Glen Gore gives us his top tips to breeze through race day at the upcoming Joburg Ultra Tri
Make sure you get in some open water swims. Pool swimming and dam swimming are completely different. Confidence plays a big part in being open water swim confident. The only way to overcome anxiety and fear is to get into the water and swim. Don’t do it alone – preferably with a group of friends or an organised open water swim event. Race day’s swim will then be a mere formality.
Get some hill training done on the bike. The course is fairly undulating so make sure you have some additional fitness to tackle the climbs.
Ensure your bike is working well and the gears are changing smoothly. On this bike course, you will be changing gears a number of times so ensure the bike is operating properly. New tyres are prone to less punctures. Get those nuts and bolts tightened up with a pre-race bike check service. Nothing worse than putting in the training and the equipment lets you down
Some of the run is part trail so choose your shoes for race day wisely. More than likely, your every day running shoes will suffice as it will not be a technical run but mostly on sand roads. A few off-road training runs are advised to get used to the grip changes on the different surfaces. Sometimes adopting a lightly different running style also helps for the off-road sections, but don't try this out for the first time on race day.
It’s very hot that time of year so prepare yourselves for a tough “dry” race – nutritional intake at these races is the key to a successful race. No matter how well tuned the engine is, without the fuel it goes nowhere. Get in some pre-race day training using the fluids and energy foods that you will most likely use on race day. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect