During the process of aggregating my race reports from the first half of 2013, I did my best to highlight what I felt were some of the most important themes, things to keep in mind, etc. While every individual is so unique, I think many of these ideas could be applicable to a pretty broad range of athletes. Take em or leave em!
Always focus on bettering/beating yourself, and let the chips fall where they may on race day. The only thing you can control is your performance and how you react to the field. If you are feeling like crap out there, odds are everyone else is too so never be judgmental during a race. There is an enormous difference between 'finishing' a half ironman and 'racing' a half ironman; be prepared to make this desicion about a mile into the run, and understand the consequences of choosing the former and the potential for regret associated with it. The swim is no longer [and perhaps never was] marginalized in the half ironman distance; it's now easy to swim 'effectively' and still give up 4-7 minutes; pool time is often hard to come by for many age-groupers, but may provide the greatest net return. While it is very important to be specific in key workout sessions, sometimes the emotional gains from training with a group outweigh any exact specificity, and I find this especially true in longer workouts; in these situations, evaluate the overarching 'purpose' of a workout. For instance, if you have 4x30 minutes at 90% FTP baked into a 4 hour ride, the purpose of that workout is probably to go out and 'ride your bike hard,' but without totally killing yourself. You can accomplish this in a group of the right athletes, even if it means a slight deviation from that exact main set. "Success is doing everything you could the right way and saying man, I did the best I could - that's success." - Aries Merritt (The full interview is here and gold if you have the time)
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