A lot goes into preparing for a longer race, in this case a 70.3. First there are the logistics, like signing up for the race, then, depending upon the location, you’ll need to reserve your flight (both you and your bike), hotel reservations, transfer or car rental reservations… This is just the beginning, the easy stuff. This gets you to the start line. But will you be ready to perform on that day, in that location?

Each time I open the TrainingPeaks application, on the home page, I have a notification letting me know how many days until my next race. It currently reads “70.3 Marbella – 10 days until race.” I have in front of me all the training I’ve done and what little training I have left to do. There is no hiding from these workouts past and future, these are what I have to work with. But there is also the mental side of things, my state of mind going into this last bit of time before the race.

I’ve done quite a few races over the years so I know how to prepare. Planning out my nutrition given the weather conditions and course profile is an important step, made even more important since I started taking insulin several years ago. The balance between proper fueling and over-doing the glucose is difficult, there are no easy answers. It depends on the unique bio-chemistry of each person, as my response to certain foods under certain conditions may not be the same as those of another racer. But I try to stay flexible, ready to change things on the spot given how I feel and what is available on the race course to eat and drink that day.

At my last 70.3 I made a mistake and fell back on the time-worn tradition for triathlons – I made a big bowl of pasta the night before the race. I know this was a bad idea as the effect pasta has on my blood sugar is not good. I can’t remember why I decided to do this instead of something smaller and more sensible, good proteins, etc. Maybe I was caught up in the moment. Anyway, It wasn’t what my body needed to prepare for the race and my energy levels the next day (or lack of them) during the run portion were a constant reminder of my miscalculation. Yes, I was sufficiently fueling myself during the race, but without that solid base to start from my fueling attempts were a constant catch-up and never quite did the job.

I’ll need to do better for my race in 10 days. I’m already going into it with a slightly different mindset, as I’m still coming down from several injuries (and learning to deal with others). I know my swim will not be my best due to the recent shoulder injury. I know my run will not be my best due to the lack of recent running due to the leg injury. The bike section will be interesting, as I must alter my aerobars a bit to accommodate the shoulder injury. But overall, the bike section should be ok. This is the first race in a while where I am thinking that completing it will be a good day, and that I will not be so hard on myself if I miss out on a top-5 age group result. We shall see.