#11 Racing Strategies and Preparation for Cairns and Boulder:

In this episode, Emz,Tim & Cal dive into essential race day preparation tips, course insights, and fueling strategies for upcoming Ironman 70.3 Cairns and Boulder races. Whether you're an age grouper or pro, learn how to optimize your performance with practical advice and detailed course breakdowns.

Main Topics:

• Course overview and key challenges at Cairns and Boulder
• Pacing and wind considerations for optimal bike performance
• Swim strategies in open water wetsuit conditions
• Effective fueling, hydration, and equipment setup for long-distance triathlons
• Altitude training tips and handling race day logistics at Boulder
• Race day troubleshooting and nutrition planning to avoid common pitfalls

Come find us Cartel Coaching — Swim. Bike. Run. Together.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Team, welcome to Cartel Coaching. I'm Callum Millwood. I'm an ex-professional triathlete and a three times Iron Man 70.3 champion. And now I'm getting a proper reintroduction into the sport of triathlon as an age grouper. I spent a number of years at the pointy end of the sport, and now I've got a business, a life, a family, and the same 24 hours as everyone else who's trying to figure out how to be competitive again. And I tell you what, it is super humbling and it's interesting. What I bring to the table is the elite side of things. I'm living the age group reality right now. Not going to pretend that they're the same thing. With me every episode is Tim Brazier, who coaches everyone from first timers to Olympians, and M, our resident age grouper, who is keeping us honest. This is Cartel Coaching, and let's get into it.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Welcome back to Cartel Coaching. So today, today we're going to talk all about racing because we've we've got a pretty important race coming up for our age grouper Cal. Cal, first time back at Cairns since you've been a pro, right? How are you feeling?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

It is, yeah. I am I am pumped for it. Uh for a few reasons. The obviously to race again is going to be cool. Cairns is a really cool event. I think it's probably the best Iron Man 70.3 and Iron Man Distance event in Australia. Because it kind of feels like Telpo, New Zealand, where um the whole town feels like it's gets in behind it, and everyone that's there is there for the event. So I like that sort of vibe. I've always enjoyed going to events and sort of catching up with people. So for me, that's a big part of it. I feel like racing is a celebration of all the training that we've done, as cliche as that sounds. But you know, you're fresh, you've got all your fancy shoes and wheels and equipment, you've probably splashed out on new bits and bulbs, and it's just a fun weekend. So yeah, I'm excited. Nice. How's the race suit looking, mate? Speck. Yeah. I'm actually using a new prototype suit of ours that I'm testing. Uh so hopefully all going well, it will be available in a few months' time. But that's I guess another perk, right? Is you know, I can test things and give the pros and cons of how it performed. And um uh, but yeah, I I'm excited for I think um the other thing as well is I get to race along next to our Cupcake cartel and our cartel coached athletes. So I know Michael Small, who's one of my training partners, he's racing as well. And um I'm excited to see how he goes. We've got Alex Thomas as well, she's racing, who's you know, it's still early days since we've launched cartel coaching, but I think uh it's cool just for these athletes as well to put a marker in the sand and see how they're tracking.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Yeah, big time. I'm excited for both of them to see how they go. Cairns is a really cool race. I went there for the first time a couple years ago, and I'm actually gutted not to be going back. It's it's super awesome. It's really nice for the the Kiwis to have a a winter event per se. It is, yeah. It's the first time you would have done the 70.3 there though, right, mate. You would have done the Iron Man before, but no 70.3.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

