TriDot Podcast .084

31 Race-Day, Time-Saving Tips

Intro: This is the TriDot podcast. TriDot uses your training data and genetic profile, combined with predictive analytics and artificial intelligence to optimize your training, giving you better results in less time with fewer injuries. Our podcast is here to educate, inspire, and entertain. We’ll talk all things triathlon with expert coaches and special guests. Join the conversation and let’s improve together.

Andrew Harley:  For all my triathletes out there who like to go out and race, this episode is for you.  We have all of our staff coaches on the show today to rip through 31 race day time-saving tips to help you reach your next finish line a little bit faster.

Joining us for this conversation is Pro Triathlete and Coach Elizabeth James.Elizabeth is a USAT Level II and Ironman U Certified Coach who quickly rose through the triathlon ranks using TriDot--from a beginner to top age-grouper to a professional triathlete.She is a Kona & Boston Marathon Qualifier who has coached triathletes with TriDot since 2014.

Elizabeth thanks for helping us get a little bit faster today!

Elizabeth James:   Well, always happy to help and hopefully we’ll be able to provide some great tips that our listeners can implement in their next race event.

Andrew:   Next up is Coach John Mayfield.  John is a USAT Level II and Ironman U Certified Coach who leads TriDot’s athlete services, ambassador, and coaching programs.  He has coached hundreds of athletes ranging from 1st timers to Kona Qualifiers and professional triathletes. John has been using TriDot since 2010 and coaching with TriDot since 2012.

John, are you ready to RACE through these race tips today?

John Mayfield:   Man, we don’t usually start with the terrible puns until we get to Jeff Raines.

Andrew:  And I’m never the one who gets to say the puns!  So I beat you guys to it.

Jeff Raines:  You stole it!

Andrew:  I stole it first.

John:  Terrible.

Andrew:  Very proud of myself for that.  Jeff Raines is also with us today.  Jeff is a USAT Level II and Ironman U Certified Coach who has a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology and was a D1 collegiate runner.  He has over 40 Ironman Event finishes to his credit and has coached hundreds of athletes to the Ironman Finish Line.

How's it going Jeff?

Jeff:  You know since you stole my pun, I’ve got to think of another one on the fly.

Andrew:  No!

Jeff:  And I’m going to say instead of race ready, I’m podcast ready Andrew.

Andrew:  That’s what I like to hear.  I’m Andrew the average triathlete.  Voice of the people!  And Captain of the middle of the pack.  As always we’ll roll through our warm up question, settle in for our conversation with 31--31 people--31 tips to help you be a little bit faster on race day, and then we’ll wind things down with our cool down.  Lots of good stuff, let’s get to it!

Warm up theme: Time to warm up! Let’s get moving.

Andrew:  The 20 minute FTP test is a staple in TriDot training to help athletes update their thresholds on the bike.  And everyone who has gone all out for 20 minutes in one of these sessions knows a good Spotify or iTunes playlist can go a long way to helping you nail your test.  Now John, Elizabeth, Jeff, I have seen several athletes on the I Am TriDot Facebook group share their 20 min FTP Test playlists and some now I’m curious...If you were lining up your most motivating music for 20 minutes of pain, what tracks would make the cut and fulfill the duration of the test?  Elizabeth I’ll start with you.

Elizabeth:  Alright, gosh!  I’ve made more than one FTP playlist over the years.  I’m trying to think back to my most recent one here.  I know I started off with “It’s Time” by Steve Aoki--I mean getting things started.  Time to get going, that one makes sense.  Then I usually throw in “My Body” by Young and the Giant; just perfect lyrics there.It says like “my body tells me no, but I want more.”  So as your body’s hurting, but you’re going a little bit more.  Then “‘Till It Hurts” by Yellow Claw.  I think that one’s pretty obvious.  That FTP certainly hurts a little bit.  Then “Rise Up” by Imagine Dragons and then probably finishing things out with “The Champion” by Carrie Underwood.

Andrew:  Okay!  All good picks and that’s 20 minutes worth of bangers right there.

Elizabeth:  Oh yeah!  They’ll get you through.

Andrew:  Well selected.  Coach John Mayfield what is your--I imagine yours is going to be a little different.

John:  Yeah a lot different.  That’s what I was thinking!  I was like, it wasn’t until about 70% through that list that I’ve ever heard of any of these.My list is much more representative of my decade--the greatest music decade being the 90s.  We’ve actually posted these on the I Am TriDot group before and I’ll just declare that Foo Fighters is the official band of 20-minute power tests.  Almost everyone who posted their playlist had at least some Foo Fighters in there.  So I do as well.  Also another great 90s band Cake and then a couple of those lesser known...Fort Minor, Hum one of my favorites, and MXPX.

Andrew:  So those are the bands you’re mixing in for 20 minutes worth of music?

John:  Yep.

Andrew:  Okay, alright.  Coach Jeff Raines, what’ve you got for me.

Jeff:  You know, I’m kind of boring on this one because I don’t listen to music when I workout.

Andrew: Ooh!  Plot twist!  Are you crazy?

Jeff:  Maybe!  But...quick back story, I like that song “Kryptonite”, Three Doors Down.  It’s totally high school, 2004 whatever.  No, I think it was 2000 when that song came out.But, I’m a triplet and all three of us obviously turned 16 the same day and we all three shared a single cab, Ford Ranger Pickup Truck.

Andrew:  And Three Doors Down the band played your 16th birthday party?

Jeff:  I wish!  I got my license like two weeks before my brother and sister and so the night I turned 16 I went driving at midnight by myself in the truck, windows down, just having a moment and the “Kryptonite” song came on by Three Doors Down.  And like, I was so pumped up in the moment, just thought I was the coolest kid ever driving around.  So that song, when I hear it I have to crank it up even though it’s not that hard core of a song.  But I also like Centuries the “Light ‘Em Up” song.  I almost started singing.

Andrew:  Okay.  Can you sing it for us?

Jeff:  I almost started singing.  No!  I’m done!

Elizabeth:  You like thought about it.  You could tell.

Andrew:  Just to make sure there’s no confusion on what song it is, you won’t sing it for us?

Jeff:  Taylor Swift?  I’ll sing some Taylor Swift.

Andrew: My FTP playlist...I’m a Spotify guy and I have kind of a Punk Rock playlist.  So normally during a workout particularly indoors on the bike I just throw my Punk Rock playlist on shuffle and it's got a lot of Blink 182 and Good Charlotte, and kind of bands from that era.  But for FTP if I were to craft 20 minutes of perfect Andrew Harley music for an FTP test I’m going to lead with “When You Were Young” by The Killers.  One of my all time favorite songs.

