You could always arrange emergency registration Sunday AM anyhow.
I hate registering the day before.
It just extends the faff and nervousness.
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Yeah, itās definitely better for the Cotswold race. Especially as they donāt require/allow racking the day before. It always necessitated a relatively unnecessary trip for me. It was much easier last year being able to turn up on the morning and do it all.
Iād agree with events that just require registering (like Cotswold), but as much as day-before racking used to stress me, I now prefer it. At least that way on the morning of the race you just rock up, pump tyres and are done. The queues on raceday morning to get your bike into Transition, have all the checks done on helmet etc, is just annoying. Iād rather have all that done the day before for a big race
i think that depends on where it is. If itās local, itās ok to pop down both days. Similarly if you were plannign on staying in the area anyway. But if itās 1.5hrs+ away, then itās a real pain.
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Yeah, exactly that
Replace that with metal detectors, customs, etc.
Thatās why I hate going abroad 
So managed to get out for a race specific ride outside IRL yesterday. Route was as good as itāll get for me in terms of terrain and having the time to be down in position. If i get out nice and early i can hit the main roads instead of messing about in the lanes like i normally do (which is more fun generally). I do have one section thatās probably even flatter, but itās a ~30 min drive away and i could not be bothered with the hassle of loading up the car etc. Plus it obviously adds time away from the family.
Overall ride was about 94.5km at 32.5kph, so a fraction over 3 hour ride. Iād say other than going uphill i was down in aero for 98% of the time (taking away road admin). I think my power target of around 220w seems to feel right. I can push that power without feeling like iām really digging deep. May try to do a ride at 230w and see what sort of impact that has on the legs. Finding it tough to sort by IF as iām not really sure what my FTP is, as it varies by type of test, indoor vs outdoor etc. So i may have to use it as a guide in this instance, and dial that power target in over the next 3/4 weeks. But i think this is a good start.
Took the following screenshot from the āgoodā section of my ride. Wide main road, mainly decentish road surface and barely a single car as most of the road was closed (plus it was early on a BH morning!). Itās constantly rolling which makes it a bit different to the Classic. I havenāt quite worked out when to stay aero going uphill vs sitting up and spinning higher power. It felt like i managed it ok.
This out and back 45km section gave me 32.4kph at 224NP and 217AP.
I am hoping iāll get a bit of free speed with race tyres and tubes, no baggy gilet, aero bottle, shaved legs (??) and aero lid. Not sure on what the impact would be on the flatter course - iād lose the slower uphills, but obviously the quicker downs as well. Maybe iāll try that section again in the next week or two at target 230NP. Then do one more version as a race kit test. Also need to take my nutrition more seriously now to get that dialled in.
Obviously weather on the day will have as big an impact as anything. But if itās decent, then maybe another 2kph may be possible? A 34.5kph average would take me down to about 2.36.
Much to @Poet perennial disappointment (@mw22 knows what i mean!! haha) i donāt think i can go sub 4.30 which wouldāve been nice. My swim is just too poor, and that would still require an epic run. If i blow up, my time is going to explode.
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Define an āepic runā? 1:23? 1:20?
Course is pan flat and quick.
I ran a 1:28, which was good enough for 10th run split.
Itās about 500m short.
Bike is pan flat, slight rise up to the roundabout, just after leaving the park bit, but itās nothing.
Road surface is brilliant.
I swam a 31, as Iād not swam an OW race for ages and was a bit scared!
2:25 on the bike, but no PM as the battery died.
Also stopped twice. And didnāt have any nutrition 
(Dropped my BTA bottle which was all calories)
Strava estimated 238W, but it was probably more like 225W.
Weight doesnāt matter, as itās literally pan flat!
Bike is about 1.5km short.
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Sub 90 
And Iām expecting a 36 min swim.
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Weāre both gonna be racing like heās our minute man - chasing us down every metre of the race.
Iām not sure I can deal with the stress!
(Obviously if he were starting a minute behind us - heād pass us in the swim weād never see him again and we could enjoy our race).
If I have a bad raceā¦ Iām not sure how Iām going to break the news to him 
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Eh???
Thatās an āexpectedā run for me.
You are WAY faster than I am at running, over every single distance.
Cāmon. Stop sandbagging 
@mw22 - Stop stressing, youāll be fine 
#YouGotThisBruh
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If Iām being totally open and honest, my platinum target is a sub 4/k run, so 1.24 ish. But weāll see!
The rest is such an unknown as its so many years since Iāve done a tri. And I have no proven pedigree (relatively speaking, donāt laugh) on the bike whatsoever, so I genuinely donāt have any confidence. If I come away with a decent ride, then thatāll give me a boost for future races (and maybe an excuse to buy a 2nd hand TT bike! ).
Weāll see. This is the worst bit. Last few weeks of training. Analysing, over thinking everything!
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Im racing TWO WEEKS ON SUNDAY 
Iām in proper triathlete mode and just buying everything 
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Oh, right!
Didnāt know you felt that way 
Soā¦just tell us all you want to enjoy yourself and complete it
Or be totally science and say;
The swim 36mins
Bike 225W, whatever time that gives me
Run 160bpm/RPE7, whatever time that gives me
4:29 innit 
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Oh no, im fully at the ārip into me as much as you likeā and āiāll be pissed off if i donāt go quick (for me)ā end of the spectrum. Just trying to fend off any sandbagging claims! hahaha. Iām not a purposeful sandbagger, but i try to not get wrapped up in myself too much. It actually stems from mental protectionism as iām not so good when i under achieve compared to what i expected, so as iāve matured, i think i hold back my own expectations.
Iām fully prepared to lay it on the line and blow spectacularly!
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Top tip for the runā¦practise jumping over a log with tired legs!! Got cramps everytime I was racing as I leapt majestically over it 
Log is positioned just before the right turn around Neighbridge (smaller lake you run round).
I see the bike misses out Hannington and the really rough road through Kempsford which is a bonus. They have redressed the road leading to Kempsford in the last year or so, so it is a bit better than it was, but not great.
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From the description of the race (I have no idea) and that profile, there is loads more than 2kph margin there, youāre (rightly for the goal) not powering that much over the rises, but itās clear they are significant by the way you are powering over them despite āTTingā, but that knocks your speed loads. Devon road surface is almost always much slower than elsewhere (large county, worst weather etc.)
If 220watts at 3w/kg is only getting you 32kph, then you either have loads to gain in aerodynamics, or the conditions are slow - 4:30 is absolutely on for you.
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Cool, thanks for the explanation Jim. That was the main road from Exeter to Tivvy by the way. One iām sure youāll know well.
Thatās really slow for riding down the M5 - and surprised I didnāt see you on the news!
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When Poet said the course is pancake flat except for the rise to the roundabout, I was thinking hang on a mo there is a pretty steep (but relatively short) hill that you have to do twice?! So sounds like thatās now goneā¦