It is, yeah. And obviously there's a little bit of logistics involved with it being a point-to-point race. So the discussion is always do you stay up at Palm Cove and make the race morning a lot easier? Or do you stay done in Cairns where obviously race HQ is and the run is, it's easy to get to after the race as well. So um, yeah, the race itself, uh I guess I've I've raced uh the full line man there a couple of times, so I know the course well. Um we discussed this on one of our coached calls uh earlier this week where we went over the course and broke down different aspects of it. Uh and a big consideration at Cairns is uh the southerly that you ride back into. Uh about 60% of the bike course, you're riding into a headwind from um Port Douglas back into Cairns. So it's something that we sort of spoke to our athletes about um and how to pace themselves and maybe just hold back a little bit because there's a lot to be gained uh as you ride into that wind on the way back. And I mean that sort of lends itself to being quite a strength-based run as opposed to a speed-based run where if um you know you've been facing the wind for the last hour or so, then uh you better hope that you're you're well prepared. And um thankfully or hopefully we've done the training and um it all goes well.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Yeah, totally. I think it's a deceptive course like that because it's a really flat run, you know, just looping along the waterfront, you know, four loops for the four laps the Iron Man and two for the half, and it's flat, but you come off you know what can be quite a challenging bike on that back half. And you know, a lot of people as that as the day goes on, especially for the Iron Man athletes, the wind can often pick up and it makes even more challenging the back half of that bike coming into that run. So it is is a bit more of a challenge than it looks that run. And the bike itself, though, has only really got one major climb, you'd say, Cal on that bike that's that throws in the challenge.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Rex's lookout, which you you uh dealt with um on the northbound lap, and then obviously in the southbound lap on the way back, it's nothing significant, but it's a good it's a good reminder for people to sort of sit up, stretch their back, get their nutrition in. Um one thing going back to the the bike course, uh the Southerly, especially, was I was listening to uh the post-race interview of Matthew Marquis, who came from behind to win the Iron Man last year after pretty extraordinary circumstances where he exited the swim after a good swim, he cramped and probably lost a bunch of time. And um he rode through the field and he he he made a point that he really worked the last sort of 40 to 60k on the bike to make up time because I mean if you've cooked your goose riding too hard with the tailwind hitting north, um, there's a lot of time to be made. So I feel like athletes should make note of that, and especially there's a lot of local coaches pointing out that southerly or southeasterly can really grind you down and you need to ride within yourself. What would you sort of say knowing that information, Tim, if it's consistently a southerly or southeasterly wind as a coach? Um, would you ride uh you know 90%, 95% of your sort of numbers, knowing that you've got to deal with this wind?

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Yeah, I think it can be really easy to get carried away when you've got a tailwind because it feels fantastic, you know, going tailwind on the way out, if it's picking up and quite strong, you can really get after it and chase it too hard. And so if you actually sit at around 90 to 95% of your sort of planned output on the way out, then you're gonna have you know that five or ten percent extra to ride back into the wind, which can be quite challenging and balance yourself out rather than you know doing trying to do it all the way out and then coming back in into the wind and suffering. And again, because of the way it's structured, you know, you ride that 90-95% of the way out with the wind, you're still gonna ride really fast. It's gonna be a quick time on the way out, and it is a really nice surface in general up there as well. So having that controlled manner the way out is pretty key, and then making sure that on the way back, whilst you're gonna be working hard, that you're still actually keeping on top of your cadence is a good thing, because you can see some people get really bogged down into the wind with their cadence.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

What would you say? Uh obviously everyone has their um bike computers set up differently, but for someone who's a newbie, how would you set up what metrics would you sort of be looking at the most um for race day for somewhere like Cannes?

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Yeah, for me, you know, what I'd like just people to be looking at is cadence, heart rate, and power. Um and you know, for some people they'll want well, most people sorry, would want time on that as well. So that you can see when um when you need a drink and feed yourself all the way through, unless you want to pick that off on distance and just have a distance on there. Personally, I don't like having speed on there. I feel like it can be a distracting mess metric because you you you can only deliver what you can deliver on the day, you know, based off your heart rate and power. Um your speed's gonna be the outcome of that. So if you can just dial in on that process of heart rate and power, um know when you've got to eat, and then also making sure you're not bogged down a cadence. Those would be my metrics I'd focus on.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

