Crazy-talk, 2012: do nothing
A hard-reboot, midway through in-season. Hear me out.
I'm always trying to keep an open mind to different approaches to training. The most recent thing knocking around in my head is a planned week of nothing during the prime training real estate. In other words, the exact opposite of what everyone else is doing (strategically, “opposite” is a good thing and the value-add of EN).
Why? Well, I’m always amazed at the stories I hear from athletes who have to take a imposed week off (be it through broken bike, a head cold, Dutch elm disease, natural disaster, whatever) at the sweetest spot of their training program, only to come out on the other end with a breakthrough performance at their A race. Moreover, while the notion of ‘no training’ in isolation equals no training, ‘no training’ seated in a very long season, with 20 weeks of OS and another five or six big stuff of in-season work, is a very different proposition. i think the limitations get neutralized, and offers a lot of good when the athlete needs it most.
Downsides:
-Endurance loss. But I would argue it wouldn’t drop away. One week is just too brief, whether event-specific or all-day endurance.
-Top-end speed. Negligible loss. My very hazy recollection of Daniels is something like a 1% drop in VDOT over that period, which can be regained in the remaining time ( I think ). Also, in an IM, this 1% on top-end probably nets out to a difference between taking an extra sponge at an aid station, or not. Plus, you're not outside of EP on the run, and won't be in a field sprint on the bike.
-mentally, it would be very very tough. OMG I’m NOT TRAINING AND EVERYONE IS GETTING SO FAR AHEAD OF ME OMG OMG OMG. But this is exactly why you need to chill out. week 6 or 7 is the hall of mirrors when athletes get the training crazies. eliminate these and minimize the bad choices they lead to ("I'm going to run a full 26.2 three weeks out, just to be confident").
-weight gain. Of course, this could be mitigated. You can still be disciplined … you’re just disciplined NOT to train instead of to train. Temporarily.
Upsides:
-By week 6 or 7 of 12 in-season, you start to feel the drag. Even in low-volume plans, you’re freakin’ tired.
-Mentally, you’ve put a lot of time in the saddle, but you still have some big work ahead. Wouldn’t a taper feel soooo good right now? Except, instead of tapering to race, you’re tapering to train another 6 weeks. And when you pop out on the other side of restweek ,™ you’re doing those weeks fresh, with monster fitness (minus the 1% top end). The long run no longer feels like a death march, you have some pop in your legs for the go-faster stuff, you can hold form in swim and run again, you don’t fall asleep during meetings at work.
Thoughts on the opportunity cost here? Again, keep an open mind.
Comments
I once asked a kq friend (who was slumping) if she knew she would get faster and breakdown less if she did less, would she? She said no. Think about that. The priority is training and feeding the addiction, not race performance. Which do we choose?
I have to agree with you the my best races have come after some time off-not tapering time but OFF time.
I assume the purpose is to maximize performance on race day. And this would be in addition to any transition off time between OS and IS (final 12 weeks). I'm planning on a full 20 week OS thru the end of June. Then I work three 24 hour shifts the next week, enforcing down time during that transition. Followed by a BBW then a BTW, then into 12 weeks of IM plan.
What things run through my mind as I consider this? First, while we have all heard stories about missing swim and run training in IM build-up, with successful races, I really haven't heard a story of someone who couldn't/didn't bike and had a good race. Second, is it possible to plan weeks/months in advance for the "best" time to do a stand down? Third, are there alternatives which would work as well or better, like playing with volume or frequency or intensity, or mixing in non-traditional workouts, which would accomplish the same thing?
I don't have any specific advice for you, Dave, but I will share my current plans for those final 8 weeks, when I will be deviating from the IM plan in some signficant areas (weeks refer to Weeks To Go before the race):
Week 8: Taper, race IM Canada (Ya gotta sign up for these things a year in advance!)
Week 7: Recover, consider a race (Oly or sprint) on the weekend, or a day of mountain biking. No RR#1
Week 6: Travel to CO, and participate in a Ragnar Relay (running probably 15-18 miles in various shifts at various times of the day/night) on Fri/Sat.
Week 5, 4: Big Tri Weeks at my home at altitude in CO; no running or swimming intensity, as altitude does not allow it. Possibly switch some bike days for off-road cycling. RR#2 @ altitude. Total committment to recovery as needed.
Week 3: Probably a couple of 24 hour work days, supporting the need to recover from BTW x 2
Week 2/1: Routine EN taper, at the race site.
I think the alternative work and locations I have planned for the final two months will not hurt me, but I fully intend to make sure that I do not miss out on long bikes (4-5 hours) , runs (2-2.25 hrs), or 3 swims (3 km each) a week. Also, I am always ready and willing to stand down for 24-72 hours as needed at any point if I sense that things are going south. I know for sure that the first 3-4 days after RR#2 is a prime time for resting until am am ready to go again, and don't worry about any work lost during that time.
Final thought: why do you want to pick THIS race to experiment with?
I guess I'm in the mode of which will lead to more success---a full week of doing nothing or a week (or two) following the taper portion of the IM plan? With a full week off I find it more difficult to restart the engine/routine vs. if a get a few shorter somethings in, then it's easier to up the frequency/intensity of workouts.
My 2 cents...if you're considering it ...you need it mentally more than any benefit you will get physically....I say take it...it is all upside..no real downside...rest will not hurt you....and planned rest is better then unplanned.