Outseason PSA
Courtesy of WSM Al Truscott
Public Service Announcement
One of the great things about EN is the opportunity to shorten one's learning curve, and avoid mistakes others have made over the years. In that spirit, I offer the following advice to those both new to the OutSeason workouts, and those who may have had problems with burn-out and/or injury in years past. All of these thoughts are annually reflected by our members, and reiterated by our coaches in their podcasts. But it seems they cannot be over-emphsized.
1. The workouts are HARD. This has many implications.
2. Each workout may very well burn through your body's glycogen stores. Those MUST be replaced if you are to have any hope of getting in another quality OS workout in the next 24-36 hours. So fueling during the wko, and refueling immediately after are a top priority. Ditto fluid replacement.
3. Corollary to #2: replacing the 100-150 grams of carbohydrates in the glycogen and the water which supports it is a separate activity from trying to lose weight. If you're working on improving your body composition (reducing fat%/weight), scrimping on post wko refueling is not the way to do it. Smaller portions, better food choices at the evening meal is the strategy.
4. Recovery is where the time gains are made. Proper recovery intervals, both length and intensity, matter. As do the recovery days, usually Mon and Fri; they are there for a reason. trying to do extra credit workouts will most likely result in progressive fatigue, not improved performance.
5. Ideally, it's best to allow 24-36 hours between workouts. Eg, Tues @ bike before work, Wed run @ lunch, Thurs bike after work, Sat run/bike in the morning, Sun run in the afternoon.
6. Likewise, sleep is when your body (including your brain) does most of its recovery; sign up for the Sleep Challenge if you need help getting all the rest you'll need.
7. There is no benefit, only risk, in "over-achieving" during workouts. Biking @ 95-100% of FTP for 20-40 minutes split into intervals is hard enough to be effective; trying to do 105% for that amount of time will eventually cause the wheels to come off. Ditto for running. And there is plenty of time during race specific training to get in the longer riding and running we need. The OS is about working HARD, not LONG. Work does work.
8. It is possible to add swimming, weight room, stretching, core work, etc during the OS, as long as it does not interfere with your ability to hit the planned durations and intensities of the bike and run wkos day after day week after week. If you do swim, lift weight, etc, be prepared to pull the plug on those activities if youre feeling fatigued, in order to not miss any of the official OS wkos.
9. The OS workouts tend to build up over time. Meaning, you may feel pretty good for the first 2-3 weeks. Don't be fooled; it will get harder/longer, and if you have added in that extra credit stuff early on, you may find yourself getting "stale", or worse by week 6 or 10.
10. The coaches are great in responding in the Macro and Micro forums, and on Monday evening chats, if you feel you have special needs during the OS. And this forum will have a lot of folks who've already gone thru, and are currently going thru with you, the same OS. There are no silly questions.
Please add any further advice for we who are about to work HARD...