So if we if we run over the course uh quickly, obviously uh we've got a point-to-point course, we've got a wetsuit swim. Um, and that's usually because of the stingers, not so much the temperature uh for safety. So uh let's see, um w what are some of the considerations people need to be focused on for the swim up there in cans knowing that we've got an ocean swim, wetsuit swim, rolling start.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Yeah, like I think with the wetsuit, uh you can actually overheat a little bit because it's not about the temperature, it's about the stingers. And so going out too hard too soon will it maybe it's a sorry, A, it's a bad pacing strategy because you can blow yourself up. And B, you can overheat yourself early on, and then you'll suffer through the rest of that swim and then potentially onto the especially the early stages of the bike. So pacing it well is really, really important. What people will see on that course, it's a really short runway into the first right-hand turn. So for me, I'm always trying to sit to the outside of any group that might form up so I can swim around them on the turns rather than being on the inside of people where they might stop, or you might get a concertina of people stopping, even with the rolling start there. Um, and then you can sort of get into your rhythm and your flow through the rest of the course. But really key not to get too carried away out to that first boy and panic. You've got to get there fast in front of people, just position yourself in the right place, find your rhythm, and maintain that round the first boy, the right hand turn before you go down to two left-hand turns and sort of more of a long drag up and along the beach, um, up to transition. And during that long drag, you've got to be really comfortable breathing to your left-hand side because the the chop can be short and sharp through that swim. And so breathing away from that chop is always gonna be a real good key consideration. Siding every six to eight strokes and making sure you're keeping an eye on where you're going, especially along that long straight when you're gonna get into a bit of a rhythm.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

How does our, you know, as a swim expert, how does our stroke change in the open water versus the pool? And also uh now that we're gonna have a wetsuit on.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

Yeah, I think the key thing with the open water is keeping on top of our cadence or our stroke rate, however you want to phrase it, and people understand it. But we talk about stroke rate, and that's keeping your arms moving all the time, and so that you've got constant contact with the water, so you're not getting into these long glide phases where you're sort of accelerating and decelerating and can be knocked around by the waves a lot. So you want to always have that contact with the water and keeping the arms swinging a little bit more than a high elbow stroke as well, so that it's working with the wetsuit, so you're not getting all that shoulder restriction and tightness. Um be interesting to know actually, and something I haven't thought about and people may want to think about in research is around sleeveless wetsuits versus sleeved wetsuits. Because I think if it's to do with the stingers, then it'd make you have a full wetsuit up there. It's something that actually I'm not aware of, but people may want to research that. Um I'm sure a stinger's gonna hurt you just as much on the arm as it is on the chest or the leg.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

What about our kick in a wetsuit? Are we able to kick less? Is it a bit more like using a pool boy in the pool?

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Yeah, I I I really think a lot of New Zealand and Australians, we do a lot of wetsuit races. It's quite common for us. And a two-beat kick becomes quite a common practice when you're swimming in the open water, just having a rhythmic two-beat kick. But then trying to purposely change that and that last 100 meters into the beach or 200 meters, to really trying to drive your kick, get some blood going into the legs, get them moving, that flow so when you stand up and go to run, it's not so much of a shock. And and you can actually start into your run a little bit better and not have as much syncope as you get out, run into that transition. And you know, it's a reasonable little run up the beach and along and up into the transition there into T1. And gives you a little bit of time though to get out of your wetsuit, get set up, and get ready so when you get to the bike you can execute the process that you want to execute in T1. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah. Yeah, nice. And then obviously the bike, as we spoke about brief briefly before, it's um it's one lap, it's northbound up towards Port Douglas, uh, and then a big southbound lap, uh, which uh is generally always a headwind. And uh we spoke about the sort of pacing strategy there, is probably the most critical, and uh having a rolling start, there's generally gonna be people around you. Um what are some of the considerations for the bike there?

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Yeah, the bike, the big consideration for people is that there will be bunches out there, and it's gonna happen. Um, people will come past and they might be in a lineup, and key thing is you don't get frustrated by that, you just rotate and roll your pace. You know, and if there's the opportunity to sit at the appropriate distance, then I'd sit on the appropriate distance of people. Others are doing it. Do it yourself, just make sure you're doing it legally and holding that gap. There's gonna be a significant advantage to you even at 12 metres. Hence why Iron Man and other race Iron Man Now and other races have gone to a 20-meter drafting rule because there is such a distinct advantage around that 10 to 12 meter mark, which people oscillate within. So be aware that it's gonna happen and don't panic about that. And if you're new to cycling and you don't want to be part of that, just keep to the shoulder, you know, and and and ride your race and let other people do their thing. Um, not get caught up in that too much and and don't panic. People who come past you, they're generally really experienced riders, and they should know what they're doing. I don't know what your what's your experience there, Em, on the bike and in that sort of position with being you know new to the sport, how did you find that?

