Athlete Fitness |
Information
Xterra
Guide To Winning |
Surviving
Coach Casanova - First-Hand Experiences |
Competitive Tips For Success
Maintain Bike
Invest In A Quality Mountain Bike.
Do Your Research And Don't Be Foolish Or Cheap. In
A Winning Attitude The Bike Becomes An Extension Of The
Athlete's Body; Optimizing Force, Direction And Balance;
Maximizing Personal Performance.
Plan For Success! Avoid Wasting Money And
All The Time Training, On A "Mountain Bike" Look-A-Like Toy-Class Product.
Research And Look For The Best Quality Full-Suspension System
You Can Afford. A High-Grade System, Enables
Optimized Control In Handling Any Kind Of Terrain
Encountered With Finely Tuned Personal Skills.
Learn And Constantly Practice The Off-Road
Mountain Bike Skill Set. Practice Mountain Bike
Skills Only When Fully Rested. This Improves Control, Balance, And Mental
Stamina; Reinforces Self Confidence During Training.
Run | More Trails!
Whenever Possible, Do Trail-Runs Instead
Of Road-Runs. Running Trails Helps Conditioning
The Body-And-Mind To Running Off-Road; With The Goal To
Strengthen Ankles For Uneven Terrain. Strengthen
And Expand Your Mind's Perception Of Specific Trails,
Trail Conditions, And The Optimized Moves Through Each. Remember,
It Is Very Important To Stay Focused On The Trail Ahead;
Know What's Ahead So Your Mind Can Readjust.
Perceive Your Next Moves, Picture Your Next Moves In
Your Mind And Plan For Success.
Swim | Open Water!
An Xterra Swim is typically two-loops with a run in between each loop.
Practice Swimming In Open Waters
Whenever Possible. This Will Help Condition The
Body-And-Mind To Currents, Swimming In A Straight Line,
And Orientation To The Shore. Do Not Simply Follow
The Person In Front, As They Might Not Be Swimming To The
Buoy. Practice Effectively Swimming Straight And
Checking Your Alignment To The Targeted Buoy.
Develop Your Most Most Efficient Sleek Swimming Form, To
Reduce Drag. And Remember To Take The Run Easy, As
All The Blood Is In The Arms.
Pre Ride The Courses!
Course Familiarity is a Tremendous Advantage. It
Boosts Self-Confidence And Loads The Subconscious With
Information Used Next Time Riding The Course. This
Improves The Overall Path Taken And Rider-To-Bike
Attitude Along The Course. The Result Is Shaving
Off Race Time And having The Ability For The mind To
React Faster To Changes Caused By Nature, Equipment,
Self, Or Competitors!
Transitions
The key to a quick transition is to be organized and have a plan of attack.
Make A Check List Of Equipment. Survey And
Determine The Optimal Spot For Your Equipment Transition
Station!
Preplan Your Transition Station And
Keep The Same Form For All Races. Plan For Easy
Mind Recognition Of Location, And Each Piece Of Gear In
Order They Need To Be Used. Determine Optimal
Placement For Use Of Each Piece In The Order They Will
Be Utlitized. Make Sure Your Gear Is Laid Out Neat And
Organized For Quick Use. Use A Bright Colored Towel To Lay Your Stuff On.
The Bright Towel Enables Fast Recognition In A Mess Of
Gear During The Highly Charged Mind's-And-Race Conditions.
After setting up your gear station, go through to make sure you have everything. Make a mental check list: bike, helmet, bike shoes, water bottles or
personal hydration pack, energy body fuel, spare bag, socks, sunglasses, gloves,
race-number if not already on you, run shoes, hat and anything else you might use.
Organize gear according to each leg of the race.
Shave Time By Putting Your Riding Gloves On The Ends Of
Your Handlebars. Ultimately, most riders will try
to slip the gloves on while they are riding; Wait Until
Riding On A Good Surface (This Requires Practice). You can also save time with your running shoes by using elastic laces or lace locks. Lace locks with normal shoes laces are great, as you want to make sure your shoes are firmly on your feet with off-road terrain.
After your transition station is set-up, walk yourself through the end of the swim so you know where to enter the transition area and make a mental note of where your gear is located (Do this for each leg). You
Do Not Want To Run In And Slow-Down Looking For It!
A quick transition is planed for,
refined and accomplished with practice and competing. Keep
Practicing To Shave Minutes Off Your Race-Times.
Xterra is more taxing than a road triathlon; given the terrain and time of day they start (most start around 10 AM). Make sure you begin hydrating a few days before the race. It is important to maintain this hydration before, during and after the race. It is a good idea to bring some nutrition with you on the course (i.e. sports drinks and GU's). You should always try out (in a training session) what you think you will use during a race to make sure it will work for YOU on race day.
Additional Tips on Improving your Xterra Performance
 | Identify And Work On Minimizing Personal Weaknesses |
| Swim in a Master's Squad to Improve Your Speed |
| Do Open Water Swimming; Work On Sighting And Swimming Straightest Line |
| Do
Plenty of Mountain Biking; Include Single Track to
Improve Skills
|
| Increase hill interval training on trails
|
| Make Sure To Review The Direction In And Out Of The Transition Area
|
| Be Organized on race day and have plenty of time to set up, get numbered and warm up
|
Reference: Information Provided By Freestyle.
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