So I’m in the Hood to Coast relay in late August 2007. Exciting. It’s a relay, with each runner doing about 18 miles total, broken into 3 separate legs.
First question: How taxing is this relay, compared to a stand-alone 18-mile run? My first instinct is that the relay would be LESS taxing, because you get several hours of rest between each leg. But then again, maybe people have a tendency to go out too fast and that adds up to MORE taxing.
Second question: Hood to Coast happens in between two Half Ironman races I’m interested in. I am wondering if there would be enough recovery time between races. My Half Ironman goal would not necessarily be to PR; but I do want to RACE COMFORTABLY (sufficiently rested and not hurting on the run). Neither of the Half’s is considered difficult or hilly.
If you were in my shoes, would you do…
a. The 1/2 IM 3 weeks PRIOR to HTC (Barb’s Race)
b. The 1/2 IM 2 weeks AFTER HTC (Big Kahuna)
c. Neither
d. Both! (stay ‘peaked’ for 5 weeks/3 races, holding back on my pace at HTC; then call it a season)
I have my guesses, but am curious to get some responses.
I did the Hood to Coast about four years ago. It was awesome! Congrats on getting in this year. When I ran it, my first leg was straight down Mt. Hood. I went too fast and that made me suffer more on the consecutive legs. However, I still recovered relatively quickly after the race. I would say that I was okay in less than a week. As suggested by an earlier post, I would not make the following half ironman an A race.
Your personal recover ability is going to determine the answer here. I did IMFL and then the 70.3 Championships one week later and PR’ed for half IM at the 70.3, but I did that because I know how my body recovers. This is a decision that only you can make.
Don’t let Hood to Coast worry you: It’s not that taxing and, like you said, there’s most your running for the week, all done in 24 hours!
With HTC, it really depends on the leg: I mean some are 8 tough miles, others are 4 easy miles … It’s not that big of a deal, but I would resist the urge to really go for it on your first leg. I think I did 4 legs (yeah, we cheated, but I think we had to for some reason … maybe its allowed, can’t remember) … Faded from 6:20 pace to 7s by the last leg. Think I ran just 21 miles in 4 legs: A 6, a 7 and 2 4+ … I don’t recall exactly.
I did HTC in 2005 and I just couldn’t get into it. For me it was a “been there, done that” sort of thing, compared to most other events I thoroughly enjoy. Also: Don’t expect to sleep much and expect to eat a lot (many more calories than you burn) and expect your legs to cramp up during the relentless, slow van rides … But the party at the Beach at Seaside is great. And there are lots of womens to gawk at … Have fun!
My hubby did Hood to Coast several years ago and it wasn’t that hard on him. It didn’t even compare to the difficulty of a stand alone 18 mile run. It’s really just 3 short training runs with a lot of fun in between.
The different legs are rated in difficulty so you’ll know what you’re getting into. The only word of caution, the first two legs are straight down Mount Hood, so if you run those, you’ll fry your quads (particularly if you’re a big guy). Not knowing any better, my hubby did the 2nd leg, and had a lot of difficulty walking after the race because he forgot to control his pace going downhill. Put your smallest runners on those legs.