Pacing
Pacing is an important part of racing. You want to set a pace you can maintain for the whole time. A negative split time is even better, the second half faster then the first. Starting out too fast is a bad thing, this will cause you to fade towards the end. I found out the hard way. Last year I was racing someone on the bike portion. We went as hard as we could. I beat him on the bike and then paid for it on the run. I knew this guy was a much faster runner then me so I was ok when he passed me. It was my slowest 5k ever though. The next race I paced my self and cut 10 minutes off the run portion. My bike average was 1 mph slower. Through you're training rides you should figure out you average pace. Drafting off other riders is not allowed in triathlons. You need to keep 3 bike lengths back. If you are passing someone you have to make the pass pretty quick. They cannot try to prevent you from passing. They have to let you pass and drop back 3 bike lengths. They can then pass you back. This is one of the rules most triathletes get in trouble for.
Nutrition is sometimes called the 4th discipline. Once you start getting over an hour of exercise it is time to consider adding some nutrition. Since we are only going to be out there for 1h 15m this week, we should be fine. If you are going any longer or if you are going all out then you should consider adding some fuel. Gu, sport beans or Chomps are some of my favorites. I usually take one of these on the bike portion. I try to do this about 3 miles from the end so it has some time to settle in my stomach. You need to make sure and drink some water with these. If you have never tried some of these products before practice days are the time. Race day is not the day to try anything new. No new clothing, bikes, shoes or new foods. You will hear that again...
