Looking at 2011, I got an entry into IMUSA (July 24) and have to decide whether to do IMWI (September 11), 7 weeks later. I’ve done HIM’s that close together, but never attempted two IM’s in a single year, let alone 7 weeks apart. I’m 56 and a 12:00:00 pace. Too close together?
Id rather do them pretty close together than moderately spaced… At least you can use the fitness from the first as a big part of your training for the second.
I’m an 11:30-11:50 IM’er and I’d do two 7 weeks apart if I could afford the entries and travel. Only YOU know if you can pull it off.
If it were me, I’d go easy for the 2 weeks post-IM, then do a 3-week build for the 2nd IM, and then 2-week taper for the 2nd IM.
I did it in 2008 also at 56. 6 months later I enjoyed a 50% partial tear of the hamstring at the Ischial Tuberosity attachment with Tendonsis (or something like that). Otherwise stated, I partially tore the hamstring tendon where it connects in my butt. No running for 7 weeks. Pain free running took about 10 months. Did 2 fulls in 60 days cause the injury? I really don’t know but it couldn’t have helped. That was the first injury in 5 years.
You live in there and know what you can do. 2 marathons in 60 days is nothing to sneeze at any way you cut it.
Be smart when it is over. Good luck.
I did Lake Placid and Louisville, which are five weeks apart, last year. My performance was better at the latter (and later) race. My plan included resting for two weeks or so after the first race, then resuming specific training for the next two and a half weeks, and then “tapering” for just two or three days.
Two thoughts. First thougt: I hadn’t looked at it as two marathons 7 weeks apart, but from that perspective it seems a short time span to recover and go again. Looking at it as two IM’s is somehow different in my mind, but maybe I’m trying to talk myself into it (since IMWI is a very cool and family-friendly race AND entries are hard to come by). So I really need to think about what my motivation is.
Second thought: Recovery seems to be the limiting factor, so I need to research the nutrition and physical aspects of recovering quickly.
Here’s one resource for post-IM recovery: http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2009/07/post-ironman-recovery.html. Another thought I have is that the more prepared you are for the first IM, then better you will be able to recover afterward.
I signed up for IMFL before I got a Kona slot, and will be doing both this year (4 weeks apart). Some people think I’m nuts, but a lot of my seasoned IM training partners say it’s totally doable, and they expect I’ll be faster at IMFL. As mentioned previously, a lot of it is going to be recovery after Kona, and then just taking it easy until IMFL. You have a little longer period than I do between IMs, so maybe just plan on enjoying IMWI rather than racing it?
Faster at IM FL than Kona? Ya think?
G
Read Hillary Biscay’s blog and 2 IM’s so close will start to seem downright mundane.
Yeah, go for it. I’ve done IMWI and IMFL eight weeks apart. Those were my first two IMs. As the others have said, get a super solid two weeks of recovery, do some training, and then taper again. I think the longest ride I did in between was 80 miles and the longest run was about 18. Get a massage a few days after LP, and another ~2 weeks before WI. Seven weeks is a little too long to get away with no training, I think. As was mentioned above, the better shape you are in for IMLP, the quicker your recovery will be. If everything goes right, you’ll have “gotten all the hay in the barn” before LP, then just fine tune things heading into WI. Good luck.
-Colin
It’s always funny to think about correlation, causation and just plain stupid bad luck.
For instance; last year i did IM Switzerland, bombed that race (9.24, was aiming for IMH q) decided to do Almere irondistance 7 weeks later to finish the season. Got ITBS in the first serious run training two weeks after the race. So that’s definately corr/caus afaic. But i raced anyway, had a reasonable good race (9.16) and came in 10th. But heres the kicker; i got an acute hernia 2 weeks after that. Caused by what i did? I tend to think not. I just started lifting again to early. (hides from ST weightlifting-gestapo). So its all about recovery.
So to make a long story short; 7 weeks? sure! If Team
tBB can, so can you.
