First steeple tomorrow. Any tips and goals?

No socks might be a good idea.

Don't go out too fast.

Watercarrier wrote:

No socks might be a good idea.

Sure... Blisters galore if he has always trained in socks.

Sh!t before the race.

Sub 9:30 shouldn't be too tough based on your other times.

Swim

Fillis wrote:

Don't go out too fast.

I second this. very easy to blow up if you go out to fast, especially if youre not a great hurdler.

as for a goal, try not to end up on the ground. Depending on how comfortable you are with the water jump I'd say 9:30 to 9:40 is reasonable for your first time, and I'd assume you can probably get down to about 9:15ish by the end of the season.

Good advice so far. I would add to make sure you have plenty of room the first few laps over the hurdles and for every water jump.

I would start out at somewhere between 9:45 and 10min pace for the first 800 and pick it up from there if you are feeling good. It will feel relatively easy initially, but the steeple is a creeper so be careful.

Enjoy it, it is an awesome event and if you're athletic enough you should excel.

Race strategy and tactics is key

Don't go out too hard and be patient. It will probably feel like you're jogging early on. Don't get too worried about hugging the rail the entire race. You'll want the freedom to move around a bit as you approach the barriers and water. Also, never decelerate going into a barrier or water. In fact you may want to slightly accelerate into the barriers particularly late in the race. But you don't want to accelerate so much that you turn it into a fartlek. If you can't take the water with either leg, then you may want to take a few run ups to the water before the race and mark a spot in the track so you know your foot placement about 20 meters out from the water similar to how a long jumper marks his takeoff spot in the runway. If the water pit is outside, your run up to the first barrier comes quick so you'll want to get clear. If the water is inside, then you'll have half a lap to get positioned for the first barrier. Be ready to be somewhat physical around a barrier. I've seen all sorts of stupid moves by people approaching barriers so just be ready to defend your space - easiest way to do this is a slight nudge with the back of your hand on the other guy's hip. You'll hit right at his center of gravity and actually create space rather than pushing above his waist and not getting any separation of space. Plus a slight nudge at the hip is less likely to get flagged by an official because of how discrete it is compared to a shove above the waist.

Good luck.

don't hit the barrier

Ask Jon

It's been said above: pick a starting pace that feels comfortable--and go a tick *slower* than that for the first 2-3 (at least) laps. ("There is no rig like steeplechase rig.")

Other great advice above: don't be afraid to run a bit wide as you approach the barriers/water jump; strive for a feeling of "flow" rather than really attacking the barriers (esp. in the early laps); and if you're not good at eyeballing the water jump, make a mark about 4-6 steps from the barrier, so you're not stutter-stepping into it.

Good luck. It's a great event--one where you can really get the satisfaction of giving everything you had.

Any update on how the race went?

I know it's too late for this particular race, but just to expand on the point about not being afraid to run wide approaching the barriers, I would go even further and say run wide and go around the barriers, if at all possible. You will travel extra distance each lap, but will avoid possibly getting boxed in or tripping over the hurdles.

I know this is like a year late but I want to let you know what I ran as it may help others who are trying the steeple.

I ran 9:33, won the race, and felt very good doing so. I definitely could have ran faster but i was very pleased with this debut.

Thanks for the update. How did your times progress through the season?