Elizabeth:  Umm that’s a good one!

Andrew:  I have no idea why, but I like it.  Just something about that guitar riff kicks in early, first thing and I just get amped.  So I’m going to lead with “When You Were Young” because it’s a good pump up song.I love it.  It’s one of my favorites.  Song #2 I’m going with “Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying From You” from JayZ and Linkin Park, right.  So I’ve got two pump up songs to get me going.  Kind of right in the middle I’ve got two upbeat songs that are just kind of fun to listen to; kind of takes your mind off what you’re doing.  The first one is “Miss Jackson” by Panic at the Disco.The second one is “Uma Thurman” by Fall Out Boy.  Both upbeat songs.  They have just kind of a fun hook.  So the two songs that I like to end with, the first one is off the Spiderman Into the Spiderverse Soundtrack and that is the song during the closing credit sequence of that movie and it just has a lot of energy.  It’s got a lot of buzz and then that gets me to where normally after that song I’ve got about a minute to go and so I end with “Power” by Kanye West.Because just the beginning of that song is iconic.  It’s got a lot of great music and it’ll push me to the end of the test.  So that is my well thought out, well crafted 20 minutes.Go punch it in.  It’s like 22 minutes worth of music in total, but that’s my list.  That’s the way it goes down.

Jeff:  Do you spend that much effort on your testing protocol or more time on the music choice during the test?

Andrew: My testing protocol is usually looking up how many watts I held last time and trying to hold about three to four watts higher the next time and then I see what I have left with 15 minutes to go and you know that’s….We can talk about that offline.

Jeff:  We’ll talk Andrew.

John: I’ll take that as a no.

Andrew:  The answer is no, I don’t.  The answer is I’m more intentional with my playlist than I am my testing protocol.But hey guys!  We’re going to throw this out to you in Facebook Land.The I Am TriDot Facebook Group is where we always on Monday put out the warm up question from the podcast.  So go there.  I know each of you listening, you’re passionate about your music selection.You’re probably like me and Elizabeth and you’re very intentional song-by-song with what you do for that 20 minute FTP test.  So go find this on the Facebook page and let us know.  What are the songs that you turn to to push through the pain for that 20 minute FTP test?

Main set theme: On to the main set. Going in 3…2…1…

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Andrew:  In terms of realizing your potential on race day there is no substitution for consistency in your training leading up to the race.  But even still, once race day arrives there are still a few tricks of the trade all triathletes can apply to eek out a few seconds here and there to achieve a faster overall finish time.  So today our coaches are locked and loaded with every time saving tip they have in their arsenal, to help all of us reach the finish line as fast as possible.  So buckle up!Heading into your ears right now are 31 ways you can save time on race day.  John, Elizabeth, Jeff let's dive into the good stuff.  What is our first time saving tip today?  John.

John:  So the first tip is all about proper pacing.  We do all this work typically for months.  We train diligently.  We put in hours and hours of training.  We build a level of fitness and race readiness.  So perhaps the best thing that we can do to improve our race split is pace properly.  We say that race day should not be an experiment.  You don’t want to go out there and guess and that’s where RaceX comes in.  So kind of a shameless plug right from the beginning...RaceX can provide that optimized pacing that is going to tell you exactly what you need to do to maximize all this training that you’ve done, all this race readiness that you’ve acquired.Following that RaceX plan is going to produce your fastest race result possible.  So it’s going to tell you your exact wattage for every segment of the bike, your GAP--grade adjusted pace--that you should be holding on the run.So given your fitness, it’s going to maximize your race potential on race day.

Andrew:  Because you can be fit and you can be trained and you can be ready to go, but if you go out there and overcook the bike or under-achieve your potential on the bike because you’re just pacing improperly, you’re going to be slower than your fitness can take you.

John:  And you’re right.  It really is...that great saying “It’s all about the bike.”  Great quote there.  Because that is so critical.  You can go out and overdo the run and it’s not going to have the same impact as overdoing the bike.   Because if you overdo the bike you’re going to mess up your bike split and your run split.So it’s critical to really nail your bike split.  The swim is a little different.  It’s largely independent.  It’s harder to have those real time metrics for execution, but that’s not the case when we get on the bike.  So knowing exactly what wattage, exactly what heart rate to be for every segment of the course is critical and then knowing exactly how to execute out on the run without having to guess.  Without having to go off of vague general percentages or different things that are kind of out there.  There’s a ton of different, even conflicting, recommendations out there and they’re not going to produce your best result.  They might get you close, but you’re still going to be leaving meat on the bone.  So the best way to make sure that you get every single ounce of your race potential is following your optimized pacing when it comes to RaceX.

Andrew:   We led with that one for a reason.  It is the most important tip you will hear today in terms of saving time on the race course.  So now, we’ve kind of chunked these up.  We have some swim tips.  We have some transition tips.  We have some bike and run tips.  We’ve kind of grouped these together in a way that hopefully makes sense and hopefully makes digesting all 31 of these a little bit easier.  So now we’re going to get into some swim ones.  Coach Jeff Raines, tip #2; our first swim tip.

Jeff:  How to do better on race day--learn to flip turn.  It could be your sprint tri is a pool.  So maybe your triathlon is a pool swim.  Some of those races do allow you to flip turn so obviously flip turning in your race would make you significantly faster.  It might make you two or three seconds faster per 25.But, I’ve said this in multiple podcasts and we’ve got some interesting feedback especially from this guy sitting next to me, John Mayfield.  But I think learning how to flip turn everyday in your training--even if every single triathlon you do is open water--learning how to flip turn can and will make you a faster athlete.

Andrew:  That’s all great stuff.  My first sprint tri was a pool swim, 300 meters so that’s what, five turns on the wall in total.  So if you’re saving three seconds per turn because you know how to flip turn, that turns into 15 seconds on the swim.  And we train a long time to get 15 seconds faster per 100 in the pool.  Great tip there for our sprinters and athletes that have a pool swim coming up.  Elizabeth James, tip #3.

Elizabeth:  Still swim related, but we’re going to take this one a little bit more to the open water events.  Definitely if you’re doing an open water event practice sighting.  You’re going to save a lot of time on the swim by not adding extra distance.  Headed into race day, practice sighting.  You can practice sighting in a pool.  You can do that in an open water practice.  But that’s probably going to be one of the things that is going to save you the most time on the swim.  Swim straight.

Andrew:  Yeah, don’t be the guy or girl that checks the Strava after the race and has a little alligator zig-zag pattern all through the water.  You want to see a nice…

Elizabeth:  Exactly!  Their pace might be great, but if they added a whole bunch of extra distance then that’s still total time.

Andrew:  And you can practice that in a pool.

