3P2R: The secret for success in swimming, biking, running & triathlon

It’s race morning!!! It’s the day you have been training for months. BEEP BEEP BEEP! The alarm goes off at an absurdly early time. You are excited and maybe a little confused. You roll out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, eat something and start scrambling. Do you shower before the race or no? (I do shower, it wakes me up). Where is your race jersey? What are you wearing on your way over to the race venue? What are you wearing after the race? How much food do you need? What bag are your goggles in? Where is the bike pump!?!?! Why can I only find one shoe!!!! You drive to the race venue, sipping more coffee or tea as you drive. As you get to the start line you realize you are missing something. Did you load the route on your GPS? Where is your body glide? A little while later you are in the middle of the race and run out of food and drink. UGH!!!! 

You are not alone. I am naturally very disorganized (you can ask my wife, she has to live with various piles of stuff around the house and many times a day she gets asked “where is my……” It’s especially fun when the object is right in front of me).I have done all of these things….I have showed up to rides with no socks, my first gravel race I didn’t have my gloves. When I did Ironman Mont Tremblant I didn’t have after race clothing.  In my early days of training and racing I would often be  scrambling just before leaving for a training ride, race or an event. The missing items and the scrambling would lead to energy wasted on stress and anxiety. That was all solved when I discovered the secret to race day success, 3P2R. 

So let’s get into it…..What are the 3Ps and 2Rs? 

The 3Ps: Planning, Preparation and Performance

The 2 Rs: Recovery and Review

Each step builds on the other. Knowing what stage we are in, we have a better idea of what to expect and what to do. To get more detailed and more precise we can look at kit, gear, nutrition, body and logistics. 

The 1st 2 Ps are done in the moments, days and even weeks prior to the event. 

Planning: These are the thoughts that go into an event, or just even into our day. 

The planning is based on you, your goals, and the expectations of the day.  

Some possible planning ideas:

Kit: What weather is predicted? What kit will I wear? 

Gear: What tires will be best on the course terrain? What equipment will I need? Garmin/Wahoo computer? Chain lube? Bike tools? Glasses? Hydration pack? Googles? Wetsuit? Running shoes? Hat? Sunblock? Anti-chaffing cream?

Nutrition: How long do I expect to be out there? How many aid stations are there and where are they located? How much hydration do I expect to need? What type of food and how much do I want to eat?

Mindset: Look at the course or route map or YouTube videos from prior events. What will you say to yourself in the area you think will be a challenge? How will you change focus? 

Body: What time will I need to wake up? How much sleep do I want? How much before race start do I want to eat? What kind of food do I want to eat? 

Logistics: What time does the event start? How long does it take to get there? How long before race start do I want to get there? Where will I meet my family after the race? 

Preparation: This is the action of what we need going into the day or event. It’s getting the kit and gear ready and prepping your nutrition. 

Kit: Get the chosen kit out, the night before lay it out so you don't have to make any decisions or look for anything on race day.

Gear: In the days leading up to the race, gather the gear you decided on in planning. Check it out, make sure it works. The night before, charge anything that requires power. Double check, make sure the route is loaded in your computer. 

Nutrition: In the days leading up the event make sure you have the nutrition you planned on. The night before get the nutrition out and ready to use.

Mindset: Picture what success looks and feels like. Visualize the start line. Visualize feeling calm but excited. Visualize the steps you will take if you face an unexpected challenge (such as getting your goggles kicked off,  tripping over a root, or getting a flat). Practice saying the positive self talk that works for you. Perhaps write your mantra or specific positive self talk on index cards. Read over those cards on race morning. 

Body: Go to sleep early enough to get your needed sleep. The day before, eat meals that you know your body can tolerate. Hydrate. 

Performance: This is exactly what it says, it is the actual performance of the event. This is where we focus on the moment, are we following our plan, are we checking in with ourselves? How are we feeling physically, are we staying hydrated and fed? We are also making in-the-moment decisions. Maybe we need to adjust the plan due to any number of factors. How are we progressing toward our goal? Do we need to adjust our goal or what we are doing. 

As you can see, the performance is actually the smallest part of the 3Ps. The work we put in during Planning and Preparation leads to a successful Performance.

Now on to the 2Rs. These occur in the moments and days after the event.

Recovery: Yay!! You finished the event. Time to recover. Time to rehydrate, refuel, rest. How long it takes to recover may depend on the length or intensity of the event, and the turnaround time for the next event. Recovery from an under 2 hour sprint triathlon will be different than completing a 13 hour event. Recovery for a stage or multi day events will be different from recovering from a single day race. 

Review: This is where learning and revamping future training and racing takes place. I like doing a review in the moments after the race, and then when I have settled down, I review again a few days later. In the moments immediately after the race consider leaving yourself a voice memo or video on your phone. Catch those raw feelings, the exuberance for finishing something you really strived for, or the disappointment for a DNF. 

In the days after the review look at your planning, preparation, performance and recovery. What worked well. Break it down just as we broke planning and preparation down to kit, gear, nutrition, mindset and body, and logistics. In doing the review consider what was in your control. The rain and the mud, not in your control. The route, not in your control. The flat, maybe in your control. What is in your control: what you wore, how well you maintained your gear, your mindset in the challenging moments, how much nutrition and hydration you brought. 

