Race Ready: UBC Triathlon Team’s TriDu Week Essentials

“Most importantly, I would recommend not trying anything new before a race! I typically try to eat breakfast around 2 hours before the race start and eat something I am familiar with that I know I digest well. For me that is toast with peanut butter and banana, and coffee.” – Ariel

“High Carb diet, gels, Red Bull (seriously), jagerbomb (not so seriously)” – Gleb

“Anything that your used to! I eat 3 eggs the morning before a race.” – Aki

“I have breakfast about 2-3 hours before I race so I have some time to digest and feel fueled. Although not mandatory, I also need a good amount of caffeine to feel ready for a race!” – Christina

“Secret” – Gleb

“Shaking my hands out and slapping my back twice right before the swim.“ – Aki

“Braiding my hair is an important pre-race ritual that helps me calm down a bit on race morning.” – Christina

“I typically do around 5-10 minutes of very light running, and then 5-10 minutes of dynamic stretching, finishing up with a few strides.” – Ariel

“15 minute easy run + dry land swimming (using a resistance band)” – Gleb

“Shorter races are normally higher intensity, so a longer warm up for a sprint race, like the UBC Tri-Du, is important. I’ll spend 10-15 minutes jogging with some strides.” – Christina

“Don’t be too stressed and try to have fun, especially if it’s your first time.” – Aki

“Visualization of the race” – Gleb

“Dwelling on what could go wrong is never a good idea. I try to visualize things going the way I want them to, and prepare myself to probably be feeling a lot of exhaustion soon, but equally knowing that the exhaustion will pass. A common saying in triathlon is “it hurts more to lose”.” – Christina

“Remember that the race is for fun!” – Ariel

“Immediately after the race is all about celebrating and having fun!“ – Ariel

“Going straight to the hot tub haha” – Aki

“Enjoy! Stay by the finish line and congratulate friends or competitors. Give the person that helped motivate you to move faster a high five. Give yourself time to feel proud, no matter the outcome, before thinking about how to improve next time.” – Christina

“My favourite post race food is pizza.” – Ariel

“Anything that fills you up and helps you regain your energy.” – Aki

“Celebrate! Treat yourself; your body just did a really hard thing, so it deserves whatever it’s craving!” – Christina

“Take it easy.” – Aki

“Ultimately this is personal preference. If you are a social person and have been training with a team, hang out with your team and celebrate together! If you are more introverted, go home and snuggle up with a book. Either way, I would try to make time to journal about your race thoughts and what went well. You might think you will remember, but in a few weeks you’ll likely forget.” – Christina

“Beer and sleep” – Gleb

“It depends on the length of the race and on how my body feels! First and foremost I go by feel. Typically for a sprint race, I will be active the day after the race and do a very easy bike ride. For a longer race like an olympic, if I am very fatigued the following day I would wait 1-2 days. And for anything longer such as a half ironman or more, I think it is important to listen to your body and ensure you feel well recovered before starting up again.” – Ariel

“Depends on how you feel.” – Aki

“Since I’ve been doing triathlon for a while, I have a pretty packed race schedule. If the race is shorter or not necessarily a goal race, I might not take any rest days. But after a goal race I’ll usually take 4-5 days doing whatever feels good; usually walking, yoga, or swimming, until I’m ready to start training usually again.” – Christina