Hi All
I am a 9-5 desk jockey currently ending a good base (15 weeks averaging 13 hours) and starting a build to an iron distance race (my4th) in August. I feel in good shape all things considered (work/family etc) and I self coach and like to think I know a bit what I’m doing with this triathlon lark (but I probably don’t!).
Anyway on Saturday night I am not going to sleep as I am doing a shift for a voluntary organisation from 1am to 7am into Sunday morning. I have never done any kind of night shift and the last time I missed a nights sleep was in my uni days with various chemicals/females (ok female singular if I’m honest, sometimes not even that really).to get me through the night. I’m 36 if age is in any way relevant.
So I have no idea how I’ll react but my plan is to do long ride early Saturday morning and then rest in the evening before the shift. On Sunday I will go to bed at 7:30am and sleep until about lunchtime, then once the kids are in bed at 7pm I will go and do my 90 min long run. My question to anyone who is used to working nights is whether I will a) feel like doing the long run or b) suffer in some way (injury/recovery etc as a result of doing it when sleep deprived and after the long ride, I’ve done races on little sleep in the past so I guess it’ll be allright?
Doubtless many of you will be poised to type one of two things, either “leave it until Monday if you’re that bothered” or just HTFU and do it (or both). I would take the HTFU on the chin but I can’t delay until Monday as I am flying to china for work so won’t haven’t time and I want to bank the long run as it’s going to be difficult to train for the coming week so I have planned a pre build recovery week but want to have something to actually recover from.
Any thoughts would be really welcomed, as a layman I’m quite interested in the physiology of the impact of sleep deprivation on training but any kind of insight would be appreciated.
Thanks for reading