Welcome to the Training Tips homepage for all 2022 Castle Triathlon Series events. The Top Tips on this page are suitable for competitors who are 2 weeks out from their race.
Using our extensive experience coaching athletes of all levels of ability we have put together our top training tips for novice, intermediate and advanced levels of athletes.
As always, if you have any questions regarding training or racing then please don’t hesitate to get in touch and arrange a free coaching consultation with one of our professional coaches.
Select your level below to be taken to the most appropriate training tips for you:
For anyone doing their first race and wanting some advice on how to manage pre-race nerves, then check out this excellent video from our sports psychologist on pre-race anxiety:
Swimmer Tips
With only a couple of weeks to go – it is worth writing down what you will be bringing with you for the race day. Write it down now with two weeks to go – you can get it all ready next weekend and be ready to go to the race the week after!
The final skill we haven’t talked about is drafting. Often with swimming races, there is a real advantage to sit on someone’s feet and gain a draft. You do less work and travel faster (or travel faster for the same work)! It is a real advantage. However, given the proximity of swimming with other people, you need to be happy swimming close to them. Often when coaching this, we will point out that there will be some bumps. If there isn’t, you aren’t getting the drafting effect!
This is best practised outside of a race environment before diving in and doing it in a race. Ask a friend to swim just ahead of you and swim directly behind them, almost touching their toes. You can also practice swimming on either side of them as well, so you get used to having many people around you when swimming.
If you are uncomfortable with any of this, then on race day, find some clear water – move to the back or the edge and let everyone else do their own swim, and you focus on yours.
Have a wonderful time – enjoy your race and keep smiling all the way around!
Runner Tips
Running is easy – trainers and out the door!?
Come racing, though, and this can be too simple! There are many times when runners turn up to races and have the wrong or no shoes to race in! Write down the list of what you want to take with you – consider what the weather is doing so you have warm layers both for your warm-up and cool down/after the race. Pack your nutrition and drinks bottles as well.
Getting all this right for the race will make it easier to perform.
If this is the first big event for you, we always find writing a small note for you to find on race morning is a wonderful way to remind yourself why you are doing this!
With all of our running sessions, you will have done a warm-up. Don’t try anything new, do what you have always done, and know how long you will need for it. There is nothing worse than feeling rushed on race day.
We wish you all the luck, have a great day!
Triathlete Tips
Almost certainly, now is the time you are starting to think about what you need to take with you to the event. We covered the basics of what you should have for the event in one of our earlier tips. But here, let's look at everything in this kit list.
It will look extensive, but there will be some things you don't need, or you only need for an overnights stay, and you may be able to ignore. There are some useful tips like a second pair of trainers or shoes to wear after leaving your racing trainers in transition. As well as wetsuit lube, anti-chaffing cream, and a second set of goggles.
Often you see people packing a transition box of all their items as they hobble towards transition. We recommend a rucksack. A rucksack is easier to carry while pushing (or riding) a bike and keeps your hands free!
Make sure you have the things you need easily accessible. Often when you rack, a race marshal will want to see your helmet done up and on your head, so leave the car with it on – it will make your life easier.
Make sure you have read the athlete guide before going and have it with you – it will have everything in it that you need to know, including timings, where to park, etc. Allow yourself plenty of time and plan your own timings with a buffer to get into your wetsuit, warm-up (don’t forget to warm up your legs and arms), fo to the toilet and queue for things! (There is always queuing at a triathlon!).
Finally, good luck. Don't be intimidated by other people. Focus on you, your race and have fun!
Tips for the swimmer, runner and triathlete
Given the crossover in the thought process, from completing an event to starting to try and hit a time or a position, the advice here is non-sport-specific. However, don’t let it distract you from your aim at hand.
You should know what kit you need, but here is a helpful kit list if you need a reminder. It is a triathlon list, but that doesn’t mean the runner or swimmer can’t think about some items too! It would be best if you considered what else is also useful or specific for you. For your previous few races, you will certainly have both over-catered and underprepared on certain items. Look back at what you did previously and add your own items to our list: It may be an extra layer for before or after the race, a savoury snack for the finish line or a sensible place to hide your keys so you can get into the car no matter where your support is! Whatever it is, think back and add it to your list!
For multi-sport athletes, now is the time to check over your bike and clean and tuned up.
Get everything ready this week, so you have the weekend free to get anything else you need. Make sure you read the race information guide thoroughly – just because this is not your first event doesn’t mean there is not useful information out there! Especially around timings, location of things and last-minute race changes! If you have done a few events, it is easy to get complacent and miss some things because you "know" what you are doing!
Finally, plan your trip to the race to know how long things will take, what your schedule will be, how long a warm-up will take, where you need to be and what your pacing will be for the race. Then you can relax come race week and day.
We will leave you in the capable hands of our sports psychologist: Dr Mark Bellamy – discussing race preparation skills to help you with a racing plan.
Otherwise, all the very best – good luck!
Tips for swimmers, runners and triathletes
For the final couple of weeks of preparation, we need to focus on the event and know the course and what we will need. Undoubtedly you will have your own kit list of what to bring. However, how will the course impact that list? Though there are specifics for each discipline, the art of good course reconnaissance is consistent across any sport.
This means you need to know the course. Depending on the weather, start time and course direction, should you have tinted or clear goggles? What about the bike? Will you need to think about layers (arm warmers or even a gillet?) What is the run like? Is it a road shoe or a trail shoe? If there has been a lot of rain and it is a short course, it may even be worth considering more grippy shoes!
A big part of making these decisions comes down to knowing the course intimately before the race and building a race plan out of this knowledge. This could include considerations around likely weather state, course recces, review of previous race photos, awareness of the course's key profiles, etc. By knowing these facts, you will make a plan to suit your style of racing, nutrition strategy and be in a better position to make decisions in the race.
The weather will play a significant part in the swim and the bike. In particular wind direction and strength. For swimmers, this may impact where you make your move (there is no point in being at the front of a group in a headwind!). On the bike, knowing the course, the climbs and descents, as well as the weather conditions, will impact your decisions. We can use software like Best Bike Split to quantify the difference in when to stay tucked and when to sit up. You should certainly consider what you will be taking with you given the course. You may want to get more specific with gearing ratios and how to manage your nutrition plan around aid stations.
Finally, knowledge is only useful if you can use it for something. For example, if you drop a bottle at mile 12 on the bike, there may be an aid station at mile 14, knowing that will impact your decision to start on your second bottle or wait until the aid station. Or perhaps, knowing that around the next buoy will be a tailwind, so it would be a better place to try and drop someone from your feet – or that you will need to push to stay with the swimmer in front. In the run, knowing where hills are, what the ground surface is like will help you decide where you can gain speed and where it is more a matter of survival.
In sport, especially endurance sport, the competitive outcome is concluded by a series of decisions that athletes make throughout the race (sometimes even before the event). Therefore, as you go up the competitive ladder, the more informed you can be when you are about to make those decisions, the better ones you can make.
Dr Mark Bellamy talks about your competition skills below. Good luck!