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Yeah, I haven't done cans, but I remember being pretty shocked at Port Macquarie with how many people were drafting and that there were just mass packs sort of coming through. And I think for me, I was just so concerned with my own race and whether I was gonna be okay at the end of you know, my race, and I just wanted to stick in my power, and so I did exactly what you were suggesting. I just stayed in my lane, let them pass me, and um, and honestly, it didn't really affect me. I think because I'm not, you know, racing at the pointy end and and I'm not really in that competitive zone, um, you know, it's it's a lot easier for me to let it go. Um, I don't really care what anyone else is doing. But um, for me, it was also self-preservation. You see, a lot of people out there who probably don't have the bike handling skills um to be racing the way they're racing, and then you see them go for a drink bottle, and um it gets a bit dicey. So I think um for me, I was just trying to stay away from people as much as possible for self-preservation.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Awesome. And on to the run there, Tim. Obviously, I think the run is one of the highlights of the Cannes course, it's quite condensed in a built-up area, it's on the Esplanade, it's a two-lap run. You get a chance to see your friends and family because the bike course is quite barren. There's not, you know, the roads are closed and there's only other athletes and officials on there. So heading into the run there, uh, what are factors there besides obviously getting through the 21k?

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Yeah, well, a key thing, and you talked about this in the coaching call, was just setting up your watch correctly as well, so that you've got the right governors set up on the watch. And I feel personally that pace is the wrong governor there, and you you know, you're talking talking about just having heart rate there on the watch and getting through on that. So you might have heart rate and time or heart rate and distance, and then because that's gonna help dictate your fueling to you, um, unless you're gonna use the markers on the side for that. So the key thing with any runners in my mind is we're dividing it into thirds, and we're really trying to keep calm in control and run really nice and tall through that first third, because you're gonna come off having been cramped up on the bike, and you want to find your flow and your rhythm and settle in. And you may even find that initially you're gonna get the spike of heart rate as you come off the bike because you're changing in that position as well. So it's just trying to find your rhythm, be patient. You know, everybody is gonna have dark moments throughout this race at some point. Um, so you know, just fight your way through those, look for cues to get yourself through those, and then get through that middle section of the run and make sure you're keeping on fueling. Really dial into that middle section, think about your fueling. Am I keeping on top of it? Because if you can get through two-thirds of the run having fueled it well, you'll survive the last third if things start to go a little bit more pear-shaped. Um, that's a really critical point. And then once you get into that last third, you can really start to attack it a bit more and try to bring it home strongly. Knowing that the things like the heat by that stage are gonna start to take effect on people that have overpaced the bike, especially. I mean, that probably will come in after the first third of the run. Then if they've overpaced the run and the heat and the humidity there, then they're really gonna have to they're really gonna be blowing up and you're gonna be able to track down a lot of people in that back third of the run if that's your goal, if you're you know, if you're racing. Um and if it's not your goal, you're just gonna be able to carry on your pace through that back third if you've paced it effectively. So really important through that whole bike and run to be respecting the heat, hydrating really well, and keeping on top of your sodium. And for some people, you know, you you can experience conditions in cans which can be close to cona. So, you know, 800 plus milligrams per hour of sodium can be pretty important here.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Yeah, lots of good points. Uh I always like to look at the run as like a cake, like it's uh you just want to be uh chipping away with little bite-sized pieces, setting small goals, small stepping stones, like Tim said, get to aid stations, you know, tick off a bit at a time, don't look at it as a whole hour, hour and a half, two hours, however, however long the run's gonna take you, and just um attack it as at a manageable pace so that you can make some uh gains on the back end of it as well. So uh it is a great event, and um we wish everyone well up in Cairns. And um obviously the other event that's on next weekend is Iron Man 70.3 Boulder, which is uh one of the sort of marquee events of um the US scene or North America, and um obviously it's a place where a lot of endurance athletes um are based as well, so it always attracts a huge felt. Um one of my favorite events. So uh again, we we touched upon a little review of this uh event this week on one of our team coaching calls. And um one thing that you know you may not be racing at the moment, but you may have events coming up in the future, but there's still lots to lots to take home points from what we're discussing as well. And obviously, Colorado's at altitude. So I just wanted to pick Tim's brains about altitude racing. Um, and maybe let's start off uh with how do we attack the swim in an altitude race specifically, like Iron Man 70.3 Boulder, it's at the Boulder res, it's a wetsuit swim. Um, how how would you uh approach this as like a swim and a triathlon coach?