Elizabeth:  For sure!

Andrew: There’s certainly things you can do to practice your open water sighting even if you’re training in a pool on a normal day.  So yep, definitely do that.  It’s going to save you time when you get out there.

I’m going to take tip #4.  This is also open water related and it’s choosing the right goggles for the occasion.You know, there’s different tints obviously.  There’s some open water swim goggles that can kind of see a little bit more in the peripheral compared to pool goggles.  So maybe if you’ve been training with pool specific goggles and you have an open water swim race coming up maybe it’s getting those open water swim goggles purchased and make sure they’re a good fit for you so you can just see a little bit more once you’re out there.  But it’s also making sure wherever the sun is going to be in the sky...you might show up on race day and it could be cloudy and overcast and a little foggy.  You could show up and be swimming straight into direct sunlight.  So no matter what the lighting conditions are on the day, there are different goggle tints to help you see better in those scenarios.  So just a quick Google search for that.  We have 31 tips to get through today so I’m not going to go through every single tint you should be using based on the conditions, but a quick Google search you’ll be able to learn that.  And companies like Roka or the Magic5 that offer different tints will often kind of show you on their website what those tints are good for.  It’s just good to have a couple pair so that once you get there...know that that goggle fits you well.  Try it in a pool first.  Make sure that it’s not going to leak or anything so that you’re ready to rock and roll and don’t have to stop and adjust your goggles in the middle of the race.  Tip #5, John Mayfield.

John: This is one of those do as I say, not as I do tips.

Andrew:  I love it.

John:  Or more accurately do as I say, not as I did.  In 2019 I started off the season a little overweight as I was training for two late season Ironman races.

Andrew:  A little Christmas weight?  A little winter weight?

John:  Yeah!  I dropped a decent amount of weight; got down to a better race weight.  And I didn’t adjust my wetsuit.  So I found out the hard way when I got into the race that my wetsuit was too big and what should be an advantage turned into a huge disadvantage.  So I basically swam 2.4 miles with a parachute on.

Andrew:  In a neoprene parachute.

John:  Because the suit was too big.

Andrew:  Side, note!  Neoprene Parachute would not be a bad name for a rock band.

John:  Put that on the 20 minute power test playlist.  And it was one of those things like where I put it on and outside of the water it felt like it still fit nice and tight, but once I got in the water... we know they fit different in the water, then I found that out.  And then, being kind of the stubborn person I am, I didn’t really learn that lesson.  Actually the next trace being 2020 was several months; almost a year later, I did a non-wetsuit legal swim in an old swimskin and the same thing happened.In fact it was even worse.

Andrew:  Johnny, John, John, John…

John:  If it was a parachute on the first one, this was like two parachutes.Like, I barely made it out of the water it was so bad.  In fact I got to race with Jeff Raines in that one and he was like halfway done with the bike course by the time I even made it out of the water.  So!  The tip here is make sure your gear fits.  Whether it's a swimskin, wetsuit...And that really goes for everything.Make sure it fits.  Make sure it’s current to you.  So if it's a couple years and your body has changed one way or another, make sure it fits you and fits the current you.

Andrew:  Yep.  Those things are only saving you the time they’re advertising you to save if they fit you well.

John:  Exactly.

Andrew:  And if they don’t they’re going to be a hindrance and not a help.Yep, great tip there.  Let's go to Jeff Raines for tip #6.

Jeff:  So as we transition from swimming into T1, I would say the wetsuit strippers...Know and practice how to get in and out of your wetsuit.  And the big one is have a friend or a buddy in a training workout pull that wetsuit off of you.  Pull it down over your hips, sit down, point the toes, let someone rip it off so you just kind of know how that’s going to work on race day.  But I would even add one little quick thing is practice putting it on successfully because race morning it’s going to take you ten minutes longer to put that thing on than you think it will.  Some people get all worked up, a little frustrated, get a big sweat going trying to get that thing on.  And the Walmart sack trick...Put a plastic Walmart sack over your foot…

Andrew:  A Walmart bag?  Who calls it a sack?  Who calls it a Walmart sack?

Jeff: Whatever!  Not the paper one!  Put it over your foot.

Andrew:  A plastic shopping bag.

Jeff:  Be sure to take a Walmart or a plastic bag down to transition with you so you can slide your foot, pull the wetsuit up over your ankle with ease and get rid of a little bit of frustration.

Andrew: Yep, it does make a big difference having those plastic bags on your hands and feet to get into the wetsuit.  That’s a great tip.  I haven’t had a race where I struggled to get my wetsuit on.  I did have a race one time, Jeff, where I was running a little late getting my stuff in and out of transition and getting my stuff set up so I was in a hurry to get my wetsuit on before the race.  And so even being experienced and putting my wetsuit on, I spiked the heart rate a little bit in a rush trying to get that wetsuit on.  So, yep...Great tip there on just knowing how to get in and out of the wetsuit.

Elizabeth:  A little Body Glide there too is helpful getting it back off.  That can save you a little bit.

Andrew:  Where do you put the Body Glide to save you that time?

Elizabeth:  For me it’s like calf down, around my ankles so it will slide off a little bit more.

Andrew:  So where the leg opening of the wetsuit meets your leg.

Elizabeth:  Uh-huh.

Andrew:  I’ve heard that.  I’ve never tried it.  Maybe I should.

John:  There’s the specific Tri Slide product or there’s the old faithful of like Pam Cooking Spray that also has been used in many a triathlon to help get the suits on.

Andrew:  Different product.  Same concept.  All around you can save time on race day just by getting that wetsuit on and off efficiently.#7!  Let's go to Coach Elizabeth James for this one.

Elizabeth:  So #7 is going to be to streamline your T1.  I won’t camp on this one for too long.  We’ve got a previous podcast episode, I believe it was 44, all about the time-saving transition tips for triathletes.  You can reference that for a little bit more, but again here’s where a little bit of practice goes a long way.  Practice your transitions ahead of time.  Know what you’re going to do.  That’s going to make sure that when you get to T1 you’re really efficient with that.  We’ve already covered getting out of your wetsuit which is a critical part of that, but then have your helmet ready, have your glasses ready.  I’d say the other thing that’s really important here is knowing where your bike is in T1.  So practicing as well when you get to the race venue...okay when I come out of the water and I get to the transition area, where is my bike rack?  Is it near this porta potty?  Is it near this tree?  Is it four rows down and three over?  Just making sure you don’t have that deer in the headlights look when you finally get to T1 is also going to save you some time making sure you know exactly how to get to your bike.

