Tell Me How to Race 2 HIM’s in 3 Weeks
For some reason last fall I signed up for 2 HIM’s within 3 weeks of each other, Raleigh (5/31) and Syracuse (6/21). My original plan was to train through Raleigh and make Syracuse my A race. Plans changed in the winter and I was no longer going to race Syracuse.
About 5 weeks ago I did a HIM race rehearsal for Raleigh. It was maybe my 3rd week into transitioning into long course training from OS and Get Faster plans. Usually it takes me 4 or 5 weeks to make this adjustment before my body starts absorbing the increased load. I had an awesome race rehearsal, however, I was crushed for about 7 days after that. I could not get anything going. Extremely low power, couldn’t hit any running paces, no energy to swim. I’ve bounced back from that and have had a solid 3+ weeks of consistent training hitting most of my targets.
2 weeks ago, plans changed again. I no longer had a commitment in June so Syracuse was back on the table. My first thought was great, I’m not completely satisfied with my training leading up to Raleigh so this will give me a couple extra weeks of big riding and long runs. However, thinking back to my RR, I have some concerns that racing Raleigh will put me in a hole for a week, essentially putting me into a 3 week taper for Syracuse. Or, I’m hoping that my body has adjusted to long course training and by Wednesday or Thursday following the race I can be back on track for 1 more long run and 2 big bike rides before the Syracuse taper starts.
So…I’m looking for input/advice on how to train the next couple days, race Raleigh and handle the following 3 weeks leading up to Syracuse.
Last week was exactly like a normal HIM training week including Thursday long run, Saturday 3.5 hour ride, Sunday 2.5 hour ride both at .IF’s of .8+. Today I did the normal Tuesday speedwork in the plan. I’m planning on riding for 60 – 75 minutes tomorrow including 30’ of FTP work followed by a 20 minute brick. Then Thursday was planning to cut the long run back to 70 minutes. Saturday I would do a short 30 minutes on the bike to spin the legs and a 20 minute run and then race on Sunday. Not exactly tapering for Raleigh.
Would you do anything different in the next few days leading up to the race? Do I just go out and race Raleigh and try to hit a home run if I’m feeling good and run the risk of having a bad week of training next week and then starting the Syracuse taper the following week? Do I at some point take my foot off the gas pedal at Raleigh (assuming I can find it)?
What would you do? Any input or advice is appreciated, thank you!
Comments
Hey Doug,
Hopefully R, P or some other smart folks will have some specific thoughts. I've tried doing races as "training days" or "C" races and it's never worked. My small brain is wired to race when the gun goes off. I suspect you're in a similar boat, so I'd plan to race both of them. If it were me, I'd cut Thursday's long run back from 70' and move this week's long run to Sunday in Raleigh. The following week, your swimming won't be affected at all and you'll be able to get in next Saturday's long bike (probably a little flat, but you'll get in the miles with no problem). Your run legs may be shelled for a while, but that just means that the Raleigh 13.1 is your last quality big run, three weeks out from Syracuse. Nothing wrong with a three-week run taper. So, Raleigh just becomes a bigger RR for Syracuse, in Week 17 instead of 18. But you'll need that extra week to recover the run legs. I'd feel confident with that game plan. And if it all falls apart and you lay an egg at Syracuse, who cares? It's better than mowing the lawn. And they'll make more races.
Enjoy it. Sounds like a really fun start to the summer.
Mike
@Brenda, thank you for the reply. That link took me to the "Self Coaching" page in the wiki. The only link I found there that may be relevant is the "revenge IM" link. Is that what you were alluding to?
First off, do NOT do your long run this Thursday. From here on out, I'd treat this as a normal race week, i.e., with nothing but taper workouts. Even if this weekend is just a "C" race, you're going to work it hard because of the adrenaline, etc. And why not? This is all about having fun. Go for it and feel good about it. If you're not having a great day for some reason already...sure, it would be foolish to squeeze out those last 1-2 minutes by killing yourself in the last 5K...but otherwise, go for it.
