Hi Melanie, so nice of you to offer up this site.

I have a question for you regarding racing.

Some background first. This is my second season of Tri's, I'm 45(new age group this year yipee!) and really prefer ORT to RT.

Last year I did 3 tri's, 2 road sprints and 1 xterra sport. I'd qualify myself as a good swimmer (came out of the water in the top 10% without a wet suit). I'd have to say cycling is my second strongest disciplne(this year I've got myself a Guru croalu no more mtb on the RT), and then there is running (i run 4:30 5k's, however my tri's are 4:50).

Last year I got 4th, 1st and 2nd in my age group. I plan to move up to a full Tri and perhaps one Olympic.

My question is how do i strategize my race?

In the past I have primarily just given it all I had for the swim and bike, and do my best on the run. At least that is what I did during the RT's.

During my ORT, i took a different tatic, not knowing the other competitors, i had my fan club let me know whether anyone came out of transition T1 and T2 ahead of me with an age group tatoo equal or greater than mine(is that cheating?), my goal was to chase down the speedster and stay in front.

On the other hand, being an age grouper perhaps I should not be concerned about my competitors and try for PB. In which case should i hold back on the swim and bike to conserve energy to help in the run?

I know this likely all sounds bizarre for an age grouper but do others strategize like this as well?

I don't save energy. However, I have loads of time to prepare to go into a run blown and still run as hard as I can.

If your strength is the bike, use that strength to your best advantage. Get your time there. You will go into the run tired, but so will everyone else.

However, it is good to know the difference between going "hard" and going "out of your zone" which will result in blowing up and a complete bonk.

You want to get the most out of yourself on race day. To do that, you have to push your limits. Saving energy is not part of the pushing limits plan. But make sure you have prepared well for the task at hand, and know that you can race for 3+ hours hard before you push yourself that hard.

Finishing is the only option.

Melanie, thanks for the feedback. That is pretty much what i did in the RT's. I went as hard as I new I could for that leg knowing that the transition and next leg would be taxing something different and i had done the endurance training to sustain the elapsed time.