Andrew:  Yeah, because we work so hard in our training to improve on the swim right?  And it would be a shame to--whatever your race distance is--you know, get 30 seconds faster on the swim, get one minute, two minutes faster on the swim and then lose that time in transition because you haven’t thought through your transition.  You haven’t practiced being efficient in your transition.  Why not get faster on the swim and have a really smooth transition and get through T1 as quick as you can and get that free time on race day.

John:  That’s one of those things too with the distance of the race.  So if it's a sprint and you lose 5 seconds, 10 seconds...that could be the difference between a podium spot and not.  And then if you’re at a 70.3 or Ironman the transitions are huge.  So making those mistakes could not be 10-15 seconds.  It could be a minute or two.  Because if you go down the wrong rack line, and you may have 50 to 100 yards to get around to get back to the right spot.  It’s almost proportionate to the race.  You may lose seconds in a sprint, but you could lose a minute or two in Ironman and again that’s just time that you’ve worked hard to gain and you’re giving it right back.

Andrew:Coach John Mayfield, while you’re talking to us what’s our next tip?  Tip #8.

John:To conclude transition, you’ve got to get out…So tip #8, learn the Flying Mount.  This is super intimidating for a lot of folks and I would even say that it’s less about the kind of superhero look and running and jumping onto the saddle and all.  I think the true value in it is learning how to mount your bike with the shoes already clipped in.  Having the ability 1-to not run through transition with your cycling shoes on...that’s hard, it’s cumbersome.  You’re going to be faster barefoot.  And then the time it takes to put the shoes on.  If you can hop on the bike--and basically now you’re kind of multi tasking.  Now you are actually moving forward.  You’re completing a portion of the bike course while you’re putting your shoes on.  So it’s just a faster thing.  It’s especially beneficial the shorter the race when those seconds matter, kind of depending on your objective.  For the longer race, the 70.3 and Ironman, maybe those 5-10 seconds aren’t as valuable to you.  So maybe this is something that you don’t do.  I know that’s something I’ve done before is if I’m doing a sprint or Olympic it’s all about every second so I’m definitely starting with my shoes clipped in.Ironman you can’t as an age grouper in the vast majority of the races.  So again, it’s specific to the race and it’s more important the shorter the race where those seconds really are extremely valuable.

Andrew:  Yep.So if you’re out there and you’ve got a sprint or Olympic on the calendar, go find a nice, well-trimmed grass field, and learn how to do a Flying Mount because it’s free time on race day.  A little bit faster with your transition just by knowing how to do that.  I have not tried this during a race, John.  I’ve watched the youth team that I work with as a coach.  I’ve watched them in their races and they’re all extremely proficient at it and I’ve watched them go on and off the bike like little ninjas and I’m like, “Man!  I really need to learn how to do that!”

John:  That was actually going to be the word I used is ninja.But kind of even full disclosure, a lot of times what I do is I’ll pull over to the side, get out of the folks way; I’ll actually come to a complete stop and step over my top tube right onto that shoe that’s already clipped in and now I’m off.

Andrew:  And even that is faster than putting a shoe on.

John:  Again, the real value is having the shoes clipped in and putting the shoes on while you’re moving as opposed to just standing there at your rack.

Andrew:  Alright!  So we’ve mounted the bike.  We’re taking off.  Let’s start talking through some of our bike time-saving tips.  Coach Jeff Raines, what is tip #9?

Jeff:  So now that we’re on the bike, some tidbits to maybe give you a faster bike split without adding fitness to this race day...just aero.  Aero equipment; investing in some gear.  I think kind of the universal thought or phrase thrown out there is “45 seconds saved every 40 kilometers” maybe by using race wheels or by adding an aero helmet.  Something like that.  A lot of athletes are going latex tubes.  They’re a little bit lighter.  Your kit--a good fitting, tight, kind of new age race suit.  More coverage tends to be better these days.  Some of these newer kind of dimpled, sleeved suits actually make you faster than the wind going across your skin.  So having a good fitting kit.

Andrew:  Yeah because this is the one part of the race...And I always tell friends of mine when they first come into the sport and they’re starting to talk about what do I need, what should I buy?  The bike is truly the one portion of the sport where you can buy speed.We’ve said it on the podcast before.We’ve had some podcast episodes that are about upgrading gear and what gear should you upgrade first, da-da-da duh da.Take your time with this.  Don’t feel like you’re lesser of a triathlete if you don’t have all the money in the world to get all the best stuff your first couple years in the sport.  I mean, it’s taken me six or seven years in now and I’m still picking up certain items that are more aero than things I started with.  But just, as you’re able to afford it, picking up these items...the aero helmet, a nice fitting aero kit.  We did a podcast with Jesse Frank from Specialized who is a wind tunnel engineer.This is literally his specialty is knowing all of the aero stats and everything.  In that podcast the three things he listed as being the most important were the helmet, the aero wheels, and a good fitting kit.  So start there and then from there there’s things like ceramic bearings.  There’s things like you mentioned the latex tubes can make you just a little bit faster.They can save you a couple more watts by having latex tubes instead of the butul tubes.  So yeah!  That’s a great tip Jeff.  Just kind of as you’re able to one-by-one start picking up those items and it’s free speed on race day.  I’m going to give #10 because, Jeff your’s #9 was about making the bike more aero.

Tip #10 is to shave your freaking legs and your freaking arms!  Some of you might already do this.  Some of you might be like me and you don’t ordinarily shave your legs and arms.  It’s been widely publicized on the TriDot Facebook channels and the TriDot community...I tried this for the first time on that podcast episode with Jesse Frank.  I sent Jesse a picture of my leg hair and Jesse told me that I could save up to three to three and a half minutes likely on my half Ironman bike split just by shaving my arms and legs.  And so I did for Challenge Daytona in 2020.  It was my first race I’ve ever shaved my arms and legs for.  It was weird.I was nervous to do it.  It felt a little weird, I’m not going to lie.  But guess what?  On race day I PR’d my bike split.  I was significantly faster than I thought I was going to be and now I’m sold on doing it.  So anytime I have an A race coming up I’m going to do it.  For those of you concerned, my leg hair and arm hair did grow back.  It took about four months to get remotely close to where it used to be, but you know the next time I have an A race come around I will do it again.  So, it’s the cheapest way guys and gals to break out that razor.  You know, it just takes time and by getting rid of that hair off of your arms and legs you’re going to be that much faster on race day for free!  Basically, for free.  The cost of a two dollar Bic razor or whatever it is you’re going to use.#11, Coach John Mayfield.

John:  Aero check your bike gear.  Most triathletes will make a very large investment in an aerodynamic frame as you mentioned, perhaps…

Andrew:  Because they look cool.

