Two Ironman races three weeks apart. How would you do it?
I have to bail on the Texas 70.3 due to an injury issue.
My original season plan was:
Texas 70.3 April 6th
IMCdA June 29th
IMMT August 17th
I'm toying with the idea of using the new IM transfer program to rearrange the schedule to:
Syracuse 70.3 June 22nd
IMC July 27th
IMMT August 17th
I love racing 70.3 and really want to do one this year. Later in the year options like Augusta or Austin exist but I know I will be burned out after having done two IM's over the summer so I'd prefer the 70.3 on the front end.
The big issue is there's only three weeks between IMC and IMMT. I recover pretty well and all that but that's a quick turnaround. It's certainly not an ideal situation but it really is a train once and race twice mentality. I know that neither race would be at A+ quality and I'm fine with that.
How would you handle the three weeks between the races if you hypothetically had to do it? I know a few of you have done quick turnaround IM races, like Tim doing Kona and IMFL.
Comments
If you choose 1st IMC as the A race its ops normal , train, taper, race , just like that is the last race of the season. Recover the best you can and just do IMMT. You may surprise yourself.
If you choose 2nd IMMT as your A race.... I would do something similar to my KONA/IMFL double where the 1st race is done as an RR for the 2nd.... Bring your 1st RR to 2 weeks before IMC , 1 week minimal taper for IMC , race IMC @ .95 and I mean that, execute the bike about 5% lower than you know you can and add an extra 10 seconds per mile to your know you can run attempting a do no harm run maybe even walk 60" instead of 30".... Recover immediately by doing s,b,r asap yes even the run very short easy almost right away.... Then its a nice easy 2 week taper into IMMT.... Max the bike at 2.5hrs and the run at 90min.... Trust all the training leading up to IMC and that IMC RR as a huge fitness bump.
BTW if you make the change in your season I vote for option #2 IMMT as A race.... IMMT is a fast awesome course.... Although I know you have done IMC and that is an advantage as well.
I really liked the KONA/IMFL double that I did with the focus on the outcome of IMFL only. This year I am doing the opposite with 2 IM's 13 days apart I will focus on racing IMCHOO all out and then showing up to KONA in enjoy the race mode.
I sort of used IMC as a RR last year for IMFL but there was 10 weeks in between as opposed to three.
IMMT would most definitely be my A race whether I stick with CdA or switch to Can. My brother and sister are doing IMMT as their first full so the whole family will be there.
The ball is in my wife's court. I'm going to let her make this decision.
I'll be easy to spot. I'll be hobbling along looking like I just did an Ironman 21 days earlier.
Hey Bob!
Exciting!
Just to share my thought process: I chose IMCdA as my A race (pre IMC) after a conversation with Coach P about all the variables that go into recovery and also because I would be more in contention for a top spot at IMCdA. Personally, I've broken the 4x weeks in between down like this: 1 x 100% recover, (didn't do anything I didn't want to), 2 weeks of build similar to peak volume with less intensity and then will have 1x week to taper. I know you'll only have 3x, but you could condense that... Today I'm at day 10 post race and will be attempting a long (13 - 16) run tonight - will be insightful to see how it goes and I'll let you know how I felt for a N=1 data point.
I believe Teri C did IMC (Penticton) as a B race pre Kona about six weeks later a few years ago. Her plan mirrored that of Tim's excellent advice below. Treat it as a long training day, REALLY pull back on the run and recover, recover, recover.
Best of luck to you and us all in this crazy adventure!
Hey Bob,
I'd promised a report after my long run. It was done Wednesday PM, 10 days post IM. I actually ended up doing 18. Miles 1 - 13 felt pretty typical for a long run, however at mile 13 is where I usually would have kicked it up a bit and gone for a progressively fast finish I just stuck with EP because it felt like PLENTY and it was really hot (for us). I didn't feel mentally or physically like going any faster, plus I had planned to in honor of the "less intensity" advice for those that have done this before.
I recovered pretty well but didn't do ANYTHING on the legs on Thursday except for get a massage. I am headed out for a long ride as soon as I complete this post and that will be a good test. In retrospect, a better and/or more confident runner could easily (and more smartly) left it at 13 - 15 miles and I'd bet they'll be fine on race day. I am a bit insecure about my run and have done a ton of work to get my volume and frequency up, so I'm glad I did it simply from a confidence perspective but I'm betting it wasn't necessary physically.
In any event, if the 5 hour ride is somehow notable I'll let you know but I'm aiming for similar intensity as the long rides prescribed late in the IM plans.
What a grand experiment!
I don't run more than 13 miles in training anyway so I'm not worried about 18 miles. The only time I have run longer is on race day.
-week one week as active rest. Unstructured training. Swim Tuesday, resume light easy running wed. Long bike on weekend (I know ...). play Sunday ABP bike by ear.
EVALUATE RESTEDNESS AND ADJUST AS NEEDED.
-week two focus as HMP / abp. Monday - Friday as written in week 18 IM Advanced plan. Weekend as 2.5 bike Sat with 30 HMP/z2 brick, and optional 1.5 bike Sunday.
EVALUATE RESTEDNESS AND ADJUST AS NEEDED.
-race week as written.
EVALUATE RESTEDNESS AND ADJUST AS NEEDED.
Overall:
-very very very good food throughout.
-obsessively hydrate.
-massive rest throughout. Nap, even if you're not a napping guy. at least an extra hour sleep per night.
-Daily stretching. Yoga. Even if you're not a stretching / yoga guy.