What I'm Doing Differently for my Second 70.3 Triathlon

We also did a fair amount of this

Ahhh, three-day weekends, why aren't we more frequent friends? It was truly a lovely weekend punctuated with last-minute race prep. I planned a doomed 50-mile bike ride Saturday that got rained out at the 25-mile mark before I had to take my bike for a tune up. I've had enough mechanical issues that I'm not leaving anything to chance.

I swam at the gym yesterday morning, then went for a loop at Ohio Street Beach this morning, followed by a not perfect short run with Alyssa. My lunch did not settle well with me, but the nap I took this afternoon was glorious. Win some, lose some.

This is all leading up to my second 70.3 triathlon on Saturday. I've put in some serious bike miles since my first half Ironman earlier this summer, including a long-distance brick workout. I'm leaving Thursday for East Tawas, Mich., to tackle the half-Iron distance Festival of Races and I want to go sub-6 on this triathlon. I've learned a bit from my first longer-distance tri, so here's what I'll be doing differently next weekend.

Mind my nutrition. Not eating dairy in the week before seemed to help before, along with using probiotics and drinking kombucha. I'll be staying at my parents' cabin before the race, so I'll be able to control all my food and will keep close tabs on eating things that agree with my gentle tummy.

Mark my transition area. I noticed people used chalk at Racine, so I'll be doing the same if the area is on concrete. I also plan to rack as close to the bike out as possible, if I get a choice.

Breathe bilaterally. I learned the hard way at Racine the value of this skill. I've logged some time in the pool figuring out how to breathe on both sides.

Re-apply sunscreen. I put on sunscreen at Racine before getting on my wetsuit, but it wasn't enough. I'm bringing a bottle of spray sunscreen to use during each transition point to prevent getting crispy again.

Try the course. I plan to bike part of the course Thursday night and swim the course Friday morning to make myself comfortable with the directions and challenges.

Push it. At Racine, I was facing a huge unknown. Could I finish? Would I bonk? I know I'm going to finish this time and I've done it before. This time, I have nothing to lose and plan to leave it all out on the course.