John:  They look super cool.  Oftentimes next it’s a super expensive set of wheels.  But then oftentimes what we’ll see is the travesty of things that get bolted on and taped on that just negate all those aero advantages.  Something I’ve heard consistently is one of the worst things you can do is tape multiple Gu’s, gels to your top tube.  They say that’s a terrible aero thing--one of the things that just defeats all the aerodynamic advantages that you got on other things.  Also things like bottles...Where are you placing them?  What shape are they?  Round shape--seeming me is odd that round is a bad aero shape, but bottles are round and placing one on your down tube is one of those no-no’s...Especially for those having the ones that are more aerodynamic either on the cockpit or hiding behind the rider can really go a long way in helping preserve those aerodynamic advantages of the helmet, the frame, the wheels, the kit...All those other things that we mentioned.  Just kind of be aware of everything that’s there both from an aerodynamic and weight advantage.  You probably don’t need your full-on 14 pound tool kit on race day.  Carry it with you in training.  It’s great to have on the side of the road.  Race day is a little different.  So, just clean up the bike.  Drop any weight that isn’t absolutely critical and then just be cognizant of what is out there in the wind.

Andrew:  Yeah.  I even had a mechanic one time that was giving me a pre-race tuneup point out a couple of my cables on the front of the bike...Some brake cables, some shifter cables that he was like, “Hey, if you tuck this in here…”  Just by being aware of what cables were in the wind; keeping those out of the wind as much as possible.

John:  Even those integrated cables are exposed at certain places.  So, yeah, even maybe a zip tie or something like that to pull those in and get them out of the wind.  As you mentioned, things like the frames and the wheels, those are super expensive.  But you can do things as cheap as a zip tie that conceivably can go a long way in preserving some of those gains.

Andrew:  And particularly in an Ironman distance.  Some little things like that--getting cables out of the wind--can save you way more than you’d think.

John:  Yeah, because they’re out there for a long time on that Ironman bike.

Andrew:  Yep.  A whole long time!  Coach Elizabeth James, what is tip #12?

Elizabeth:  Alright well still sticking with things on the bike here...I know you’ve already referenced our episode that we had with Jesse Frank...

Andrew:  So many good things there!

Elizabeth:  Yeah!  I want to kind of go back to that because tip #12 is for a proper bike fit.  I mean really, not only is that proper bike fit beneficial from an aerodynamic standpoint, but also from the point of being comfortable.  If you aren’t comfortable you’re going to be moving around and that’s not faster.This is something that Jesse Frank, the wind tunnel expert from Specialized, talked a lot about.  Yes, be aero; but more than that be comfortable.

Andrew:  Yep and that was episode 41 and he had a lot of great things to say there.Great point.  We highly recommend getting a bike fit so that you're in the most ideal spot on race day.  Coach Jeff Raines, what is tip #13.

Jeff:  Clean your drivetrain.  Keep it clean.  Most of us, I think we can all agree, we don’t clean our chains often enough.

Andrew:  Absolutely not!

Jeff:  If you can rub your finger on there and there’s black on your finger, it isn’t clean enough.  You’re losing watts.

John:  A clean bike is a fast bike.

Jeff:  There you go!

Andrew:  I’ll say #14 is along the same lines.  Make sure your brakes don’t rub.  This is a pet peeve of mine.  I think sometimes I get it in my head...Like, there’s days I’m out riding and I can swear to you that my brakes are rubbing.  And I’ll stop, I’ll pull to the side, I’ll check them, and they’re just fine.  I don’t know.  It’s something I’m really weird about, but I just hate it when that happens because it’s speed you’re losing and usually you can hear it particularly from that front brake.  That’s the tire people are usually taking on and off or not.  So if you’ve taken your tire on or off, just check the brake.Make sure those pads aren’t rubbing against the side of the wheel.  That’s just unnecessary friction if that’s the case.  So checking the brakes, make sure they don’t rub.  Check it out before the race.  Free speed, people.  Free speed.#15, going to John Mayfield.

John:  Speaking of free speed--take advantage of the legal draft.  So this is one that may raise some eyebrows.There’s no drafting in triathlon.

Andrew:  I can draft on race day, John?

John:  Yes, you can!  Now you do have to preserve those set distances between riders.  However, when you are completing your pass you do have that allotted time to be in that space and you are allowed to stay in the slipstream.So this is effectively legal drafting.Obviously we don’t want to exceed that time limit.  It can vary by your race distance, your race organization.

Andrew:  30 seconds, 45 seconds.  It’s usually something like that.

John:  Right.  So obviously you don’t want to exceed that.  We’re not advocating for that.  But the rules do allow you to be in that slipstream for that period of time and especially the more people you’re working through, that’s more time in the slipstream.  That is a huge advantage.  And if you’re somewhat at the back of the pack and you spend that whole bike segment, conceivably if you’re passing one person after another you could spend the majority of your bike segment in someone’s slipstream and that is completely legal.  So that can be a huge timesaver is taking advantage of that legal draft.  You don’t have to get over immediately.  You stay in that slipstream.  We want to be safe and we want to be considerate of the other cyclists.  But yeah, you can ride right up on them and pass while taking advantage of the slipstream that they’re putting off.

Andrew:  And that’s what it looks like.  When you're approaching somebody from behind instead of getting to the left to make that pass well before you arrive on their back wheel, stay right behind them until you’re right on that back wheel and then slowly make your way around.  You’ve got the time to do that.  It’s helpful to do that.  And I’ll even say there have been times John, where if I know...I have my Garmin programed to beep at me whenever I’m supposed to drink some water.  I have to reach for a bottle to do that sometimes depending on which feeding time it is and so if I see somebody that I’m coming up on to pass and I know I need to reach for a bottle or do anything to my bike, I’ll get in their slipstream and do something I need to do.  That’s going to help me having breaking aero and then move around them after I’ve taken that drink or moved that bottle or done whatever it is I need to do if that makes sense.  And that saves a little extra time.

John:  Super smart!  And just a little tip in there; always let them know you’re coming.  Always let them know “On your left.”

Andrew:  Yes.  Absolutely!Tip #16...I’m getting more hype with each and every one.  This is like the halfway mark right here.  Coach Elizabeth James, what is #16?

Elizabeth:  Know the rules.  And this is going to prevent you from getting those penalties and penalties are going to add to your total time.  So, yep.Straight forward.  Know the rules.

John:  Like how long you have to be in the slipstream.

Andrew:  That would be a rule that you should know so that you can take advantage of tip #15 without having time added to your time.

Elizabeth:  Correct!

Andrew:  Know the rules.  Every race posts them.  There’s no excuse to not know them and do what you can to follow them all through your time out there.  Coach Jeff Raines, what is tip #17.

