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Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart?
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Hello everyone!

The end of 2018 is approaching and that means I need to start planning my 2019 season. Quick background: In 2017 I did my first 70.3 in Lake Placid (6:28). In 2018, I completed two 70.3 races: Patriot Half (5:33) in June and Ironman 70.3 Maine (5:21) in August. I'm really enjoying my progress and I will keep working hard. My new goal is to reach 5h, or even better, under 5 hours.

I'm already signed up for Mont Tremblant 70.3 in June 23rd, 19. I'm now considering signing up for the "new" Ironman 70.3 Connecticut, aka Rev3 Quassy. This race will be held on June 2nd, exactly 3 weeks before Mont Tremblant 70.3. Both races, specially MT, seem to be on the hillier side so I'm not expecting to PR at all and they will not be my A race. Do you think it's reasonable to do both races? My plan is to take it easy in Connecticut 70.3 -- it's going to be early in the season and first race of 2019 -- and try to push a bit more in Mont Tremblant.

An alternative would be Ironman 70.3 Virginia. It's in May 11th, but it's a 10:30 drive from Boston and it's not as appealing as Quassy, I mean, Connecticut 70.3. I'm not sure about that....

Besides those two races, I *might* signup for Boston Triathlon (Olympic distance) in the end of July. I've done this race twice and it's nice to race in my town (I'm live in Boston).

Then my A race: Ironman 70.3 Maine. I really enjoyed this race and I'm planning on doing it again. Hopefully, this is going to be the race that will put me closer to 5 hours.

Last but not least, I will attempt to do another 70.3 in September. At the moment, looking at Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City (New Jersey), or maybe Lake Placid again. This 4th 70.3 race will depend on a) my wife's approval ($$$) b) doing or not doing Boston Triathlon in July. I'm not too concerned about this final race, but it would be nice to have a full calendar for 2019.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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It really is all dependent on how well you recover from that effort. You already state that your expectation of the two races is not to PR, so it's really a matter of your recovery from the first and what you can do for a bit of training between them.

I personally bounce back from a race effort fairly fast and wouldn't have any trouble doing two good 70.3 efforts three weeks apart. Others get wreck for weeks after one. It's all individual.
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [g_lev] [ In reply to ]
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g_lev wrote:
It really is all dependent on how well you recover from that effort. You already state that your expectation of the two races is not to PR, so it's really a matter of your recovery from the first and what you can do for a bit of training between them.

I personally bounce back from a race effort fairly fast and wouldn't have any trouble doing two good 70.3 efforts three weeks apart. Others get wreck for weeks after one. It's all individual.

That's a valid point. Looking back at my previous 70.3 races, I usually took it easy in the first week with light training / recovery. After that, I bounced back to 80% (8h/9h) of my regular training load (10h/11h).

With 3 weeks, I can use the first one as recovery, then repeat what I did two weeks prior to the first race: a good training load on the second and a light taper in the third and final week before the race.

Yeah, I think it's doable..
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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You can do both since you learned this year of being able to handle multiple races at that distance. If your add to your base and build endurance, strength, stamina in the first part of 2019 is geared towards IM 70.3 distances, then you can taper into IM Connecticut 70.3 for an "A" race effort. These are both hilly as you mentioned so not PR type races but they're great for competitions and beautiful places to compete. Follow that by a week of easy long recoveries. Throw in the second "between" week with some speed, then taper again for another "A" race at Mont Tremblant. If don't want them as "A" races like you stated, then definitely doable. Both have great competition and why not let the other racers bring out the best in you while there. A well trained and prepared triathlete can keep a peak for about six weeks. Actually better to put two "A" races in a single period if you want that many races in a season like you do. Then in July you workout to recover and maintain activity. Long slow stuff. For August build back up some speed, then taper again for a six week peak season and race both 70.3 as "A" races again. Or you mentioned, you can use the last race of the season as a fun exist to top off a great season.

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Last edited by: djmsbr: Sep 14, 18 10:17
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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I'll share my one analogous experience. I once did 3 races in 5 weeks. First, an OLY. Next week, a half. And then 3 weeks later, another half. I recovered well, and that was not an issue. However, I did not enjoy the 3rd race at all, even though I was fit and did well (for me). It just felt like a grind by then having done so many races so close together. YMMV.
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [jw13] [ In reply to ]
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jw13 wrote:
I'll share my one analogous experience. I once did 3 races in 5 weeks. First, an OLY. Next week, a half. And then 3 weeks later, another half. I recovered well, and that was not an issue. However, I did not enjoy the 3rd race at all, even though I was fit and did well (for me). It just felt like a grind by then having done so many races so close together. YMMV.

