About two weeks ago, I participated in my last race of the season: the Olympic-distance Vineyard Warrior. Being an inaugural event, the race was more than a bit disorganized, but the location was beautiful, the day was sunny and the volunteers, spectators and other athletes were enthusiastic.
Sun Rises on the Vineyard Warrior Transition Area, September 11, 2011 (Photo posted on Facebook by Max Bossman)
The night before, I sat in my room at a small B&B and performed my favorite pre-race tradition: painting my nails a funky color.
Crackle Nail Polish is so Awesome!
I don’t get manicures or do my own nails very often. But for some reason, I get really motivated seeing my crazy nails on a race day as my fingers start my swim stroke or when my thumbs press on top of my aerobars.
On the morning of the race, I always do the following three things:
1) Eat a bagel with peanut butter and drink some coffee. I do this about two or three hours before the race. Then I hydrate with water and Gatorade. About a half hour before the race, I enjoy a PowerBar.
2) Mentally practice my transitions. Here are some of the things I go over:
- Where’s my bike going to be when I enter transition area after the swim?
- Where do we bike/run in and out?
- What is the order of the items I put on for my bike and run? (For the bike I first put on my shoes, then my sunglasses, and finish with my helmet.)
3) Scope out the swim. Knowing where the buoys are located is a given, but I also check what is behind the buoys in the distance because sometimes you can’t see the buoys when you’re sighting. It’s good to have another reference point. Here’s a good video that discusses this:
So tri-moms, do you have any pre-race rituals?
If so, leave a comment below.
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