Jeff:  Alright.  Finishing up the bike, we’re rolling into T2.  Get your feet out of your bike shoes before you get to the dismount line.  So kind of riding barefoot on top of the shoes.Now there is such thing as the Flying Dismount as well.  Whether or not you do that and you come millimeters up to the dismount line riding on one foot on one side of the bike going 15 miles an hour and then a millisecond before the dismount line you’ll see people kind of step on the ground and hit the ground running literally.  Whether you do it that extreme or not, getting the feet out so you don’t have to hobble in those shoes all the way to the other end of transition, roll an ankle, or whatever...You’re going to run a lot cleaner and safer if you are barefoot pushing your bike into T2.

Andrew:  And you’re just already out of your shoes by the time you get to the running shoes.  That’s just one less step once you reach your running shoes.  And this, in my opinion, this is a bit easier than learning how to get on the bike and get your shoes on.  It’s pretty easy to practice particularly on your trainer.  Just start doing that before you get off your trainer; just kind of practice reaching down, fiddling with your bike shoes, slipping your feet out, and this is a much easier learn for a lot of people than the Flying Mount itself.

John:  While we’re here, the key on both of these starting and getting off the bike is eyes up.  So it’s going to be natural to look down and see what you’re doing.  This is why you want to practice it on like a trainer so that it becomes natural, you know what you’re doing, and you don’t have to look.Because if you’re looking down, that’s when problems can happen.

Andrew:  Tip #18, John Mayfield just keep it coming.  What’s 18?

John:  It goes back to what Elizabeth was saying early in T1.  It’s all about being efficient.  So a huge time saver are the elastic laces that you just slip onto your shoes so it saves you the time of having to tie your shoes.  That often can play in later in the race when conceivably shoes come untied so you don’t have to worry about the elastic laces coming untied.  Making decisions of socks or no socks.  And if you are wearing socks have them in a way that you can get them on quickly.And then another great tip--especially if you’re wearing a cap out on the run.  You can throw everything that’s going with you into that cap.  So once you have on your shoes, you grab the cap, you run out...so things like any nutrition, water bottles, your race number belt...all that's in the cap and you’re putting those things away as you’re exiting transition.

Andrew:  As you’re running, yeah.  That’s great.

John:  And then something else that can just be a second or two…

Andrew:  Why don’t I do that?  I need to do that John.

John:  You should!  Now you will.Some people instead of trying to mess with getting the race number belt buckled...sometimes when you’re in a hurry you can kind of fumble with that...Have it buckled all ready and then just pull it down kind of arms, head, down to your waist.  You don’t have to mess with the buckle.  Just slide it on over.

Andrew:  Love that!  Jeff Raines, what elastic laces do you use?

Jeff:  I used to use the Yanks, but I actually switched to the ones you recommended.

Andrew:  Caterpy?

Jeff:  There you go.

Andrew:  Yeah, I’m a Caterpy guy.  Elizabeth, you like the Lock Laces right?

Elizabeth:  I do.

Andrew: Alright.  Heading over.Coach John Mayfield just got us through transition efficiently and now we are trying to save time on the run course.Coach Jeff Raines, what is tip #19?

Jeff:  Proper shoe selection.  I’ll just encourage people...pick the shoe, know a little bit about the shoes.  Our podcast episode #3 will help a little bit with that.

Andrew:  We should revisit this, Jeff.  We should revisit this and do specifically like a race-day shoe episode because there are so many shoes that have hit the market in the last two years--even at the time we are recording this--that are just like the high end, sexy race shoes.  And we should talk about them on the podcast.

Jeff:  Absolutely!  And without me getting on a shoe rant, I’ll just say that lighter isn’t always better.There is a select, certain type of athlete, speed of athlete even where a 1 ounce lighter shoe for most is not going to make you faster.  So you don’t have to go buy the sexy shoe.  For most people, it won’t make you faster.  So just kind of know what you’re comfortable with and what your body can handle as far as drop and aggressiveness and all of that.  So don’t just buy a race day shoe knowing that it might be a little bit lighter than your training shoe.

Andrew:  Pick a proper shoe for race day.  Next tip on the run, #20.  Let’s go to Elizabeth James.

Elizabeth:  Tip #20 on the run course is going to be to stay cool.  Don’t overheat.  I mean, oftentimes we’re racing in the heat of the day.  If you’ve got a sprint race you can get it done in the morning, fantastic.  But the longer the distance that you are competing in it’s very likely that you’re going to have some mid day running time there.  So staying cool on the run course is going to help you continue at the pace that you’re targeting.  Utilize the aid stations.  Use the ice.Keep the core cool.  Use a hat.  I like using my hat to put the ice in as well and put that back on my head.  If there’s shade kind of utilize that.  But really do what you can.  Have a cooling protocol to manage the heat on the run course.

Andrew:  Yep.  You can have all the fitness in the world, but if you let yourself get overheated it’s really hard to get that body temperature back down.  So you’ve got to stay ahead of it.  Keep yourself cool.  Use what's at the aid stations to the most of your ability.  #21, let's go back to Coach Jeff Raines.

Jeff:  Running the tangents.  Courses are measured on the tangents; the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  If you run in the middle of the road for your entire half marathon, you’re not running 13.1, you’re running 13.5.  Right?

Andrew: I don’t want to do that.

Jeff:  So look ahead.  Know if a right or left is coming up.  Take those tangents.  Don’t just stay on the middle of every single road every single turn.  Taking the tangents does mean something and will knock minutes off your run split.

Andrew:  You’ll be happy to hear, Jeff...at the time we’re recording this fairly recently Coach John Mayfield and myself ran a half marathon. I had the pleasure of pacing him to a half marathon PR.And there wasn’t a ton of turns on this course, but toward the end when we were really pushing the pace, really dropping the hammer, I kept yelling at John to take the inside of the few turns we had because I was on the inside of the turn and I wanted him on the inside.I was like, “John, get over here!”And he listened to me.

Jeff: Such a gentleman.

