So I’m at Ohio 70.3 and seeing a lot of athletes biking and running in the heat the day before the race. Why do people do it? It seems very counterproductive to one’s race results.
This is obviously very individual, but I always like to do something the day before a race.
Something like a 10’ swim + 30’ spin with some short surges + 10’ jog with some strides. For a sunday race I always take Friday off and then do this routine Saturday. Doing nothing the day before usually makes me feel flat for the race.
Its called panic training.
or course recon… but YMMV.
Then don’t read anything about Dave Scott and his pre-race routines!
So I’m at Ohio 70.3 and seeing a lot of athletes biking and running in the heat the day before the race. Why do people do it? It seems very counterproductive to one’s race results.
I think they were inspired by FindinFreestyle’s thread
For most people its they taper correctly, they would be doing something the day before. Depending on what you have been doing, from 45 minutes to a couple hours, 95% easy stuff. Kind of like the guys in the TDF riding for 3 to 5 hours on their days off, taking a complete day off the day before, usually leaves you feeling not quite as sparky…
Maybe it’s the spouse or friend of someone racing? Lake Placid is crawling with people doing this the days before the full. My friend got her bike workout in the day before Maine and also Eagleman, both of which her husband was racing.
I do stuff like that too.
I agree, doing anything (exercising, or just pissing around) in the heat could be quite counterproductive, for me at least.
Perhaps you could change the thread title to reflect the HEAT part; otherwise it sounds like you’re suggesting not getting familiar with the course.
This is obviously very individual, but I always like to do something the day before a race.
Something like a 10’ swim + 30’ spin with some short surges + 10’ jog with some strides. For a sunday race I always take Friday off and then do this routine Saturday. Doing nothing the day before usually makes me feel flat for the race.
+1
This is obviously very individual, but I always like to do something the day before a race.
Something like a 10’ swim + 30’ spin with some short surges + 10’ jog with some strides. For a sunday race I always take Friday off and then do this routine Saturday. Doing nothing the day before usually makes me feel flat for the race.
+1
Do some yoga or stretching or the exercise bike at the hotel. I see no reason risking some kind of impact injury or bike accident for no reason.
You Hyper Type A individuals and your nonsense.
This is obviously very individual, but I always like to do something the day before a race.
Something like a 10’ swim + 30’ spin with some short surges + 10’ jog with some strides. For a sunday race I always take Friday off and then do this routine Saturday. Doing nothing the day before usually makes me feel flat for the race.
+1
Do some yoga or stretching or the exercise bike at the hotel. I see no reason risking some kind of impact injury or bike accident for no reason.
You Hyper Type A individuals and your nonsense.
Huh? Impact injury risk?
That would be literally any time one rides a bike outside.
I’m not gonna live my life in fear, sorry.
Train like you race, race like you train.
I’ll almost always do a quick brick the day before a race.
In part to make sure everything on the bike is working properly.
This is even more important after what may have been a long trip to get to the race venue, since bikes can get jostled around and brakes or shifting might be thrown askew.
But also - I’d wager the vast majority of those people you saw training were SO’s/family/friends of those racing.
This is obviously very individual, but I always like to do something the day before a race.
Something like a 10’ swim + 30’ spin with some short surges + 10’ jog with some strides. For a sunday race I always take Friday off and then do this routine Saturday. Doing nothing the day before usually makes me feel flat for the race.
+1
Do some yoga or stretching or the exercise bike at the hotel. I see no reason risking some kind of impact injury or bike accident for no reason.
You Hyper Type A individuals and your nonsense.
There are plenty of pros who do hurt themselves (usually on the bike) in cycling and triathlon during the recon. Some of us have nervous energy that we like to burn and never take a rest day unless there’s a medical reason (like me).
It would be great to be one of those confident people who feel great after a day off. I would have to train like that, with regular days off, to see the benefit and convince myself.
Ever been to Kona?
The over-training and doing pre-rides and pre-runs in mind blowing.
From sun up to sundown on Ali’i Drive- Right up until the night before the event.
I know at least a half dozen people in Lake Placid who are not racing but were out training on Saturday. Then again there will be those that are racing that over do it. 10 minute swim, 10 minute bike and 10 minute run for me the day before an “A” race.
Its called panic training.
No it’s not.
It’s keeping lose and checking out equipment, and for many it’s probably part of staying relaxed.
If I’ve flown to a race, I’ll want to verify all is well after reassembling the bike with a short ride. I also like to do a short easy run to keep loose and if you’ve traveled to the race it’s also nice to see what the water temperature is like before you dive in to start the race. If you’re hanging around the day before a race, there’s no harm in doing a little of any or all of the three disciplines. In fact, I imagine it could be very advantageous for those who get nervous/stressed during taper and especially the day before a race. I’m sure a day of stress and nervousness will put a lot more cortisol in your system and wear you out far more than a few easy activities.
But I’m assuming it’s easy and/or short activities. If you’re not fit enough to fully recover from an easy swim, half hour moderate cycle or 15 minute run 18-24hrs before the event, you have other problems.
On the other hand, if you’re out doing hard training the day before an event that’s obviously not going to help you.
I always like to do a short easy session the day before on the bike. But mostly that’s just to make sure nothing is mechanically funny. If it’s hot out or whatever, I wouldn’t do more than make sure the bike works. No reason to add stress into the body.
That said, before the Haines City version of IMFL last year, I did bike the run course because there were like 30 turns on it and I wanted a preview of that mess (and since it was a 3-lap run, my ride was all of about 9 total miles). Otherwise I never consider previewing the course.
As others have said you might be seeing family/spectators just out training. I was certainly doing that in LP this weekend. You would have seen me riding around on my race bike (because that’s what I brought) doing my long ride, followed by a swim in Mirror Lake. The only way you would know I wasn’t there to race was if you happened to notice I wasn’t wearing an IM wrist band
A short shakeout run or ride in the heat would hopefully not tax you too much if you have trained for a triathlon. It’s important to get a bit of light activity in the day before a race. However, yes, a lot of people overdo it and like to “show off” the day before the race. That is counterproductive. Short run, short ride/swim, done.