Planning to race IM CDA this year then IM Canada 9 weeks later. I am following a structured program to get me ready for IM CDA, so I am good with that. Just need to figure out what to do during the nine weeks in between these two races.
Any good advice or training tips, besides the obvious (rest) ?
The key is listen to what your body tells you. We’ll all be a bit different based on age and training base.
I’ve done that combo for the past 3 years now. I typically take 1 week completely off, then build back up slowly for the next 3 weeks to my usual level of mileage/ intensity … then 3 weeks of good effort, then a 2 week taper down again. Works well for me … others may have other methods. Key issue is just getting recovered adequately or you’ll just feel chronically fatigued … if your base going into CDA is good, it will largely carry you into Canada.
Good luck
Dave
I can only offer the limited experience I have in going from IMAZ last month, to IMF next month. Since I’m not “there” yet, I just wanted to qualify my response.
The biggest thing I can suggest is to scrap any notion of a structured plan. Just go with what feels right, and don’t obsess about the individual workouts. I kept nagging myself for not doing more than one hour rides during the week…until I went out this weekend and promptly knocked off an 85 mile ride at an average of 21MPH, which happened to be faster than IMAZ split and I was riding a much hillier route. It was a great reminder of how much fitness I have right now. Which brings up another point, the fitness is there so don’t get caught up in a negative spiral of “feeling rusty” during certain workouts - and then trying to do more to shake off that rust. It’s remarkable the swings I’ve had from one day to the next…from feeling awesome to feeling like shit. Another thing, give yourself all the recovery time you need. After every big workout, I’ve made sure to take it very easy or totally off the next day. This definitely wouldn’t have been the case before IMAZ. finally, shake things up a bit. For me, the biggest obstacle has been mental. I just don’t want to be doing the same things that I did for so long. So, to counter that, I’m running at lunch vs. mornings, biking at night vs. mornings, swimming (or not) when I can get there.
In some ways, I’m starting to think that I shouldn’t be too surprised if I have a better race come June 22.