Andrew:  Yep I was looking out.  Tip #22.I’m going to say this one because I’m passionate about it and I didn’t want to assign the porta potty tip to anybody else.  I decided to be the one that took that one.  But #22, I mean, free time on race day is just avoiding the porta potty stops.If it’s a long day like Ironman you might need some, but the fewer times you can be still in a porta potty...If you’re in there you’re not moving on course right?  A couple things there; the first is have a low fiber diet heading into race day.  Be eating foods that your body is familiar with in the days leading up to the race.We have a podcast episode with Dr. Austin, our in-house nutritionist, talking specifically about this topic.But if you can stay away from the fiber and foods that are going to trigger your body to have GI distress on race day that’s just less trips to the porta potty while you’re out there.Another thing I’ll say is if you are on a course that has not the best open water swim water--Ironman Texas is known for this, Ironman Arizona is known for this--water that can upset some people’s stomachs just from swimming in it long enough...Take some activated charcoal, take some Pepto, take some GasX, Tums.  Any of those stomach settlers.  Whatever stomach settler you’re used to, take it before the race.Take it at T1.  Kind of takes some precautionary measures to try to keep that GI distress in check.  Another thing I’ll say is if you’re able, if you’ve practiced this...Peeing on a bike as opposed to stopping on the bike to pee at a porta potty.  If all you’ve got to do is go #1; that’s a practiced skill that you can practice on your rides.  Make sure you kind of rinse yourself off with your water bottle…

Elizabeth:  Outdoor rides.

Andrew:   Yeah, practice this on those long stamina rides.  Practice this on the race rehearsal rides and that’s just--it’s minutes if you’re going to keep rolling instead of stopping at a porta potty for those stops.  That was a solid two minutes of porta potty talk.  So let’s go to tip #23, Coach Elizabeth James.

Elizabeth:  Well, tip #23 may, you know, take us back a little bit to avoiding those porta potty stops with making sure that you have a good nutrition and hydration plan.  So practicing this in all of those sessions leading up to race day to help you avoid those porta potty stops.  To know what’s going to work so that you can avoid some of that GI distress.  And then just from a fueling standpoint as well making sure that you’re giving your body the energy that it needs, the hydration that it needs to continue at the paces that you are trained for.

Andrew:  That’s great and we’ve talked on the podcast before.  That’s what those long sessions are for is to practice your nutrition plan, practice your hydration plan.  Know what your body needs.  We have podcast episodes with Dr. Austin talking about race day hydration and nutrition and so please go listen to those for more information there.  If you don’t fuel yourself properly, if you don’t hydrate properly you’re losing time.  So doing both of those things is just helping you with time on race day.

Along those lines, I’ll add this.  This is tip #24 to save you time.  Know what’s at the aid stations.  Know what nutrition is going to be out there on the aid stations because this is going to influence your decisions on what you’ll need to carry on race day.  And if you can carry less because you know the aid stations are going to have that gel you like, that bar you like, that hydration you like...that’s helping you save time because that’s less weight you’re carrying.  That’s less things you’re having to fiddle with and put in your pockets.  A quick example I’ll give of this is Ironman announced that they were going to start adding Maurten Gels at the aid station courses at Ironman races.  I’d never used Maurten Gels.  I like Science in Sport Gels, but I was like, “Hey, if they’re going to have Maurten on course, if I like Maurten like I like Science in Sport, I don’t have to carry my gels because I can just use the on course gels.”  So I tried them.  I happened to not like them so I’m going to carry my own.  But if you know what’s at the aid stations, you can carry a little bit less because they can have something that you’re going to take that’s going to save you a little bit of time by carrying less.

Tip #25, let's go to Coach John Mayfield.

John:  So a lot of what we’ve focused on is being efficient as we go through the aid stations.  It’s critical to be efficient there.  So again, it’s knowing the order of what’s coming in.  Having that plan of what am I going to do as you’re approaching those aid stations.  There are typically signs to let you know.  You should know the course to know where those aid stations are placed.  So know what’s coming and know what you’re going to do and then also be very safe throughout these especially on the bike.Where you have these aid stations that you’re rolling through you have athletes of different bike handling skill levels, athletes of different speeds.  Some are taking a wide berth to the left and just rolling through.Others are getting real close to the volunteers, taking the bottle handup.  Others are coming to a complete stop.  So it really is the most dangerous place on the bike course.  So 1- be efficient, know what you’re going to do.  Move through that area as quickly as possible 1- to save time and 2- to limit your time in that more dangerous space.

Andrew:  And if you can ahead of time, practice that bottle grab.

John:  Absolutely!

Andrew:  Get a spouse, get a friend, get someone out there and just practice riding by them and grabbing a water bottle or bar or banana out of their hand.

John:  Like anything else...race day should never be your first time.

Andrew:  Tip #26, Elizabeth James.

Elizabeth:  Tip #26 is going to be to know the course.  This is something that I really take to heart myself.  Always scout it out ahead of time.  Hopefully you’re able to do that in person whether it’s a couple months ahead of the race, if it’s something you can go to ahead of time.  Week-of when you’re arriving, make sure that you have the opportunity to drive the bike course, maybe bike the run course.  Take a look at where the hills are going to be, where the turns are going to be.  I mean, with all the technology now even if it’s something you need to do on Google Maps...But know the course.  Know the route.  Know where the aid stations are.  Knowing the course ahead of time allows you to prepare for it and being prepared is going to allow you to be efficient with your plan on race day.

Andrew:  Tip #27, Coach Jeff Raines.

Jeff:  Having a well placed Sherpa and some fans out on the course.  So if there are hard sections out on the course, maybe a really long hill, and you have friends or family or that Sherpa.Somebody that’s out there to help you that race weekend.  Have them on the strategic parts of the course where maybe you’ll just be in a dark place.  And just picking a good Sherpa for the entire weekend in general...I’ll add that as well.So just having someone that kind of knows the sport, knows the industry, just knows how to help you carry things and help you think of the things you may forget...the little things that go a long ways.  So Sherpa placement and Sherpa choice.

Andrew:  Sherpa selection and Sherpa placement.  I like both of those as new terms for the podcast.  Let’s go to Coach John Mayfield for #28.

John:  This is kind of a continuation of that.  We’re kind of getting more into the intangibles now and it’s visualization.Visualize yourself in that race in the days leading into it.  That can be a big part of preparation and really too when the race gets hard; when it gets tough inevitably we hit that spot where it’s not as easy as it was.Visualizing that finish line really can be a great motivation there.  But also visualizing everyone that got you there, all the work that you put in, the sacrifice, the goals, remembering why you’re doing it.  All those things.  Just going back to those intangibles.  Drawing on your motivations, your inspirations, the people again who helped you get there...that really can be a great source of energy kind of when the body is failing.  That’s kind of when the spirit comes alive.  So dig deep...know what they are and go to them when everything else fails.

Andrew: And I even found working towards my first Ironman...I even found in some of the longer sessions before Ironman Texas was cancelled again, RIP...In some of those long run sessions I would start thinking about what that finish line was to be like.  And I would start thinking about what’s it going to be like when I see my wife on the run course.  What’s it going to be like when I pass by my TriDot team that I’ve trained with and worked with.  You know, even in training I’ve found that visualization and thinking of race day; thinking of the course, thinking of those moments on the course and what it might be like to be motivating.  I can only imagine how much that can be helpful on the day itself.  So great stuff there John.  Coach Elizabeth James, what’s #29?

