If you want to race, race.

It's not like you're preparing to go into space or something. All about what will be fun for you.

Scenario 1- The race is at the beginning of the recovery week. Do the race since you have the rest of the week to recover.

Scenario 2- The race is at the end of a recovery week. Do the race since you have likely already recovered and are getting a jump start on your next training block.

Note: All future scenarios will end with the same conclusion with only 1 exception. It's the scenario that says you don't want to race.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Makes sense. Thanks

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just your average age grouper . no one special . no scientific knowledge . just having fun.

What are you training for...........and what is the race you're questioning doing?

Or, unless you are pro/semi-pro and training >20hrs, forget about recovery weeks altogether unless it is a taper for an A-race.

Stop taking recovery weeks.

Who said your recovery week needed to be a week?
Who said you even needed a recovery week?
Who said your recovery week had to be a calendar week?
Who said you can't race and still recover in that week?

If you can't recovery from a short course race in a few days you have much, much bigger issues then just racing during a recovery week.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Why so much hostility? Is 500tss too low for a recovery week?

ETA: this is not solely pointed at Desert Dude

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just your average age grouper . no one special . no scientific knowledge . just having fun.

What??
My replies are much nicer and more informative from when I'd have just replied "use the search function" & left it at that.


ETA: there are a lot of solid 1-2 line answers in this post

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Just because people are disagreeing with your approach to a recovery week does not make them hostile. I read most people's answers and I am seeing a lot of experienced folks say the same thing. No need for most people to scale back in the traditional "recovery week" way. It's not hostility. Try reading it a different way.

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Team Zoot
2019 Sponsors: Canyon Bikes, Garmin, Smith Optics, Gatorade, Zealios Skin Care & Sun Protection, Speedfill Products, Base Performance, Ottolock, Theragun, Boco Gear, ORR Carbon Wheel Systems, Giddy Up Multisport

I would say race first off. Secondly I would also take a look at your training and see if you really need a recovery week. I think that is what most are pointing at. I am pretty much around 12-15 hours a week and the only time I have "recovery" weeks are if we are transitioning after an A race to another build. But I have built in recovery days, pretty much every Monday, which is a swim and maybe an easy ride. Obviously I don't know how your body reacts to your training so it might need more recovery time. But if it does take a week to recover from 3 weeks of training I would rethink the training schedule to allow more recovery within each week.

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Twitter - Instagram

For some reason, I still feel like Frank will chime in slathering us with how PC would ENSURE this chap is recovered with the latest technology in half the time... ;-)

I think recovery week needs to be defined here. I'm not sure he's saying he took the entire week off, is he? I take recovery weeks but it's normally just an extra rest day that week and/or some slightly shorter workouts but still maintaining intensity.

Well to me a recovery week is a week of a lot lower volume. So say I am training 12-15 hours a week, a recovery week might be 7 hours but probably similar frequency just a lot less volume.

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Twitter - Instagram

I have done this on occasion, raced at the end of a recovery week. Most times I have poor races. My legs have gone into recovery mode, they feel sluggish and flat. I did however reduce a fair bit of intensity during that week so they lost a bit of pop..... I think it all depends on what your recovery week looks like.

Ok, I'll walk that back. Hostility was a poor word choice and obviously I was reading the responses from an inaccurate frame of reference.

I was unaware easier weeks between large build cycles is an outdated practice.

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just your average age grouper . no one special . no scientific knowledge . just having fun.

Here is a nice picture. You want to be the 2nd guy down.

Recovery weeks originated in the BTF when they tried to reduce the number of injuries that the athletes were suffering from by introducing an easier training week in every 4 week cycle. It became entwined in coaching folklore and became the recovery week. Its rarely needed for armatures unless the cumulative effect your your training, professional life and home life requires it. I can guarantee unless you are training over 20 hard hours a week you do not need one.

Nothing but nothing beats consistent training over a period of time. The only real exception is if you are injury prone and know that a 'recovery week' will prevent illness or injury. If you are not getting injured or ill you do not need a 'recovery' week - as you don't need to recover. More likely you would benefit from spreading your training load out more evenly and dropping the notion of the need for a recovery week altogether.

If you are not feeling too tired - do the race :-)

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He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

Tim Hola just did it at USAT nationals pretty well and kicked my butt!

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2018 Races: IM Santa Rosa, Vineman Monte Rio, Lake Tahoe 70.3