI, this final PDF is now live!

    http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/RacingMemberCentral.aspx

  • Patrick LargePatrick Large

    @Rich Stanbaugh I'm a baldy and for the most part terrified of the sun. Is Bull Frog sunscreen really that good?

  • Rich StanbaughRich Stanbaugh

    Patrick - it has been for me. Race morning starts with a shower for me. When I’m dry, I liberally apply Bullfrog to any area that will even sniff the sun, then let it dry completely. I typically never add any other sun protection the rest of the day, unless I’ve done something to scrub it away. I’ve had wonky HR monitor experiences while wearing Bullfrog - so, if you are using a chest strap, maybe keep a clean area for the conductive pads.


    Good Luck!

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