Originally Posted by
VegasJen
The only plan I have is to finish. I want to do as well as I can, but the whole goal is to finish. My plan is pretty general. I swim with my upper body to save my legs for the ride and run. When I ride, I try to only ride at about 90% so I still have something left when I run. The only plan I can say I have for my runs is to just keep my legs moving. Regardless of how fast or slow, how steep or flat, I try to push myself to never walk. On both the ride and run, I try to pick someone out that's faster than me and keep up with them.
That's a good start. You can fold in nutrition and hydration (though I've done sprints with neither... not recommended though). You can also go above 90% for a sprint, if we're talking FTP. Test in the pool to see how much you gain with kicking in the swim vs not - a light kick might speed you up more than it costs you.
Also, if you have a few races, you can always push your limit and see how fast you can go before you blow up. It's probably faster than you think.
Oh and try to pass people on the run! Don't keep up. The second-to-last race I did was the 70.3 in Boulder and I was so shattered after that I couldn't think about talking without nearly throwing up. Was definitely blown up.
Zero drop shoes are often minimal, but not always - you can have a high-but-equal stack front and rear. Even Altra has different levels of cushion, though they're all zero. Most Hokas, I think, are low-drop at 4-6mm. Be careful trying though - running too hard or too much in them at first is a great way to strain your calves and Achilles.