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Week after HIM

EflachEflach
in General Training Discussions

Just did the KS HIM on Sunday.  Curious how much rest and what your week looks like post HIM.  Planning on doing Racine HIM and Branson HIM in September.  I checked out the transition plan but it is a 2 week transition plan that is tailored for OS to IS.  And the wiki is geared toward full ironmans.

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    A generic rule of thumb I learned years ago has always seemed to work well for me: take it easy/off for the number of days equal to the length of your race in hours. E.g, for an Olympic on Sunday morning, you should be ready to roll by Tues PM; for an HIM on Sunday, gear it up the next weekend.  

  • SwanieSwanie
    It also has a lot to do with how you raced. Was it an A race or a lower priority race that you trained through. A race, do as Al says but if it was a B or C race maybe only take off the next day.
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    Agree with both above. After my "A" race at Racine last year my body was in rough shape and I did a light swim on Tuesday and Thursday, but no bike until the weekend and no run until Sunday. In a different case I had a "B" race at Steelhead and actually used it to kick off a build cycle...I got on the bike the next day and started hammering workouts that whole week. That said, I didn't feel the latter approach was good and I think my fatigue profile got out of whack - I won't do it again toi that extreme. But the point is that my body was physically ready to start working out.

    In general I think you need to make sure your body is well recovered vs. setting targets. I'm in rough shape after Kansas due to some cramps that have left my quads and calves feeling literally bruised. So although I intended to swim today, I'm skipping it and may just skip tomorrow as well. I do expect to be on-track by the weekend.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    I also raced KS pretty hard, and the conditions were pretty hard too, which may make recovery a little longer. I'm going to swim Wed and Fri and just see how I feel. May ride easy Thursday. This weekend's plan will depend on how I'm feeling, but I'm planning on being up again either the weekend or having taken a whole week very easy.

    Last year, I raced a B-level not super-hot fairly flat HIM on Sunday and went to the WI rally to ride centuries on Friday and Saturday. My power was crap (especially Friday) but I got through it. But really, that was a couple days too early.

    If you read RnP's stuff about doing a HIM in the process of training for an IM, they pretty consistently talk about trying to be back ready to go the following weekend.

    William
  • Beth_SBeth_S
    Yes. Agree it is dependent on goals. Last race of the season? I tend to practice a restorative activity, like yoga. In all cases, the water usually feels amazing -- even if it is a short goofing off or drill session. I always, always move the hard runs to later in the week, if I'm in a build cycle, and always give myself permission to do these by feel and not beat myself up if I knock off an interval or two. I always think of wanting to absorb the fitness from racing the HIM and taking care to not dig myself into the Abyss of No Recovery

    I'm racing High Cliff this weekend and then starting IMWI build right after that, so my goal really is to recover enough during the week doing whatever so I can be back to regular training the weekend after.
  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg
    I think it is important we always keep in mind that improving athletic performance requires both hard work and then rest — and it is the combination of both aspects that leads to adaption and improvement.
    Therefore my take away from that it "more rest is almost always better" — meaning adequate rest after a race ensures that you get the fitness boost froma that race that you deserve.
    So I rest after races until I feel I am ready to train again.
    FWIW, my recovery is similar to Al T's suggestion.
  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    +1 on Al's advice. I take 2 full days off for a HIM, then easy/light training on Wed & Thu, moderate load on Friday and back to normal on the weekend.
  • saskatsaskat

    Thanks for posting, Eric! I actually posted the same question for Rick in the macro thread.  Guess I'll just be listening to what my body tells me but def not try to push myself with anything too hard early next week as I've got High Cliff this weekend.

    Beth - hopefully we'll get to meet each other this weekend!  We've gotta take an EN group shot 

  • Beth_SBeth_S
    Posted By Sarah Kim on 14 Jun 2012 11:03 AM

    Thanks for posting, Eric! I actually posted the same question for Rick in the macro thread.  Guess I'll just be listening to what my body tells me but def not try to push myself with anything too hard early next week as I've got High Cliff this weekend.

    Beth - hopefully we'll get to meet each other this weekend!  We've gotta take an EN group shot 



    Let's do it! I will be wearing my EN kit and transition area is tiny. I am sure we will easily be able to find our crew.

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