I was just taking a look at the race calendar for my area (Atlanta). Between now and my “A” race (Augusta 70.3) I have the opportunity to do some sort of organized race in 19 out of 24 of those weeks. By my count there are 8 Sprints, 7 International and 6 Time Trials that I could compete in. First, that is just freaking awesome that there are that many races in this area. No excuse not to race if you want to.
Part of me says that I should just do them all but I wonder what toll that might take on my Augusta 70.3 training. I’m definitely doing all of the International distance races. But I wonder how much sense it makes from a training stand point to give up a Sat/Sun when I could be out training long on the bike for a Sprint or Time Trial when I’m preparing for a Half Iron distance race. I love to race though and part of me thinks that there is a lot of value to getting race specific experience.
I’m curious what others think about striking a balance (or not striking a balance even) between racing a ton and training a ton. I did 4 sprints last fall but I consider this my first real season since I wasn’t swimming or running until last August. I’m not in any danger of winning ANY of these races so I race for fun but I would like to put together a solid performance at Augusta 70.3. Thoughts on my specific situation or just training versus racing in general???
Both. Last year, all my long rides/runs were done during the week, then on the weekends I raced and used those races as my speed work. Worked well for me. But I didn’t “taper” for any of those races. They were just another workout.
If I could race 19 out of 24 weeks and afford it then I would be very tempted. However, you will either sacrifice long-term fitness and volume for speed on race day, or you will train through most of the races and give up some performance during the race. I raced a lot more early in my tri career and was decent, but not until I upped the volume and raced less did I really start to compete for the overall win.
Racing is like speedwork, only pushed by a lot more motivation and competition. I need three or four days of non-intense training to recover from a race up to Olympic Distance. Given the choice, I would do all the sprints and four or five of the International distance races, but skip the time trials. That would give you around one race every two weeks. I would not taper for them or do anything special but go and have fun racing hard. The odd weeks from races would allow you to bump up the volume and do longer rides and runs. I would push for as much volume as you can handle and not do any other speedwork than the races. This would be like the Eddy Merckx “ride a lot and race a lot” method vs. the Lance Armstrong “focus on one event and be perfect” method.
It sure sounds like fun to me.
Chad
To do over 20 races/triathlons before Augusta would be pretty intense. Hell you must be loaded cause that would cost quite a bit. Yeah do the olympic distance races as you said, but i would probably mix in one or two sprints just for fun. but thats just me…
For me If I could I would do about 10 races going into Augusta.As of now due to life and $ I will do about 6 races before Augusta.Since this looks like your first longer distance race you need to be able to get longer bikes(65/75 miles)in during July,Aug. & Sept can you do that racing every weekend?
Substitute your track/speed interval days for racing.
Maybe add some warmup/warm down runs/bikes after your sprints to get a 2-2.5hour workout (i.e. 20 min WU/ 60 min race/40 min WD), Post TT’s you could do the same (30 min WU/20-40k TT/ 30 min WD).
I would do it If I was comp’d and didnt ask myself the question: wake up earlier, drive, and pay or train for free.
wake up earlier, drive, and pay or train for free.
Ah, this is probably the big thing. Racing definitely isn’t cheap. I’m doin a sprint next weekend that was going to cost $80 (ridiculous) but I got a comp so I get to race for free. Sometimes you just have to ask the right person.
I would pick races that present similar conditions to you’re A race (hills, wind, choppy waters, temperature etc.) and space them out to allow proper recovery.
In addition to the TTs, I would also through in a few 5k or half marathon if possible. (always go for 20-30 min run after your TT)
The benefit of racing is that you can push yourself harder then you ever would while training. On the flip side, it takes longer time to recover after each race so you will be able to fil less training sessions in between.
The financial arguments against racing a lot are completely specious, because I can’t imagine you would be considering it if you could not afford to do it. That being said, which would you enjoy doing more? Last time I checked this was supposed to be fun for those of us who do not derive our livelihood from this sport. You have no doubt considered the pros/cons of racing and its effects on any major goals you have for the season, so I say if it feels good then over-do it.
Why train or race, just post on slowtwitch.
If you go this route it’s also key to have a blog about other slowtwitch posters’ training and racing. You don’t actually have to even know them personally, although knowing their real names helps so you can follow their splits online and post their race results.
Cost is relative actually. I used to drop $150+ in the bars over the weekend without thinking. And when I was courting my girl $100 for a dinner date was pretty common. Now I just skip all of that (much to my girlfriend’s dismay) so I can afford to race more. Plus my girlfriend has a job that requires her to work on the weekends so I’m not missed.
Depends. Money/time/goals. Race alot if you are newer to the sport, and need to gain experience. This is so valuable. Cut back when you want to get more competitive. It also depends on the distances you race. Sprints (race your heart out.) Ironman/1/2 IM, take more weekends to train.
Some do the A race B race C race thing
Some train often and race seldom. They tell me I "can’t" race I’m not in shape.
Some love to train but are afraid to race. Fear losing more than the enjoyment of the race.
Some talk about it all but never train or race ; )
Some love to race and will do it in shape, out of shape, most any type of race .
Some consider the money as a race expence
Some consider the mony as a life experience
Some consider the race therapy
One of my favorite people loves to train loves to race. He helps all the new people. His race times SUCK but results are very far down the line on reasons he does this sport. He is always happy. He has done Alcatraz, IM, bunches of 1/2 IM. Sprints.
He plans drinking parties, cookouts, sight seeing, everything around the enjoyment of the others.
scott molina was famous for saying during his terminator days that, “racing just gets in the way of my training”. he claimed that he used to train much longer/harder than he raced.
if you have the funds then you have the funds but what you don’t have is the time. suppose you can get up in the morning and drive to a race that’s only an hour away. that’s two more hours that you could be on the bike instead of in transit. as others have stated, it just depends on your goals.
against the wishes of my coach, i race a lot and am addicted to it. while i might not have the base that others that train more have, i just enjoy going balls to the wall from start to finish.
with that said, my performance is definitely subpar. if i could focus on training more often, i would be much more competitive. racing for anything from 5k to ironman takes a lot out of you between the mental preparation and the physical demand itself. i actually go through stints where i like racing a lot, but burnout is inevitable. so as you choose your events, be mindful that you will probably burn out racing every weekend which might not be beneficial to your “A” race.
