Skip to main content

Race Preparation Tips

Sarah Jarvis - Cache Valley Classic Tri Training Tips #2

I would like to suggest going to the Cache Valley Tri website this week and carefully reading through everything it says. This helps me to know what to expect and to prepare mentally and physically. I focus on the bike and run course maps (even if I have done this race before) and pay attention to things such as exact distance, profile, and set-up. Is it longer/shorter than typical? Hilly or flat? Loop or out and back? I then incorporate those elements into my training. For example, since this race is rather flat on both the bike and the run, I don’t need to worry about hill repeats (too much). Instead, I train to be able to hold a fast and steady pace on a rather flat road.

The ideal preparation is to go and check out the course in person and to train on it. Knowing the bike course, especially, is an advantage because you will know where to push hard, when to hold back, and where and how to turn. This knowledge will boost your confidence and make you stronger. Realistically, we don’t all live in Cache Valley and won’t get there until (almost) race day. In this case, I skip looking at the run course and try to drive the bike course. This will still give me a general idea of what to expect.

As far as the swim is concerned, there (hopefully) won’t be any big surprises. That said, the Olympic distance athletes might need to “exit the water, go around the indicated marker at the shoreline, and re-enter the water for [the] second loop.” This is a little unusual and I will be sure to practice it at my next open-water swim.

In many of the races I do, I notice that quite a few people tend to go off course. Sighting is very important when competing in an open-water race and can be practiced easily. Next time you are in a lake, just pick a landmark and try to take the straightest line there. I tend to sight every other stroke, which is a lot, but I prefer that to going off course. If I come around a buoy and can’t see the next one right away, I will take a few breast strokes, locate my target, and keep going.

Two more weeks until race day! I hope you are doing well and training is going according to plan. Happy training!

Comments

Barbie said…
Thats a great post. Some really good tips. I hope your race goes well.

Popular posts from this blog

I am so lucky

I feel the need to write. My thoughts are all jumbled. Can I make sense of them on paper? Writin g gives me perspective and makes it easier to let go. Last weekend I was very frustrated, mad, self-centered, unhappy , wallowing in self-pity. This weekend I was more balanced, a little more patient, trying to be less selfish, happy . How did it happen? I have had to deal with myself for almost 30 years now and, luckily, have figured out a few things on the way. Like how to feel at peace with myself , my family , my life . It shouldn't be complicated to be happy in my circumstances. I realize that. But sometimes it still is. Sometimes being a mom and wife doesn't come easy to me. Sometimes I think everyone would be better off if I wasn't a mom and wife. Sometimes I wish it was easier to just take off and do nothing but swimbikeruneatsleep for a week or two. It's not helping that my German teammates are doing just that. Right now. On a beautiful island. In the warm...

Camping Trip - Big Sur - CA

Andrew Molera State Park - our paradise for a week After it became clear that we would most likely be in Utah all summer, I got a bit antsy and really wanted to go on a family vacation. We went camping in Moab in March and it was great fun. Since I am not training or racing, we might as well go on a road trip to California and camp by the beach for a while! Easier said than done because, of course, we were way too late to get any decent spot anywhere along the coast. Everything bookable was booked. We did a bunch of research and found a little campground in Andrew Molera State Park  that fit our (very small) budget and was first-come first-served. Perfect! So we mapped out a plan, loaded up the car, and took off for 10 days!  Not exactly traveling lightly. That road bike (mine) was solely for commuting purposes.  Traveling from Provo up to Salt Lake City and then west on I-80, our first stop was Donner Lake up by Lake Tahoe/Truckee. I love Lake Tah...

Swimming in Germany - Lakes Galore

Baggersee Weingarten Let's see.... I've been in Germany now for 4 weeks and have had the privilege to swim in 5 different lakes. Let me count how many times I have swum in a lake in Arizona since moving there 2 years ago... That would be 1 time in Lake Mary during the MountainMan. And I am not planning on swimming in it again until this year's MountainMan. As you might have already guessed:  I am in heaven !  Baggersee Weingarten So are the kids. Appropriately dressed in German swim wear.  That's my mom next to me in the picture above. You see where I get it... Growing up we would either go on a hike or bike ride every weekend and take a dip in various lakes along the way. Good memories!  My niece Lynn at Bad Waldsee This lake was especially fun. It was basically at the center of a beautiful old little town. I saw people walk out their front door and go for a little swim. No motorized anything allowed as on most lakes here. Pl...