Elizabeth:  As John mentioned, we’re kind of moving into more of the intangibles here.#29 deals with mental skills or like a mantra.  I’ve talked about my “I am stronger” mantra on the podcast before.  That’s kind of what I go to for race day.  And while you know this is a little bit of a different approach to time savings with these things that are more intangible…

Andrew:  It’s still real!  It’s still really saving you time out there!

Elizabeth:  Absolutely!  I mean, I truly believe that mental skills and mental preparation are important for race day performance and from a time saving perspective too.  So what you’re going to think about, what you’re going to have in your head when things get tough on race day is important and I would encourage people to have that kind of go-to phrase or mantra ahead of time.

Andrew:  And I’ll say, I was there as was Coach Jeff and Coach John and your husband Charles the day in Waco Texas when you earned your pro card.  And every time Elizabeth went by us and we were just cheering you on...I mean you were locked in.  You were in the zone and just mentally like...You had that aura about you like you were embodying that phrase “I am stronger.”  You just belted it every step of the run when you went by us.You were just surging and it was awesome.  It was awesome to see.  But that mantra...there’s no doubt in my mind seeing you race that day...that mantra was worth at least 30 seconds out there on course right as you were suffering through the end of the run.  So great stuff there.

I’ll give tip #30.  We’ve got our final two.  I’m not going to go last.  I’ll go next to last with this one.  Do the TriDot training.  This kind of comes back to the one John opened with.

Elizabeth:  I was going to say, maybe we should have had that first.  But yeah!

Andrew:  And maybe we should have talked about the training before we talked about the race day.  But honestly, doing the training...there’s a reason we all came on TriDot.  There’s a reason I came on TriDot as an athlete and it was because I knew tangibly I had gotten as fast as I can get without having somebody who knows more than me teach me.  I found TriDot.  I started doing the structured training and by golly...I was PR’ing 5Ks, my FTP was climbing, and we see that in athletes all the time.  When they get on the structured training it makes so much of a difference.  Now that I’ve been on it for a few years, the training cycles leading up to--whether it’s a sprint, whether it’s an Olympic, no matter what the distance is--when I’ve stuck to the training and been consistent with my training leading up to a race, there’s just no fact...I do better.  I feel better.  I race better.  I can race according to the plan.  And when I’ve missed some sessions, when I haven’t really nailed every single session, and I’ve kind of cut a few short here and there, I can feel the difference on race day.  So stick to the training.  Do the training that’s prescribed to the best of your ability consistently over time and that’s going to save you seconds, minutes on the day of the race.  And while we’re talking about TriDot...listen to the TriDot podcast because you have podcasts like this where you get tips like this and because you listened today, you’re going to be faster on race day with these tips.So a little hokey, shameless plug.But TriDot training and the TriDot podcast--we’re trying to get you to the finish line faster.  Final tip!  Coach Elizabeth James, take us home.

Elizabeth:  Alright!  We’re going to end with this one here today and that’s to enjoy the day.  Enjoy the journey.  Really have a positive attitude while you’re out there on the race course.So smile, be grateful.  Goodness, we just have such an amazing opportunity to be in this cool sport.  Even if the day isn’t going your way...you know maybe you’ve run into a couple snags...there is likely something that you can still be grateful for and that positivity can go a long way to just making it a great experience for you on race day.

Andrew:  Time flies when you’re having fun!

Cool down theme: Great set everyone! Let’s cool down.

Andrew:  At TriDot we are huge advocates for triathlon clubs.  We believe TriDot is the better way to train and plugging into a local tri club is the perfect way to find community in a sport.  From time-to-time we like to give athletes a chance to tell us all about their local tri club and today we have Karen telling us all about the Cape Cod Triathlon Club.  If you’re near Cape Cod or on the Atlantic Coast you especially should pay attention to what makes this club so special.  And even if you’re not, it’s a beautiful area to visit and vacation.  So keep this group in mind if you find yourself looking to train or race while visiting Cape Cod.

Karen Smith:  Hi Andrew!  This is Karen Smith.  Thank you for allowing me to come on today to talk about my hometown triathlon team which is the Cape Cod Triathlon Club.  We are located in Cape Cod, Massachusetts which is just off the coast of the state in the water in the North Atlantic.  We’re basically a sandbar spit that extends into the North Atlantic.  We’re famous for our beaches, our lighthouses, our Great White Sharks, and ice cream; not necessarily in that order.  Our club is supported by our parent organization which is called the Cape Cod Athletic Club.  In this club there’s walking groups, running groups, there’s an open water swim group called the Mermaids and Mermen.  There’s the C4 cycling group which includes road cycling and mountain biking.  So we have something for everyone.  All ages, all skill sets.  We have newbies all the way up to seasoned Ironman finishers.Our group is supported by the New England Endurance Events.  They host several triathlons here.  Some of them are sprint triathlons.  We have Olympic tris and we also have special events like the SOS Cape Cod which is a multi swim, run kind of endurance event that’s sister to the SOS New York.  We also have the Sea to Summit which is an endurance event that includes a 1-½ mile swim, a 96 mile ride, and then a run up Mt. Washington.  Many consider that a bucket list event.  But going back to the Cape, we’re lucky to have these beautiful beaches, the kettle ponds where we can swim without having to worry about sharks.  We have the Cape Cod Rail Trail which is a very long separate bike path and there’s no traffic.  There’s only runners and riders and walkers on it.  So a lot of people train for different events on that bike path.New England has a very storied history of running and racing.  We have the Falmouth Road Race here and of course we have the Boston Marathon that’s only an hour away.  So I hope that if any TriDoters are listening to this right now and they’re interested in joining us that you do and you come out and find us.  We’ll have a number of events this summer.  We have a Facebook page called Cape Cod Triathlon Club.

Andrew:  Well, that’s it for today folks.  A big thanks to all of our coaches for offering their very best race day time-saving tips.  I hope a few things in there really jumped out to you today and will help you finish faster at your future races.  Thanks to Karen for telling us about the Cape Cod Triathlon Club.  If you are a part of an awesome tri club we’d love to hear about it.Head to Tridot.com/podcast and click on leave us a voicemail to record your voice telling us about your club.We’ll have a new show coming your way soon, until then, Happy Training.

Outro: Thanks for joining us.  Make sure to subscribe and share the TriDot podcast with your triathlon crew.  For more great tri content and community, connect with us on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.  Ready to optimize your training?  Head to TriDot.com and start your free trial today!  TriDot – the obvious and automatic choice for triathlon training.