There is a saying within the racing enthusiast community that “you should never try anything new on race day”. While this is generally true, it surely does not hurt to take on board some tips for last-minute preparations. This is especially so for first-time participants of Powerman Malaysia who may be overwhelmed when they arrive at the race pack collection and transition areas, feeling anxious and a rising sense of panic. To help you along your journey we’ve prepared some tips from Malaysia’s national triathlete and coach Aldrian Yeo; so it is definitely worth understanding how he approaches last-minute preparations for a race.
Tip #1: Saturday Pre-race day mental and physical preparations
- Food: ensure that you eat well. Pay attention to eating clean foods, hydrate more and ensure you get enough calories into your body, especially if you’re doing the Classic distance on Sunday.
- Stretch: Have a good stretch to relieve the stress in your muscles, mind and body.
- Mental preparation: Between the time you signed up for the race and race day itself, many things can happen. If you are well prepared, then approach the race with a specific strategy. If for some reason you are not well prepared, then treat the race like a long training day, and don’t get stressed out by your finishing position or timing. In all cases, in order to manage race anxiety, just go out and have fun!
Read Also: Team TIME Triathlon’s Tips for Top Bike Performance at Powerman Malaysia
Tip #2: Equipment, Gear and Apparel
Get your apparel and race day nutrition ready by Saturday night; you do not want surprises on Sunday morning. Do a final round of checks on your bike; a clean and well-lubricated bike can save you lots of watt pedal power.
Tip #3: Transition Area
Time in transition is utterly precious; the faster, the better so try to have fast, smooth in-and-out movements. Imagine how tough it would be to improve one minute on your run segment; that could take months of preparation. Yet, it is just as easy to waste the same minute inside the transition area.
Read Also: Words of Wisdom from Powerman Malaysia Legend Shahrom Abdullah
Tip #4: Hydration on-the-Bike
In my bike bottle or bidon, I only carry sports drink. I do not carry plain water as it does not help with replenishment of electrolytes and the calorie loss that my body is going through during the race. For plain water, I just grab them from the water stations along the course, and ‘sip and rinse’. In that way, I save space and weight on my bike.
Tip #5: Pacing
Powerman is a demanding endurance race. You need to be patient on the first run segment, and also while on the bike. Save your energy for the second run segment; that will provide you with a better overall finishing time while ensuring less chance of cramping and “bonking” along the course.
There you go! Hot tips from national triathlete and coach Aldrian Yeo. Good luck and enjoy your race this Sunday!
