For some of you, this article comes a bit too late. You've had a great season and it's too late to mess up in any more races. For others, you've still got time to bite the bullet and suck it up in your next event.

Ready for me to spill the beans on how to have a horrible race, and maybe even a PR (Personal Ruin)? Read on, O Ye of Low Self-Expectation.

1. Don't warm up for your three sports. That's right. Forget to print the Mapquest directions, arrive at the race late, and have barely enough time to dip your toes in the water before the starting pistol fires (who am I kidding...does *anybody* use a firearm anymore to start a race?). Since a warm-up in each skill - running, bicycling, and swimming - will distribute blood flow for specific individual muscle requirements, allow for enhanced lactate buffering, and improve heart stroke volume and respiratory muscle elasticity, you want to completely avoid this step. Especially avoid any race pace accelerations, which remove any overnight staleness and heat the body's core temperature to necessary pre-race requirements. I suggest tucking a small pillow or hammock into your race bag. That way you can take a pre-race map, and awake to the sound of the other athletes churning into the water.

2. Hold back on the swim start. Don't charge out into the water, fight for your space, and psyche-up mentally and physically for a fantastic, fast race. Instead, wade timidly into the water

I must admit that I was skeptical during the spring of 2009, when I first heard that more than half of American adults are deficient in magnesium, and even a greater percentage of athletes are deficient.

I was also skeptical when it was pointed out to me that a good number of cardiovascular incidents during exercise could be traced back to a magnesium deficiency, and that muscular fatigue, failure and cramping during exercise are not only related to sodium sweat loss or low calcium levels, but are just as a much a function of magnesium deficiency.

After all, aside from using magnesium to produce brightly glowing flames during my undergraduate chemistry classes, my chief experience with this mineral had been glancing at the nutrition label of my vitamins and supplements, and seeing that the sparse 50-100mg I was consuming would be close to 100% of my daily needs. Therefore, I must be getting enough magnesium.

No matter that myself and the large number of endurance athletes who I coach were frequently experiencing

The Half Ironman, or 70.3, is a tough race. It is a combination of speed and endurance. Logistically, it can be tough to decide how fast to swim, how to fuel, how quickly to rush through transition, how to run, and when to make the final kick. In this article, you're going to learn five half Ironman secrets that will keep you from making costly mistakes and save your race.

1) The Swim Isn't Much Longer Than Olympic Distance. An Olympic distance run is 10K, while a 70.3 Swim is double that at 20K. An Olympic distance bike is 40K, and a Half Ironman bike is more than twice that distance. But an Olympic distance swim is 1.5K, while a Half Ironman swim is only 1.9K - not even close to twice as long! What does this mean for you? If you're used to doing Olympic distance triathlons, close your eyes and picture yourself swimming only an extra 400m. Can you sustain your Olympic distance pace for an extra 400M? Try it in your Half. By going that fast, you'll come out of the water early and be in a better position on the bike.

2) Load Up Your Bike In Transition. A good Ironman transition time, by the time you get