Here the firts of the 10 Tips for the week previous to a Long Distance Triathlon. These are basical tips but I hope you find them usefull. I will be posting all the tips in the next few days, stay tuned!!
1. Rest and tapering
Only seven days left for the big event, you´ve been waiting for this moment all the season, the hard work should have been done, now it´s time to give your body a break to regenerate, so the day of the race you can be 100 % and can take advantage of all the training you’ve accumulated. If you do a correct tapering, it´s probable that you feel that the training you are doing in these days is not enough and you want to do more, but avoid this temptation, go along with your program and don´t get carried away by the atmosphere and with all those athletes you see training at all hours, competition is the day of the race, not the previous days to see who trains the most or who does the most bizarre things.
2. Trip
If you compete in faraway places be sure to get there with enough time to adapt to the time change and climate of the area. Arriving a few days before will also help you in solving any problems that might appear during the trip: lost luggage, bike equipment damage, loss of connections… having a few days will relief you of all the stress this problems may cause. It seems that to adapt to the time change the body needs a day per hour of time change (ex.: Kona time difference with Spain is 12 hours, the body should be adapted in 12 days), it can be a good starting point. For me that´s more than enough but other triathletes I know need even more. On planes try to book an emergency exit seat, these are more spacious and you will have more room for your legs. Take short walks, do some stretching during the flight and keep hydrated, the air inside the plane is dry and can leave you dehydrated. Same applies if you are driving long distance, take breaks every two hours to stretch your legs. It is a good idea to use compression shocks, you will end up the trip with your legs less bloated.
Let the company you flight with know that you are travelling with a bike, airplanes have limited cargo space, letting them know in advance that you are traveling with your bike can avoid some last minute surprises. Ask for the bike charges before buying the tickets, it differs between companies and you can save a good money there.
More tips tomorrow…
