Mon coach écrit dans the racing post une chronique à chaque… Et oui, au texas, ils ont une revue gratuite sur le vélo et le triathlon de performance… ça fait réver… Enfin bon, tout cela pour vous dire que voici son texte. Il parle ce mois-ci du racing plan…
The snow is almost gone from Dallas, and triathlon season is upon us. I just received an email that Athens, the perennial season opener for many, is a mere three weeks away. By the time this issue hits the shelves, it will be less than a week. If you’ve been following the column the last few months, your bike fit is dialed in, you are run- ning properly, you’ve shored up your weaker sport, and started making contacts with pro- fessionals who can help you succeed.
And now you get to race, to put all that training and preparation to work, right? Well, not quite yet. There’s one more thing to take care of first, and that’s the race plan. Before each event, my athletes have to send me a Race Plan. This is a detailed, step-by-step run through of what the event will look like. It starts on T minus 2 and goes through the entire trip, culminating with arriving home afterwards.
But why? It’s a triathlon, you swim, bike, and run, what’s to know? Everything! Failure to prepare is preparing to fail. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Choose your cliché, but they’re true. What will you forget to pack? Where will you stage for the swim start? What will you focus on during each leg? What will you eat? When? What is your pacing plan? What’s your backup plan if the race goes to hell?
It’s always good to have a plan. Having to write it down forces you to think about it, and greatly increases the chances that you’ll remember it. Moreover, the Race Plan doubles as a packing checklist, and greatly aids in visualization. The more detailed you can make your plan, the better it will be, and the more it will help you. Will you wear compression gear for travel? Write that down. How will you mix your bottles at 4am? Better write that down.
You know that you always start the bike too hard, and pay for it on the run. On race day, without a plan, you’ll feel good and talk yourself into going hard. But with a plan, you’ll be accountable to hold back.
When you almost miss a turn, then nearly avoid a wreck, and then have to grunt up the hill you might forget to eat. But if you’ve set your Garmin/Polar/Suunto/Timex to beep every 15 minutes, you’ll remember to eat according to the plan. You’ve come this far; you’ve trained this hard. Don’t screw it up now by failing to pre- pare. Write your Race Plan. Email it to your training partner. Tape it to your bathroom mir- ror and your fridge.
Know the plan. Love the plan. Race the plan!
Cela me rappel cela :-p
