Ironman 70.3 Texas Tips
Ironman 70.3 Texas in Galveston is the season opener for a lot of long course triathletes in the US. Although the course itself is not particularly challenging, the race does present a challenge for many triathletes coming off winter training because of environmental factors (heat, humid, wind) and its early Spring place in the racing calendar. As an athlete and coach who has raced, coached, and worked the Playtri tent at this race numerous times, here are my top tips to get you ready for race day.
Heat Training. There are three things you can almost always assume will be part of your race day in Galveston: heat, humidity, and wind. The out and back format of the bike means you will most likely have a headwind for half the bike ride. Meanwhile, as the day progresses you will also experience more heat and humidity. As part of your race preparation, it can be beneficial to include some heat training. Here’s a few ways to do that. 4-6 weeks before race day start do the following 2-3 times a week on easy training days. 1) Do a 30-60 minute easy ride on the trainer with extra layers and no fan or a 30 minute easy run on a treadmill with extra layers to increase your core body temperature. Hydrate appropriately during and after your session. Or 2) after completing a workout spend time in a sauna, hot tub, or hot bath. If you use a hot tub or bath, be submerged up to your neck. Gradually build up your time to 30 minutes. For each of these sessions, weigh yourself naked immediately before and after to gauge fluid loss. Then replace that loss with 1.5x water plus electrolytes after the session.
Bike Packing Tips. If you are traveling for this race, make sure you pack your bike appropriately. Remove all Co2 cartridges from your flat kit or bike box and leave them at home. TSA frowns upon those. Put all your race day needs (run shoes, kit, wetsuit, nutrition & hydration products, pedals, bike shoes, helmet, etc.) in your carry on. Make sure you schedule bike service at the Playtri tent before your arrival unless you can confidently build your own bike. And pick up a Co2 cartridge at the Playtri tent.
Practice your nutrition & hydration strategy early and often. Galveston is a hot & humid race and I have seen the run course turn into a war of attrition for many athletes who are unprepared nutrition and hydration wise for the conditions of the race. If you want to avoid that, you need to start practicing your race day nutrition & hydration at least 2-3 months before race day. For nutrition: women shoot to consume approximately 70-100 grams of carbohydrates per hour on the bike and 40-70 grams of carbs per hour on the run. Men shoot to consume 90-120 grams of carbs per hour on the bike and 60-90 grams of carbs on the run. For hydration, start with consuming 1 water bottle per hour with approximately 500 mg of sodium. Weigh yourself naked immediately before and after your training session and aim to lose less than 2% body weight. If you lose more than 2%, you are too dehydrated so adjust the amount of sodium and/or water you drink the next time. If you want to eliminate some of this guess work, then schedule an Advanced Sweat Test at Playtri Dallas to learn how much sodium you lose in your sweat.
Know your zones and stick to them. With the environmental factors that can impact your race day, it is important to know how hard you can push the pace. If you don’t know your heart rate and power zones, then scheduling blood lactate tests at Playtri Dallas is the way to go. Blood lactate testing is the most accurate way to determine your HR zones for bike and run and with over 20 years of doing these tests with countless athletes we know how affective they are.
Swim training before the race. Depending on where you live, it may be difficult to get open water swim training in before race day. Here in the DFW area, we start our Saturday morning open water swim workouts in mid-March so you can get some open water swim practice before the race. If you cannot get in the open water before race day, at the very least work on your sighting in the pool, inspect your wetsuit for cuts & tears, try it on to make sure it still fits, and take some cold showers to decrease the shock of jumping off a dock on race day.
If you have any questions about preparing for Galveston 70.3, performance testing, or coaching, please contact me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!
Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 4 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and an Ironman and 70.3 World Championship Qualifier who works with adult athletes from beginners to IRONMAN World Championship qualifiers. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe