Down/Recovery Weeks
I'm on the Intermediate Full IM plan training for IMLP and this is my first time really following an EN plan. I've been wondering about down or recovery weeks. I'm used to training plans having 2 or 3 build weeks and then a down week. Why does the EN plans not have any down/recovery weeks? I see there are a few off days here and there after big weekends, but no weeks of lower bike and run intensities. Are we suppose to manage our own recovery weeks? Thanks for any insight.
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Do you feel like you're in need of a recovery week?
In my experience, the need to take a recovery week is a function of poor training plan authoring (?). That is, the schedule you have has been tweaked and tweaked over the years such that Monday works with Tuesday works with Wednesday, etc. In addition, note the little things we do differently that you may see in other training plans:
^These^ are all little tricks we found over the years to build recovery into the schedule, week after week, vs just blanket-ly scheduling recovery weeks. If anything, you may find yourself wanting to take a light day or so to get in a little bit more recovery.
Thanks for the insight. I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to long course triathlon training and a newbie to the EN method. Typically, I'm dragging on Mondays but by Tuesday, always by Wednesday, I'm good to go. My question was more from a perspective of training plans I was on before EN and the concern of over training. I do not feel like I need a recovery week (yet)...I generally don't like recovering for a whole week anyway.
Good stuff here and looking forward to the next several weeks. Thanks!
No worries. My point is that the "need" to take a recovery week is the result of poor schedule writing. I haven't had a need to schedule recovery weeks within a training plan since about 2003, because I just learned how to write a schedule such that Monday fits with Tuesday fits with Wednesday, etc.
That said, with my own training, I'm always adjust things for how I feel in real time. There's the plan I make and the plan I actually get done. What I actually get done is the result of me modifying things from day to do and learning what works best for me.