How to get ready for Outlaw Half Holkham

Whether your preparation has been good or not so good, what you do in the final seven days leading up to the race can have a huge impact on your performance on the day.

Simon Ward, our official Outlaw coach has put together these tips:

Many triathletes like to sneak in some extra session in the last few days just to ‘top up their fitness’ or make up for shortcomings in their training plan earlier in the year. This is a waste of time as it takes at least seven days for your system to adapt to the work you’ve done. One extra session will not 'make' your race, but it may 'break' it.

There are lots of other actions that you can take in race week that will be useful on race day, here are my top 10:

• Training - swim more (frequency, not volume) run less
• Keep sessions short and maintain some intensity (above race pace)
• Travel to Holkham early on Saturday to reduce stress. Better still, take a day off work and arrive on Friday, especially if this race is important to you.
• Reduce stress during race week - avoid finishing important projects and lots of tiring travel.
• Reduce fibre and veg intake 48 hours before the race by about 80%. This helps to reduce GI distress on race day.
• Stay hydrated throughout the week - it takes a few days to achieve deep cellular hydration.
• Sleep plenty - You may not sleep well the night before the race but this won’t matter if you have slept well all week.
• Check the race instructions. Please DO NOT rely on Facebook for your answers!
• Write a check list for your race kit and make sure you use it when packing. We regularly have athletes who race around the expo at the last minute having forgotten something important.
• Turn up early on race day - there will be lots of athletes and spectators. If you leave it late you will end up in a queue and your stress levels may go sky high.

Enjoy your final weekend of training, stay relaxed and active and I’ll see you on the start line in Holkham.

Simon Ward

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