The Ultimate Pre-Race Checklist

does what it says. Use and Enjoy. (From: fix.com) Source: Fix.com

How was your weekend running and training?

How was your weekend of training fun? Any new niggles or PBs?

My best races

I do duathlons, triathlons and 5k – they are what are important for me. I was reflecting on my ‘best’ ones and why they were the best. I’ve been thinking about this post for a while. What struck me was that my first thoughts as to what were ‘best’ were purely performance related. I guess…

7000 entrants! Bang goes medal – the gauntlet

Any miniscule hopes of a medal at The Gauntlet (HIM 70.3 distance) for us were dashed by there being about 6999 other people also after the same thing! Apparently the event can even cater for a few more. Anyway it’s going to be a great event and an amazing spectacle for the spectators. The water…

caffeine for 5k triathlon duathlon improvement

Taken from tritalk.co.uk “Caffeine is one of the few proven ergogenic aids- the current optimum dosage that is needed is 5-mg/kg in the 60-90 minutes pre race or heavy session- the dose response curve flattens out after this. Caffeine is rapidly absorbed from the gut and reaches peak plasma concentrations within 1 hour- the blood…

ITU Sprint distance Duathlon & Triathlon to DRAFT LEGAL from 2016

Sources: *UPDATED* below – it is real How exciting! A new bike to buy. It looks like the International Triathlon Union (ITU – see info below) has banned your bike from an ITU SPRINT TRIATHLON world final (presumably qualifiers and sprint duathlons). Why ban my bike?: If you have drafting allowed in a race you…

Planning For BTF Age Group Qualification for Triathlon Duathlon

I’m in the ‘lucky’ position that I can probably qualify for most of my target ETU/ITU races without having to worry too much. At the same time I tend to train a lot and compete a little; so I fairly carefully plan HOW I am going to qualify, just in case. Similarly a few of…

Another weekend, another triathlon disaster

Well it wasn’t that bad but here goes anyway. I had a great result a couple of weeks back in my A race. Not perfect but great and for once I was satisfied. This weekend was a different matter and I slightly underwhelmed myself. As it was so good for the last race, as usual,…

Triathlon Duathlon Gadgets and Kit you need to do reasonably well

There’s no substitute for training (except aero wheels!) but you’re gonna buy some gear so here’s what I think you NEED if you want to do half well. this is NOT what you need if all you want to do is finish. this is what you need to be a bit competitive and get the best…

Sex the night before a Triathlon or 5k? Good or Bad?

Sigh. Here’s one way of boosting the hits on my site I guess….yes, the ‘S’ word should do it. Here is an excerpt of the relevant bits from today’s article on the bbc website (so it must be true?): It’s well established among sports scientists that sex doesn’t inhibit performance (as long as the athlete…

Duathlon Tips

I’ve had Top 3 duathlon finishes (but never a proper one that I’ve really cherished) and done relatively badly in others with: cramp; poor placing; or a DQ – but never a DNS or DNF. You’ve got to go for it. Here are some tips, there’s plenty more dotted around this blog and this is by…

Race Lesson Learnt

Race season is well and truly upon us. I had a reasonably good race last weekend. But ignoring that the point of this post is about race prep. I always take the kitchen sink to races. A car full of rubbish I never use (just like the first time you did a triathlon). Anyway. Now…

Tip 50 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

** If you’ve heard people talking about ‘digging deep’ and learning how to do that in a running/racing sense you might have thought was a load of tosh. Well it wasn’t! If you’ve dug deep and held on then you will know what I mean. You have to learn to do this to keep those…

Tip 49 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

** Familiarise yourself with the course and with your pre-race routine. If you are unfamiliar with any aspect you MAY worry about it. I could go on about this but lack of preparation and familiarisation might affect your race psychology and/or warm-up All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work…

Tip 48 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

* Don’t wear compression gear. It adds extra resistance and tires you more quickly. All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt if done wrong. All 50 tips are shown here as…

Tip 47 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

X*Wear compression gear. Boosts blood flow to muscles and reduces the risk of injury. Keeps you warm. SEE NEXT TIP for more thoughts on this All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt if…

Tip 46 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

* Don’t start too near to the front if you are smaller and slower (kids) you may get knocked over by faster runners, then you won’t get a PB. But don’t be afraid to go somewhere near the front as many people are not doing parkruns for a PB like you are. All the suggestions are…

Tip 45 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

* Pinch yourself hard before that final sprint. (I don’t think this will work but causing a bit of pain might give you a quick adrenaline rush) Only use this for the sprint, apparently extreme amounts of pain prior to competing in other events can give boosts because of raised blood pressure from the pain.…

Tip 44 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

* Smile. Smile every 1km it will relax you. Can’t hurt? There could be some hormonal benefit. maybe, perhaps, nah! But, it can’t hurt. Can it? All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars. It might work * 1 star. Can’t hurt X 1 cross. It CAN hurt…

Tip 43 of 50 : Get a 5K PB NOW #howtogeta5kpb

*X Running cadence. Aim for about 90-95 strides a minute (180-190 footfalls). If this is quite different from your current natural cadence then changing it for the weekend is unlikely to make a difference – other than a NEGATIVE difference. All the suggestions are starred: *** 3 stars. IMHO it will work ** 2 stars.…