PUMP YOUR TIRES TRAIN YOUR CADENCE HAVE A PLAN

Pump your tires to the recommended PSI (pounds per square inch) as indicated on the tire. Riding fully inf lated tires reduces the rolling resistance of your wheels. It therefore decreases the total amount of work you have to perform to propel your bike forward. Said differently, riding fully inflated tires requires less power from you than riding on softer tires. run by reducing the total amount of work performed on the bike. Stick to your natural cadence. We each have our own comfort zone with respect to cadence. Do not train at 80 rpm and race at 100 rpm. Train at the same cadence you race at. What should that cadence be? Refer to your performance data to see what average cadence you held during your triathlon races. The cadence might differ across race distances. If you have not yet raced, assume a natural cadence of 85 to 95 rpm as a start. When you train, indoors or out, do a whack of training at that specific race cadence. You will be less fatigued finishing the bike and starting the run.

You know how your day is way more effective when you have a list of what to do and when to do it? Or how a trip to the grocery store is less stressful when you have a list in hand instead of just winging it? The same phenomenon applies to racing. Making decisions is tiring, so you want to have a plan for what you want to do on the bike to reduce the number of decisions you have to make during the ride. Write out your nutrition plan, your hydration plan and your pacing plan. Memorize them. Rehearse them. Stick to them during race day. Corral your thoughts by focusing on the plan. Avoid distracting and competing thoughts. Avoid second-guessing.

As you get closer to race day, shift the focus of your training from improving your fitness to improving your efficiency. Small changes can make big differences.

Adam Johnston is the owner of Wattsup Cycling. wattsupcycling.ca