Unfortunately, there was nothing at Charlie’s link, but I’ll try again. Good comments all. Leaning toward doing them both at this point…still a year away, but in the IM world, it’s time to start planning and thinking…
I’ve done LP and then LOU 5 weeks later for the past 2 years and have a schedule that has worked well for me.
PM me and I’d be happy to share it with you.
Chris
I did IM Austria and IM Canada in 2008–I think they were 6 weeks apart (I was 51) and I can tell you that it struck me as a very bad idea. With an IM taper and then recovery you end going for a month or more with no significant LD training. I think I lost both fitness and was not fully recovered.
I know over people do it and you might be able to do it as well. What I can say for sure is that it doesn’t work for me. Indeed, I did IM Germany 4 weeks ago and just starting to think about training hard again–I’m frankly a little concerned about Kona which is now just 10 weeks from here…
It’s 100% an individual thing. It might work great for you and it might not. There will be plenty of success and failure stories. I’ve done IMC and Kona (7 weeks apart) 2x and one was great and the other wasn’t (but for different reasons than being too close). Much of your success will be dependent what you do or don’t do between the two.
Thanks, Chris
@chris_mac: PM sent. Thanks.
@JV99: If I could do a 9:16, I’d do them every week. Thanks for your thoughts…
@rcmioga: I understand your comment about how different aspects of your life can change the dynamic; and since it’s still 12 months away, I know that a lot can change. But given that things stay the same, I think I’ll give it a go. In a few years (or maybe ina few days, eh?), I may not be able to. Good luck in Kona…some day I may get there…
Great comments and perspectives, thanks everyone!
Ha! Well, i’d definitely advise against that
Next year i’m shooting for IMH again @ IM Germany so maybe we’ll see eachother in oktober 2011. You, me and Lance can discuss back-to-back racing at Lava Java
I think there are a couple of things that come into play. The first is length of taper for race number 1.
If you do a 3 week taper, recover for 3 weeks and then train for 2 weeks and taper for 2, it may or may not work. I’d rather do two 5 week apart than 7 weeks apart.
If I knew I was doing 2 IM’s in close succession, with race number 2 being more important, I’d only do something like a 5 day taper for the first one, and then recover for 2 weeks, then start up with serious swim and bike training for a week with maybe a total of 3 hours total running in that week, then go back to regular training for 3=4 weeks and then go on a 7-10 day taper. Since you’ll already have effectively 3 weeks of limited training around the first race, I don’t think a massive taper is required for race two, as long as you unload on run training in the final 2 weeks. I’d probably only do 1 or 2 longer runs of 2 hours between the 2 races, because you just did a marathon in race 1…you don’t need to build endurance between races, you just need to get your speed back up in all three sports.
Personally I think a 5 weeks spacing would be better than 7, because then you’re only training once for an Ironman and then in between doing perhaps only 2 weeks of harder swims and bikes, and keeping the run in maintenance mode before showing up at race number 2. 2 Ironman off the training for one. 7 weeks means you actually might have to do some Ironman type training, which in my book frankly is not terribly exciting. I like the actual Ironman race, I just don’t really like super long bikes and runs, so the 5 week spacing seems much better that way.
I did IMLP 2008 and IMC 2008 5 weeks apart, and at some point I’d like to do 2 IM’s 5 weeks apart again (I can’t believe I said that given that I prefer shorter races…but it is a puzzle I’d like to figure out). The problem when I did it the previous time is that I has saddled with a biz trip 5 days out from IMLP that took me to Korea and Japan that sucked 10 days out of my recovery and really set that back. Plus having a flat/slow leak at IMC really killed my bike split at IMC…nevetheless the two races were 10:37 and 10:29 despite some pretty bad running at both (at least they were consistently bad).
Dev
For the one millionth time on this topic here on ST,yes you you can do them and yes you will live to tell the tale.
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