SPEAKER_02 20:20

Yeah, the altitudes are similar to heat, right? If you screw your pacing, you pay for it and you can pay for it pretty quickly. And it can take a lot to dig yourself back out of that in a long time. So really key thing in somebody like Boulder, especially if you haven't done a lot of attitude prep for it, is just take it easy off that start line. And the nice thing in Boulder is it's a really nice long straight before a left turn, a left turn, and a long straight back in on the res. So you've got a lot of space that you can work in there just to find your rhythm early and find your space. You're not gonna have to fight for positioning anywhere. You can just sort of sit just on the outside of that boy line and just find your rhythm and swim it all the way through. So really controlled swim and then getting out and taking your time through that first transition run into T1 and setting yourself up for a really nice controlled bike. And most important thing here, too, is if you're coming from sea level to altitude, is heart rate governs everything. Um, you know, heart rate's the bill you're paying, so it's got to govern everything across the day. So if you go to Boulder and you're expecting to hit power numbers similar to what you are at sea level, you're not gonna be close. You really got to understand the heart rate numbers that are relevant to those power numbers and then try to execute that on the bike up in Boulder and same on the run.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Is it possible to come from sea level and race well at altitude? Because typically a lot of the people racing well at altitude are from other states or countries. Uh, you know, they're coming from altitude already, from like Utah. Or wherever it may be, New Mexico. Um but can you fly in last minute? There's always a protocol, right? You come in late. What's your take on that?

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Yeah. Yeah, I mean I have seen it done. I have seen people come in and race pretty well at altitude from a last minute appearance. Um but but generally you'd say it's more of a struggle. If you're coming to perform at altitude and you want a performance race, then having some sort of preparation for it is really critical because you'll end up finding your ceiling a lot quicker than others if you come in even coming in late. Um however there is exceptional circumstances where that has happened before.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

So the bike course at Boulder is uh a two-lap course, it's on really smooth, fast roads, but there's a lot of climbing at the start. What are some of the sensations you're gonna feel? You you leave the res after you've done the swim and you basically get onto Highway 36 there and you start climbing for quite a while. The second half of each lap is super fast. So how would you break down each lap there, Tim, um, in terms of, you know, you've got climbing, undulation, and then super fast back around to the res.

SPEAKER_02 23:13

Yeah, you're gonna find, of course, the altitude that your heart rate's gonna reach the ceiling sooner for the effort that you're putting in. And so keeping that effort really controlled and steady state up that first climb and keeping on top of things is gonna be critical. And then you can use the energy you're saving on the way up to really help pace it through that back half, and then the same again on that second lap. So always respecting the climb and then using the downhill and the faster part to make up where you need to make up. The longer you spend in the red zone, which is you know zone over zone three into zone four, you know, the harder it's gonna be for you to even make that up on the back half. So you've really got to control it through that front half, keep on top of the cadence, keep that heart rate controlled, and then execute on the back end. Um if you're working and breathing and you should feel it in your breathing rhythm way too hard up that climb, you're you're gonna hurt. And you may not be on that first lap, but the second lap for sure, that's where you're gonna pay for it up that second climb. So you're gonna really struggle. Um so you've got to respect respect the first lap. And I think going into the run is gonna be the same, right? I mean, Cal, you've experienced probably the run there. And having lived that altitude, you've you've got a better understanding of it. But it's a different type of run to what most people experience, right?

