Stop Guessing on Race Day

You can spend weeks or months building fitness, but race day is where you have to actually use it.

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Watch Episode 11 on YouTube

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In This Episode

In this episode of Coach Erin Says, we’re talking about race-day execution — what it means, why it matters, and why the problem you notice on the run often started much earlier.

I break down what athletes really mean when they say they “burned too many matches,” why riding above your planned effort can come back to haunt you later, and how fueling affects your ability to keep moving well as fatigue builds.

We also talk about something that gets almost every athlete at some point: adrenaline. Whether it’s hearing where you are in the race, chasing someone who passed you, pushing over the top of a climb, or simply feeling great early, excitement can make it very easy to abandon a perfectly good plan.

And because race day rarely goes exactly as written, I also share what to do when you realize you’ve already gone too hard or fallen behind on fueling — including one of my own very memorable fueling mistakes.

Finally, we talk about using Happy, Super Happy, and Rockstar goals to keep one bad decision from turning into a ruined day.

The Big Takeaway

A race execution plan should reduce the number of decisions you have to make on race day. Stick to the plan when you can, adjust when you need to, and remember that going off plan does not erase all the work it took to get to the start line.

In this episode

• What race-day execution really means
• Why the run is often where you notice a problem that started on the bike
• What “burning matches” actually means
• Why average power alone may not tell the whole story
• How fueling early and often protects the later stages of your race
• Why race-day adrenaline can lead to bad pacing decisions
• What to do if you fall behind on fueling
• How to adjust after going harder than planned
• Why Happy, Super Happy, and Rockstar goals matter
• The three things Erin wants every athlete to remember about race-day execution

Have a Question for Coach Erin Says?

Have a triathlon training, racing, coaching, or endurance-sport question you would like me to answer on a future episode?

Leave a comment on the episode or send me a DM on Instagram at @3goalsmultisport.

Until next time, train with purpose, race with confidence, and make yourself proud.