I do:
What are yours?
I only got one really, and that’s I don’t make any predictions, that would be tempting fate. I would give away my IM medals Tom they bring my the memories more than photos for me, but the other medals I leave at the race.
Man, either I am in the minority on this or people are pretty tight lipped about it…
Not much action on this thread. I thought there would be more.
Oh, another one, never ride a green bike. It’s bad luck.
The first rule about superstitions is. . .
Shut up, already, Tom- you’re giving me the heebie-jeebies!
No sex the night before a race. An old boyfriend told me his high school track coach insisted on that (quite different from what the girls track coaches told me), and I’ve been sticking to it ever since. Figure the extra pent-up energy must contribute on race day. 
Huh,
That’s an interesting one. Depending on the level of connection I had with someone I think it really helps. If the connection is good, solid and secure then it is a source of great comfort and strength. I liked that.
The one or two really good girlfriends I’ve ever had I know I took a lot of power and strength from it. It makes my back feel better too.
-Been about four years though.
Good point. Perhaps I should rethink.
No special connections right now though, so sex before a race is sort of a non-option. Ahh, well…more time to train.
This is an old wives tale…many a PR or great performances have been had when people have squeezed one off prior to the race…Some of them were self administered…I read this in an article once, but don’t remember where…The reason it was a benefit, was it calmed the racer, thus, they used all their energy for the event and didn’t wast it on nervous energy…However, I do believe the “act” was performed in close proximity to the start of the event…Look out shrubs!!!
Why is a green bike bad luck???..I have a green one…
It’s not for you. Only for me. I hit a concrete telephone pole in a race in northern France at 47 mph (I had just glanced at my computer because I was descending so fast).
The crash was spectacular. Broke the frame in three places, broke my right arm in 7 places (that’s right- seven!), broke my tailbone and got a concussion even though I had a helmet on. Snapped off a pair of handlebars too- probably what broke my arm.
The bike was green. Also, there is some race car superstition about green cars.
You’re OK though. I hereby grant you official immunity.
The “sex before race” issue came up at Gordo’s & Scott Moilina’s pre race talk at IMNZ. The word from G-Man & Skid was, “if you can get it, take it!”
I dated this girl whose name was, well, let’s just say she spoke French.
I swear, she made me 10 years younger and a minute per mile faster on the run. Unbelievable. We were telepathic.
That, I miss.
The only other was a girl who was so sweet and kind and gentle she always contributed good energy. She’s still a close friend (actually, they both are).
That’s tough to find.
I have bad dreams from time to time, but aside from the ussual showing up to the race with a pink girls bike and discovering you are wearing a parka during the swim not too bad. Has anyone had the “I showed up to the race naked dream?”
I did once, greatest race ever!
-The coolness manifesto, it’s close, really, really!
I have the “Oh shit, I overslept and missed Ironman!!!” dream once in a while.
Been there slept that too, but somehow it’s just not quite as fun.
-The coolness manifesto, it’s close, really, really!
In the dream I oversleep and miss the race start and then I just go down there and watch the race and its like, “This is pretty cool. I’ll just come back next year and do it…”
Weird.
Recently saw a study on this very issue (sex before races). I can’t remember all the details, but the net result was:
-Sex before a race for a man = bad.
-Sex before a race for a woman = good.
I follow suit.
Did they give out the phone number for that woman?
1: Shave the night before, and even shave new patterns into the facial hair (if I am sporting any at the time).
2: Lay out my skinsuit, and whatever apparel, out the night before.
3: NEVER wear the same shoes to race in as I warm up in, as I want my race flats to have as few miles on them as possible.
4: Perform ritual cleaning and maintainance the week before, and ride at least thirty miles on my race wheel. Polish the bike the night before.
5: Get a massage two days before the event.
6: Wear the same warmup suit to every race.
7: Pin my finger puppet, Son of Bun, to my number belt. I generally don’t let him talk, no matter how wowie neato cool the woman is.
8: Blast a KISS CD on my car player. Make sure the last song I hear in the car before it is turned off is “Deuce”, as it is the best KISS song EVER!!!
9: Drink one Red Bull one hour before the event, then one five minutes before.
10: Take a crap at my house or hotel room before I leave. It beats the hell out of the line at the event.
I have gotten to the podium on a custom-painted GT Vengeance painted lime green. I named this bike “Gina”, as this is my wife’s name, and she is a Brit. I have also been on the podium on “nude” bikes, yellow bikes, black bikes, and blue-green fade bikes. But never on red or metallic smoke. So, no red or metallic smoke bikes for me.
Think this is superstitious? Ask me about pre-game rituals when I was in Junior hockey…
Drink at least one beer (preferably three) the day before. F-it…I’m not going to qualify anyway, and I might as well have the bragging rights when I manage to pass some over-accessorized goofball on his Trek Team TT rig.
Oh, and shower the morning of…warms up the muscles.