Stay loose during the last few days. There will be no significant training gains during this period, it is simply a matter of maintenance at this point. For the race itself:

1. Be sure you arrive in PLENTY (2 hours) of time before your start.
2. Be sure your equipment is meticulously prepared and inspected.
3. Know your start time and the time on the official starter's clock.
4. Do an excellent warm-up, preferably a "step" style warm-up, preferably on a trainer.
5. Stay extremely warm during your warm-up.
6. Avoid other people: Don't talk unnecessarily. Gather your mental focus. Don't touch people or let them touch you for the 2 hours prior to the start.
7. Practice your start technique.
8. Know the weather conditions: Wind, temp, barometric pressure and humidity- all very important.
9. Conduct a detailed reconaissance of the course. Pre-ride it if possible, noting the racing line through all corners.
10. Stay hydrated.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Is there a turnaround???? People never practice the turnaround,you should feel corfortable with the turnaround

In the week before a time trial you should do shorter distance (cutting normal distance at least by half) and do more speed work - but not so much you get worn out of course. Take the day before off.

then just before the tt do about half the distance easy and then several hard efforts - enough to get the lactate flowing but not to get tired. That should get you ready to go at it from the start.

during the TT concentrate on pace and don't surge - even-tempo all the way. Start out feeling somewhat easy. That same speed will be very hard at the end!

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"My strategy is to start out slow and then peter-out altogether" Walt Stack

On top of Tom's excellent advice, try here http://www.cyclecoach.com/warmup.htm :-)

Also, two days before a race have the day off and the day before, take an easy spin (recovery level) with a few race efforts (~ three to four x 30 - 45-secs) using your race bike (so that you know it's in good mechanical order and to help further acustom you to the position). Use your training wheels though!

When you get home, ensure you consume adequate amounts of high glycaemic carbohydrates to maximise your liver and muscle glycogen stores (~ 1.5 g carb per kg body mass), and then continue eating as per normal.

Have a great race,

Ric

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http://www.cyclecoach.com

I prefer taking two days before the TT as Mr. Stern suggested, and also, as he suggested...warm up well on race equipment the day before. If it's really important, I will taper for a TT, and I always feel sluggish and lousy on the day-before warm-up ride. I've learned that this means I'm ready.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

The only Mr Stern i know is my father! Please just call me Ric.

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http://www.cyclecoach.com

Ric, I'm getting so much gray hair that many people started calling me "Mister"....it sounds sort of like something used to gently water plants, doesn't it? Sorry about that!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Personally, although it may be wrong, I don't taper for things early in the season. When I start tapering the body kind of gets confused and it is easy for people to get off their real schedule and therefore, sacrifice the real window when you should be be trying to peak. Plus, for me at least, when it is early in the season it kind of gives me a mental out if I'm not where I would like to be . . . you know, the good old, "it's the effort that matters, not the time . . . since I'm training through it . . ." Obvioulsy, if this TT is one of your major events, discount everything I've said.

You make some good points. This definitely isn't a high priority race for me, it is more of a chance to get some speed work in, and really test my biking limits. However, I want to be somewhat well rested for several reasons:

1) It is a convienient race next week since it is a scheduled low volume week for me.

2) I plan on getting smoked by all the roadies, so I want to give as close to my best as possible, without sacrificing my real window.

3) My legs feel a bit toasted from the last two high volume weeks for me.

I like your statement, "When I start tapering the body kind of gets confused and it is easy for people to get off their real schedule..." I have a real problem with knowing what cycles my body is in, and what type of workouts I should be doing when. I completely blew my taper for Ironman Florida last year. I guess some of it can be attributed to bad coaching in my younger years where I just ran hard all the time and was completely fried by the end of the competative season, and my complete inexperience in triathlons, since this is my second year (and last year I only raced once). I hope to learn a lot from this year, as I am going to be doing 6 or so sprint - oly distance events, spread out pretty evenly. I have one peak scheduled for early in the racing season, and another more important peak scheduled at the end where I have 2 important races. All of this is loosely based on the Triathlete's Training Bible. As I get closer to my first races, I am a totally confused on where my body is. This is definitely a very challenging sport to train oneself in. I am at the point now where I am just kind of playing it by ear since I feel I have to have some racing experience before I can really start to coach myself and plan my training and racing seasons.

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"What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind and body can achieve; and those who stay will be champions."