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Yeah, a little bit like the swim where you want to sort of stay within yourself and go off probably steady as opposed to um you don't really want to be positive splitting the run. You want to s if you can negative split, you're gonna be in for a good run. So um you're running on packed dirt at the res there around Boulder Res. It's a two-lap run course. It's got a few little undulations, but it's a somewhat fast run. So again, I would advise people to sort of run within themselves, go off pretty steady, and then if you're feeling good, start to really build into it as you find your legs, stay on top of your hydration as well. The air's a lot drier at altitude there, you're at 5,400 meters. So um the hydration, especially in the days leading before, like Tim said, stay on top of your sodium as well. If you're if you're from altitude, uh you probably know the drill already because you've done a lot of your key sessions, you know how to stay hydrated. Um, what you don't want to be doing is running on fumes and be um under hydrated and under-fueled as well. So lots of little things, but I think if you're familiar with that, you know, you come from Arizona, Utah, uh, you'll be okay. But um yeah, two awesome events coming up next weekend, and we've got athletes racing both of these as well as you know, we start to attract more people into um cartel coaching. We've got a few uh smaller events coming up in in the the next few months, and as everyone sort of works towards those, so it's quite cool seeing everyone um start to get into their training now.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Both um very cool races, very excited to watch our athletes as well. Um, and yeah, keen to see you racing cow and back in back in business. I I'd like to hear a little bit more about fueling if that's okay, because I think as an age grouper, one of the tough things is trying to figure out do I completely self-support myself with my own nutrition that I've been like training with, uh, or do I, you know, use the stuff on the course? And then what if my race isn't going as planned? Like I think particularly cans. I look at last year, I think it was pretty choppy swim. Um, and it was it was rough for a lot of a lot of my mates that were that were racing, and so they were swimming a lot longer than they thought. And I'm pretty sure it's it's quite rough getting out of the bike course as well. So there's potential to to drop bottles and and things like that. So um, yeah, keen for keen for your hacks there. I might start with you, Cal. What's what's your go-to? Do you kind of support yourself nutrition-wise?

SPEAKER_01 27:07

Yeah, it's a good question because I was just discussing this this morning. And I guess the first thing is you've got to figure out what your strategy is. And then second of all, um, are you gonna be self-sufficient and carry all of this on the bike in the run? Uh, or are you gonna depend on uh the local volunteers who are, you know, running an aid station that they've mixed the electrolyte drinks, and you're able to like grab off, you know, bottles and whatnot throughout the event. You know, a lot of the time on the run as well, you'll you grab a little paper cup of electrolyte or coke, and by the time you've actually got it, only a fraction of it actually goes in your mouth. So hard to be self-sufficient. The trade-off with all that is uh the the weight penalty um on the bike. So if you are like me, I'm gonna aim for 120 grams of carbs per hour or thereabouts, and I'll just carry that in liquid uh nutrition. So uh I'll either have gels or just in my bottles as well. I guess the consideration for that is uh if it's a cooler day, if it's say Iron Man New Zealand, where it could be cool or hot, uh, can you still drink all those bottles to get your carbs and fueling in? Uh we know for cans it's typically pretty pretty warm the whole time. So drinking two bottles is not going to be a problem. So um, as you said, Em, there is a couple of considerations with uh bumpy roads and cans. So uh I would advise people to have a backup for if they do lose some of their fueling. And um that could be like a gel flask, or it could be, you know, figuring out where these aid stations are and what's at the aid stations. Do they have gels? What's the gel brand that they're gonna have, and how many do you need to take to get back on top of your nutrition plan? Because it is the fourth discipline of Triathlon, and we want to make sure that there is a backup scenario for a lot of things during the day because I feel triathlon largely is troubleshooting. And um, you want to, you know, you want to be carrying your spears, you want to be having your own fuel, and you want to have some backup just in case that drops. So I'll be self-sufficient. On the run, I will start off with my own little flask of um nutrition, and then I'll depend on the um on the course for the back end and just figure out where the red bull is or where the coke is, that kind of stuff. So uh interest to hear what your take is on that term in terms of you know, how do you feel for your events as well? You you're doing longer events, um, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 29:41