Similar experience a few years ago, I raced 3 70.3s in 4 weeks.. the first race went well then 7 days later I raced again and that also went surprisingly well... 2 weeks later I raced another 70.3 and just hated every minute, just didn't want to be out there grinding away. Almost quit after the bike but my wife saved the day by running along side me as I came out of T2 and yelling (in an encouraging way) not to give up and quit (she could tell based on my T2 attitude that I was just done.) I finished and actually my time was right on track and I think I still grabbed 3rd in my AG but I didn't enjoy the 3rd race at all. Finished, grabbed my gear and just couldn't wait to get home. There's an added twist... 2 weeks later I ended up getting an ambulance ride to the ER and checked into the ICU for a week.. I ended up with a staph infection that damaged my spine and spread throughout my body as it was in my bloodstream. Things got really ugly and the doctors were puzzled as to why a perfectly healthy 38 year old's immune system was so ineffective at fighting off the infection.. then my wife let them in on the 3 races in 4 weeks information and they basically concluded that I basically cooked my immune system. Took 3 months before I could walk again and a year before I was back racing, but all turned out okay. But learned my lesson to be a bit more careful :-O. I have still done a few back to back 70.3s but I make sure I have a long recovery after that.

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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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perhaps instead of training like you've been you could adapt your training to train for two races back to back instead of just one race?

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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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I think the answer to this question will vary greatly depending on the individual. I go pretty easy for the first week after a 70.3, but can do a heavy week of training in the second week. Physically, I could do two of them in a span of three weeks. But mentally there is no way I could get up for both of them. I know that I'd try to go easy in the first race and to treat it like an extended training session, but once in the race atmosphere and around other people I'd have trouble holding back. I'd end up going too hard and being mentally drained for the second race. Bottom line, I would never register for two races that close to one other. But I certainly have met many people that have done that.
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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It's doable, but you're going to need to push through a lot of fatigue. I just did IMMT (10:57) and then 3 weeks later Lake Placid 70.3 (5:07), though I've been in this sport 6 years so you may not have the same recovery between races.

The trick is to keep going. Your body will want to shut down and will tell you its fatigued so you'll need to push through it between the races. I picked up my usual training load the Thursday after the first race, and then kept it up until just before the next race with a 5 day taper. I was a grouch between the two races, but I ended up having my best race to date. I did both races with a friend of mine and he took the "keep it easy approach" between races and his race wasn't as great.

Then plan a longer rest period.
Last edited by: timbasile: Sep 14, 18 9:59
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [djmsbr] [ In reply to ]
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djmsbr wrote:
You can do both since you learned this year of being able to handle multiple races at that distance. If your add to your base and build endurance, strength, stamina in the first part of 2019 is geared towards IM 70.3 distances, then you can taper into IM Connecticut 70.3 for an "A" race effort. These are both hilly as you mentioned so not PR type races but they're great for competitions and beautiful places to compete. Follow that by a week of easy long recoveries. Throw in the second "between" week with some speed, then taper again for another "A" race at Mont Tremblant. If don't want them as "A" races like you stated, then definitely doable. Both have great competition and why not let the other racers bring out the best in you while there. A well trained and prepared triathlete can keep a peak for about six weeks. Actually better to put two "A" races in a single period if you want that many races in a season like you do. Then in July you workout to recover and maintain activity. Long slow stuff. For August build back up some speed, then taper again for a six week peak season and race both 70.3 as "A" races again. Or you mentioned, you can use the last race of the season as a fun exist to top off a great season.

Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
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Re: Planning 2019: two 70.3 races 3 weeks apart? [gguerini] [ In reply to ]
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Overall, based on the comments I received, it seems doable but I might change my plan slightly. I think I will skip the 4th 70.3 race later in September, and depending on how I'm feeling after doing the first two 70.3, I might skip the Boston Triathlon in July as well. This way, I will have 8 full weeks to rest, recover and ramp up training again before Maine 70.3 in August. This is exactly what I did this year and it worked incredibly well for me based on my times and feeling.
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