1. Putting their wrist wearable or chip over their wetsuit.
Time and again watching swimmers coming out of the water, spectators see the athletes that have made this mistake because they get stuck in their wetsuits. The only way out is to pull the suit all the way back on, and if you’ve got wetsuit strippers yanking on the legs, it’s not going to go well.
Coach Clare’s advice - Place timing watch and timing chip under your wetsuit, or if short sleeved/legged, make sure they’re the bands/Velcro are tight enough that watches and straps don’t slide up. Here’s a video to show you how to get in and out of your wetsuit easily.
2. Sitting down to take off a wetsuit.
Newer athletes waste SO MUCH TIME doing this. By the time an athlete is racing a 70.3, they should be able to get their wetsuit off fast. The goal for CZC athletes is 30 seconds, and that’s without the aid of a wetsuit stripper.
Coach Clare’s advice –
- BodyGlide the neck, shoulders, forearms, armpits, tops of hands, tops of feat, all around ankles and half way up the shins so the wetsuit will slip off like a greased watermelon.
- Upon coming out of the water, place goggles on your forehead (DO NOT TAKE THEM OFF), reach back and unzip your wetsuit. Then pull the wetsuit down to your hips as low as you can and still run normally.
- As you get to your bike, take off goggles and cap and throw them down towards your back wheel.
- Grab wetsuit at hips and shove down as low as you can go which should be about knee level. Then it’s okay to put a hand on your bike to steady you if needed, but lift up one foot and stomp down on the wetsuit to and then lift the other leg up. The wetsuit will slide down to about the ankle. Repeat with the other leg.
- Then finally reach down and slide the suit off the ankles with your hands, or else do stomp and pull, stomp and pull again and it’s off!
3. Attempting the Flying Mount out of T1
Even if a new athlete is lucky enough to make the mount, the swerving and veering as they try to get their feet into their shoes can cause more accidents and is so dangerous. We have seem athletes end their whole day right here with bloody feet and faces, just don’t.
Coach Clare’s advice - Run/walk as fast as you can in your bike shoes out of transition. At the MOUNT line, swing your leg over your bike, clip in one foot, then look forward and ride away making sure to pedal and stay straight until you’re out on the road. PRACTICE THIS BEFORE RACE DAY
4. Not eating or drinking during the first hour on the bike.
Athletes are amped up once they get on the bike, grateful to have survived the swim, and they are ready to rock and roll with the bike where they often feel strong. In the excitement, either they forget to eat and drink, or they simply think “I’m still good, I had breakfast, I will start eating and drinking an hour into the ride.” This often leads to bonking or feeling weak and sometimes really dejected somewhere between miles 35 and 40 through the rest of the ride. Yup, and a sad shuffle run/walk to the finish after.
Coach Clare’s advice - Have your nutrition and hydration plan nailed down before race day. Practice, practice, practice with your planned nutrition and hydration and set up an eating and a drinking alarm, respectively, on your wearable. Once an athlete starts their bike leg, they generally haven’t eaten or drank anything since at least 30’ prior the race start. Most trained athletes have about 90’ to two hours of endurance effort in them before they start to lose energy. Having small drips of hydration drink and nutrition pre swim will help, as will having something in T1 for those anxious about eating on the bike. However, it’s imperative to start fueling right away. Have targets for every 14 miles of the bike ride and make sure to hit them. If an athlete is feeling hungry and is following their plan, then somewhere between mile 20-45 they may need a little extra. If that’s the case, then take in a bit more such as some sport chews or a gel and they should feel stronger and better in about 5-10 minutes. An athlete should not feel hungry during the race. Stay hydrated and fueled to finish the bike strong and set up for a strong run.
5. “I’m Going to Make Up Time on the Bike!”
Strong cyclists, weak swimmers and weak runners make this mistake all the time. We see it in all distances of the triathlon, however it has the most detrimental effects on performance for the 70.3 and 140.6 distances. Many athletes will push to go as fast as possible on the bike so their bike split is fast, and then they take on the run knowing they’re so fast and ahead of the competition. As they continue on the run course, the legs start to become blocks of wood that don’t want to move, everything hurts, the body has little to no energy left, and either the dreaded shuffle run, or worse, the forced walk ensues. You’ll know these athletes by the looks of absolute pain they project in the second half of the half marathon.
DID YOU KNOW?? – FOR EVERY ½ MILE PER HOUR YOU BIKE OVER YOUR TRAINED ABILITY IN AN IRONMAN, YOU WILL ADD ONE HOUR TO YOUR PLANNED MARATHON TIME.
I.E. FOR A TRAINED IRONMAN ATHLETE THAT PREPARED TO RIDE 16.5MPH (BASED ON THEIR POWER OUTPUT RACE PLAN) ON A GIVEN DAY AND RUN A 4’30” MARATHON, IF THEY RIDE 17.0 MPH (I.E. ABOVE THEIR PLANNED POWER OUTPUT), THEIR MARATHON WILL TAKE, ON AVERAGE, 5’30”. IN DOING THE MATH IS BECOMES OBVIOUS, THEY BLEW THEIR RACE ON THE BIKE.
THERE’S A SAYING IN TRIATHLON, “THERE IS NO, GOOD BIKE SPLIT AND A BAD RUN”. THAT’S BECAUSE THE GOAL OF THE BIKE IS TO SET UP FOR A GOOD RUN.
In more than 30 years of racing and 20 years of coaching, Coach Clare has seen it all or done it all. Learn from the mistakes of those that races before, and go on to be faster, stronger, and have more fun!
If you have any questions, then please reach out!
CONTACT COACH CLARE TODAY