Yeah, the the key thing, a lot of it was starting your fueling early and making sure that you're not leading that lag behind and then trying to play catch up. You know, in the long events I've done, you notice it pretty quickly. You know, if you haven't eaten well for an hour or two, you go downhill real quick in something like God's own. Um when you're trying you're trying to keep moving, or even on coast to coast, you know, we're at a 12 to 13 hour race day, you know, every it's still every 20 minutes, it's still trying to keep on top of stuff, and that starts at at minute 20. You know, it starts at minute zero with the first gel before you before your first run or swim, and then you're carrying that on consistently through. And I'd say even in the case we we talked about in cans people losing their bottle at the very start of the bike. For most of us, going back and picking that up is a way better option than riding for the first section with no fuel and and not and then having to rely on fuel from the aid stations. Yeah, the fuel the aid stations are mine, and mine are the backups. And you're thinking, oh, if if I lose something, or if I need more than what I've taken on, um, or I feel like I need something different, or I've started caffeine too early and now I need coke and need to carry the coke on, and that's where the aid stations come into it. Um you should just be feeling that yourself and and really testing and training, and I think throughout this whole chat there's things that will come out for people that they should be rehearsing in training how they're gonna do those things in the race and making sure they've done them two or three times. And it comes down to making sure your bottles are gonna stay on your bike and they're not gonna bounce out. It's making sure you can get on your bike without knocking your bottle off the back of the saddle. Um, how are you gonna carry or how do you feel comfortable carrying your fuel on the run? You know, are you comfortable running with a soft flask in your hand? Do you need a belt to carry your gels? Do you have a pocket? Are you gonna get changed into run gear for the run? No, do a lot of sanders. So how are you gonna approach these different aspects and trialling them through training so that it comes to race day, you can really execute well and then and sort of know what your options are gonna be if things aren't going to plan.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

Yeah, it's a good point. And just on that, the familiarity of your fueling your equipment on race day is huge. Um, sorry, in training, that is, so that when it comes to race day, nothing's new. I'm I'm certainly a of the school of thought. I don't mind trying new things on race day if it's a minor detail. Like, you know, I've used plenty of um race suits brand new on race day. I've used run shoes of the same model that I'm familiar with, where I've maybe just on a very short run and then the day before. But um uh I guess you know, the big things like I probably wouldn't ride a new bike on race day or try a new wetsuit, for example. Not anything that's gonna pose a real big problem. But if you can keep things pretty consistent, um that's why there's always a real advantage to events where you can sleep in your own bed. So, you know, like if if you're like us, you're on the sunny coast, we've got Noosa, we've got Maloba, we've got Sunny Coast Try, not having to travel when you add that extra stress of packing a bike or you know, staying in a hotel and figuring out the local grocery um or supermarkets, there's a big advantage to that. So the more low stress you can make it, and that can start now by planning for cans or planning for boulder, where you figure out, hey, a lot of people have a checklist of equipment. And I found my last race, which was the first race in eight years, I spent the whole day before just remembering bits and pieces, elastic laces, race belts, talcum powder, elastic bands, and um it's funny, it does come back to you, but uh, you know, a laminate or uh some kind of checklist in your phone go a long way to making it easier because again, like I said, uh I feel like there's a lot of troubleshooting and there will be something that will pop up race week or before the race where you know you turn up and something's broken on your bike or yeah, nice cow. I think that's a really it's really critical.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

And I think and I think if you can get the most familiar familiar out of training that you can, you're gonna now race day. And that's even coming down to having those checklists established even earlier and going out and rehearsing with those little bits and pieces that you want there. So you know to sign off, we'd just like to wish everybody all the best for the races coming up and in Boulder and Cairns. And uh we're looking forward to seeing how that all rolls out for you, Cal, um, with your return to 70.3.

SPEAKER_00 34:03

Well, that's a wrap. But if you want to keep the conversation going, come find us on Instagram at cartel.coaching. And for coaching camps and community, you can check out our web page. I've linked it in the show notes. See you next time.