If you've been in pretty decent shape, it will take you 6-10 days to be back on the saddle for regular training after a strong HIM. However, 3 weeks out is a good time for a "volume pop" in any training plan. If you look at a lot of plans (marathon, IM, etc), it's not uncommon for the 3-weeks out weekend to be the biggest hardest weekend.
The important part will be to focus very, very hard on your recovery. For the weekdays after the HIM, I would rest, swim, and water run. MAYBE an easy spin. Do NOTHING that will delay your recovery. The weekend after the HIM, you should be able to go for a ride of 90-120 min, but don't worry about the intensity at all. By midweek (~10 days out), you should be feeling ok again, if you've managed things well.
For what it's worth, I did a HIM and then a marathon 13 days later a couple years ago at age 49. I probably gave up about 1 minute or less by not killing myself in the last couple miles of the run when I couldn't see anyone in my age group ahead of me (and in range). I was fortunate that there were turn-arounds, so I knew roughly where I was, relative to other people...and finished somewhere around 10th in my AG. (Don't remember exactly.) i then followed the kind of recipe I've suggested above with Coach P's guidance. I did not feel "ready" for the marathon until about Thursday (11 days out), but I ran a PR of around 3:14. Had I not been in the HIM a couple weeks earlier, I probably could have snuck another minute out of the marathon, but not a lot more. But you have 3 weeks, not two, and I'm sure you'll be more ready to go.
One word of warning - my recovery after the marathon took longer than usual because of the double. You're at risk of this happening with your race, too...but since the latter race is the "A race" anyway, this shouldn't be a problem.
Good luck!
I believe the link Brenda wanted to include was this one:
http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Self-Coaching+Manual+-+DIY+Guide+for+Adjusting+You
Look to the "How to insert a race" section for the guidance.
That said, as you know I did Kinetic Half 2 weeks ago and will be doing Raleigh next week. I used Kinetic as a RR so my recovery probably wasn't as tough as yours will be. That said- you should be able to recover week 1, train normal week 2, taper for your second HIM with good results provided, as William says, you focus very very hard on that first week of recovery.
Last year I race 3 HIM's with 4 weeks in between them and then followed that up with IMCHOO 5 weeks later... This is what I did last year and would do it again exactly the same.... In a nutshell , 2-3 day taper before race , 2-3 day recovery after race , 7-10 days normal training , repeat ....
The week prior to first HIM , cut back just a little mon-weds , allow just a few minutes less work and a couple percent lower intensity across the board, not really tapering but not your usual gotta kill it mentality.... Normal taper thurs-fri.... DO NOT DO THE LONG RUN .... save it for the HIM race..... Reverse that for recovery , allow less time and less intensity for 2-3 days recovery.... This should give you 7-10 days of Normal OPS training.... Repeat for the last week prior 2nd race, just ease up mon-weds and taper on thurs-fri .... When you go to normal ops training for that week I'd consider keeping that long run on the weekend and DON'T push it ...
Based on all of the comments in this thread tomorrow will be a brick with the intensity and duration cut back even more than i was planning. Thursday long run is gone and replaced with a shorter run in the AM with some strides thrown in. Friday off. Saturday something short if i feel the need to get loosened up a little. Race Sunday. Focus hard on recovery following the race and hope to get in 7 days of training before following a taper to the 2nd race.
@Nemo, thank you for clarifying the link for me. There is a lot of great information there.
And be patient about the recovery...and work at it, if you know what I mean.
Tim Cronk is a really incredible athlete and specimen...you probably know he is small and light. If you need a little more recovery time than you expect, be patient; you'll recover faster in the long run by not going too hard too early.
I'm sure you'll be successful!
@Keith, thank you for the reply and more confidence that I can do this successfully. Syracuse is the targeted A-race but based on the comments here I’m going to go out and attack Raleigh. I am hopeful that at the very least I will take some things away from Raleigh that I can apply at Syracuse and execute that race better, similar to your experience at Quassy/Tremblant last year!