Championing Your Race Day at Wildflower: Coach Dorette’s Strategy for Success

Whether you’re a Wildflower rookie or a seasoned triathlete, a solid race day strategy can make all the difference. At Wildflower, we believe that every athlete deserves to show up prepared, confident, and excited to race. That’s why we teamed up with veteran triathlete and sports dietitian Dorette Franks to create our Race Day Strategy, a comprehensive guide to help you dial in your game plan and maximize your performance.

Reflect, Reset, and Get Ready

Before the countdown begins, it’s taper time. This is your chance to reflect on the training you’ve crushed — the miles swum, cycled, and run — and to fine-tune your approach to race day. Before we get into things, Coach D2 will walk you through a series of topics designed to help you strategize for race day.

You’ll reflect on:

• Your taper week and how to adjust your nutrition and hydration

• The timing of your race day arrival

• Your pre-race meals, breakfast timing, and snacks before the swim

• Your hydration plan before the start

• Your pacing strategy, even if your gadgets fail

• Whether you’ll rely on aid stations or self-support

• Your fueling plan — how many grams of carbs per hour?

• Signs of dehydration, and how to prevent it

• How to navigate common race day scenarios, like anxiety in the swim, cramping, bloating, and mid-race mental battles

Coach D2’s Expert Tips for Race Day

Once you’ve drafted your race day plan, Part 2 offers Coach D2’s expert guidance to help you optimize each piece of the puzzle. Here are just a few highlights from the coach’s side of the worksheet:

Taper Week Tips

Your body needs time to absorb the benefits of your training. During taper, volume and intensity drop, so your calorie and carbohydrate intake should follow suit — until the final days, when it’s time to “carb-load” and top off glycogen stores.

Race Day Arrival

Arrive at least 90 minutes early. Lay out your gear the night before and give yourself time to relax, whether through a little visualization, some light stretching, or even a quick game of cornhole.

Pre-Race Nutrition

Stick with what you know. Eat a balanced, carb-rich meal the night before and again the morning of the race. Avoid fibrous or fatty foods,

and if you’re eating in transition, keep it simple: a banana, a gel, or a small snack 15–20 minutes before the start.

Hydration and Electrolytes

Hydrate well the days before the race. Add electrolytes — especially sodium — to prevent dilution and overhydration. On race morning, shoot for 5–7 mL of fluid per kilogram of body weight about four hours before go-time.

Fueling on the Course

Don’t fall behind. Aim for 30–60 grams of carbs per hour for events lasting over an hour. Train your gut ahead of time to handle different conditions — heat, rain, wind — and avoid flavor fatigue by mixing sports drinks, gels, and chews.

When Things Go Wrong…

Coach D2 covers it all, from panicking in the water to hitting the mental wall late in the race. Her advice? Stay grounded, breathe, and remember your “why.” You’re not alone out there. And finishing is always better than stopping.

More Than a Race — It’s a Wildflower Experience

Dorette Franks knows the Wildflower Experience inside and out — she raced her first triathlon here back in 2000 and has since earned podium finishes across Ironman, Ultraman, and marathon distances. She’s been a coach, a leader, and a guide to thousands of athletes, and her message is simple: You’ve got this.

So, whether you’re chasing a PR, tackling your first triathlon, or just soaking in the Wildflower magic — take these tools with you. Prepare, plan, and trust the process.

Because at Wildflower, it’s not just about the race. It’s about the journey.