Now the fun part! Take what you learned and apply it to your next race!

Okay, enough of the vague talk. Let’s look at an example of 3PR2 in action. Earlier this year I did Swamp Fox Gravel Fondo in Charleston SC. I also raced it the previous year so I had an idea of what to expect. We had to travel to the race, so there are some extra steps with travel that I don’t get into here (funny story, I booked a hotel in Mt. Pleasant. When we arrived at the hotel we learned I booked it for a Mt. Pleasant in a different state!!)

Goal: Complete the Swamp Fox Gravel Fondo faster than last year.

Planning: 

Nutrition: I generally use 1 bottle of hydration per hour, I eat every 45 minutes, and immediately before starting the event I have a gel. The previous year the race took 3:30, this year I was aiming for 3:00. I failed most math classes, including algebra when I was a kid. Planning for nutrition is like algebra and a complex word problem. This takes an awful lot of brain energy for me! 

I would need 3 bottles and 6 snacks. Looking at the weather (it was going to rain and be chilly) I knew my goal time probably wouldn’t happen. So I would need more nutrition. In this race, I knew there was an aid station about halfway through. There I could refill my bottles. I also knew I would need to bring drink mix with me to add to the water. 

Kit: UGH!! This was a hard decision. The weather called for rain, cool temps with the mercury dropping through the day. Knowing the weather was iffy, I brought a selection of jerseys with me: short sleeved, wind breaker, cool weather and thermal. Race morning I brought the cool weather and thermal jerseys to the race site. In the minutes before the race started I decided on the thermal one. This was based on previous experience of biking while cold. I don’t do well cold. I knew others would not be in something as warm, but I know what works for me. 

Mindset: I knew this route is not terribly challenging. It is basically flat. In my mind I planned for a sandy and wet ride. I thought about what I would find easy and challenging. 

Gear: Every gravel cyclist's dilemma -  which tires to run. Semi slicks, or ones with a bit more grip that are also a little wider. I decided on the wider ones prior to even leaving home, I did not bring my spare wheels or tires with me. Hydration pack, I chose not to wear one knowing there was an aid station half way through the race.  

Timing to get to the event: What time would I need to leave our hotel to get to the race site? How much time did I want to be there before our event started? What time would I have to wake up to leave at the time I wanted? 

Preparation: 

Kit: I brought with me the thermal and the cool weather jerseys. I had them in my race day bag along with my shoes, socks, helmet and glasses. In another bag I also had clothes to wear after the race and a towel to dry off with. I had the bags near my car keys so I would not forget them in the morning. 

Nutrition: The night before the race I filled the water bottles and gathered the nutrition, put the food and extra drink mix in my top tube bag. I had oatmeal with a banana and coffee for breakfast and had a gel in my jersey pocket to have in the moments before race start.

Gear: I checked the tires the night before. I tested the bike on a shake out ride the day before the event. I had alarms set on my bike computer for eating and drinking. I checked the GPS route. 

Timing: I set two alarms to wake up in the morning. One on my phone, one on my watch. My wife also set an alarm. We left the hotel with plenty of time to get to the race venue early. 

Mindset: I visualized the race, I visualized riding in the rain and what success will feel like on the ride. I pictured myself riding through puddles and wet sandy terrain. 

Performance:

I focused on my watts. The roads were wet and rutted. At times the roads were sandy. Instead of focusing on speed or time, I focused on watts. I knew if I pushed the speed I wanted I would not finish the race strong. I focused on what I could control: pedaling, my nutrition, my attitude, riding my race and being friendly to the other riders. I had no intention of keeping up with others as that would blow me up. 

Recover:

After the race I had some delicious food provided by the race organizers. We had empanadas. I also had a protein drink. That night we recovered more with a really delicious dinner. OMG the shrimp and pasta was delicious!!

Review:

Kit: This worked out really well. I was comfortable the entire ride. I was not hot, nor was I cold. My jersey also kept my core dry from the rain. I really would like to get bib shorts with a release for nature breaks. 

Gear: My bike worked well. I’m glad I went with the slightly knobby tires. They gave some grip in the mud. I had no flats and no gear issues. 

Nutrition: I had enough nutrition with me. I did not drink as much as I wanted, but I was not too far off. It was chilly so I did not have the natural cues to drink, and I would occasionally miss the alarm to drink on my bike computer. I got distracted when handling my bike in muddier areas with more riders around me. I question if I should have used a hydration pack instead of just bottles. I find it easier to drink from the hydration pack, but it hurts my back. 

Mindset: Overall I was focused and positive. In the moments when my thoughts did turn a bit critical they were in the last 10 miles of the race. My guess is, that was influenced by not eating/drinking as much as I had planned. I was able to catch the change in self talk and make adjustments as needed.

Logistics: The timing worked out fine. We got to the race site with enough time to set up without rushing. I was able to stay calm and relaxed while making final preparations. 

So that’s it. 3P2R. Let me know your thoughts. What do you find helpful going into races?