HIM before IM question
I am preparing for IMAZ and am considering doing a HIM in early October. I have read the Wiki which states this is not a great preparation for an IM but it has been 4 months since my last HIM race. What are the thoughts of the EN team who have done this as part of the IM training plan?
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Plus, racing is the fun part in all this. I liked using a race to break the training monotony.
An early-October HIM should be in that 6 week window prior to IMAZ. I'd be okay with a HIM 5 weeks out from a IM. I probably wouldn't do one later than that though.
Just my $.02.
Bob, evidently, recovers faster than me. :-) There is guidance in the self-coached-athlete part of the Wiki, but the bottom line is to get yourself back into the swing of things by the following weekend. If you can do that, you're probably fine. But remember the pattern of the plans: weeks 7-9 are the peak; week 10 is pretty much a "normal" week, which amounts to starting taper, and weeks 11-12 are obviously taper. You really don't want to do anything to put those weeks in jeopardy. Having week 6 pretty much normal lets you transition into 7-9 more easily.
But if you're aware of what you're doing, you can figure it out and be ok!
Have fun!
1) they're afraid they might have lost some fitness since then, and think that testing it in an HIM would be a good idea, or
2) they think that they'll have lost their 'racing edge' since the last race
both of these are common concerns, but need to be mitigated by being talked down off the ledge. You don't need to race to be ready to race an IM. and your fitness will be what it will be, optimized by following the plan.
Of course, you could be one of the rare athletes who posts that for the third reason, which is "racing is fun, this whole IM thing is just a game, and not doing the HIM would be a disappointment to me because of (insert reason here)". In which case, go for it, and don't let anybody change your mind just because there's a plan that somebody wrote...
Save the money...do an extra RR if you want!
I'm not really qualified to answer this as I have not done this. I've stuck to the never do an 1/2 IM in the 8 week window. If your IM is your A race for the season the recovery will hamper your IM training most likely. If you want to race just to have fun and race then go out. As Mike pointed out don't do it for other reason.
Gordon
"Early October" means week 7 or 6 before the IM AZ. The most important workouts in the training plan are the two Race Rehearsals. The first one is scheduled for Oct 8th. These are 112/6 hours of biking AND 6 miles/1 hour of running (whichever is less.) An HIM is not a good substitute for this - not enough biking and too much running to get the information needed to help guide the remainder of the IM prep. While the RR's do provide some fitness gains, the knowledge gains from testing race nutrition, pacing, and mental impact are critical. I've trained for ~20 IMs now, and I still value the RRs as more useful to me at weeks 6 and 3 to go than an HIM would be. I love to race, and I've tried doing HIMs 3 weeks and 8 weeks before an IM. I will be doing a well planned RR rather than an HIM on Oct 8 (or 9) as I prep for IM AZ.
To get my race mojo going, I'll be doing an Olympic distance (or maybe an HIM, depending on how fatigued I feel) on Sep 24 or 25.
Thanks for the feedback. IMAZ will be my first IM and i was looking to work on my transition process and "have fun" but i think it will be prudent to save the travel time and focus on the RR that is scheduled for this week. I may see if there is a Sprint or OLY hear in GA that may work to have some fun before the IM race.
The reason I'm thinking about this is because I have not raced all year. And I won't have a race prior to IMAZ if I don't do this one. It's just been a crazy year with my new job and move to Alaska. Conflicts have prevented me from scheduling any races. Thoughts?
i saw that one but bought tix to the PGA tour championship ont he same day....trying to earn SAU's for the haul to IMAZ!!!!