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Coaches Note from Lance Watson
Going Long (Again) |
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| Aug 06, 2012 |
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The challenge with evermore race opportunities springing up is that the season can really stretch out. It is fun to race from March to November, but it does take some planning to stay strong and to maintain a high level of performance.
As the season progresses, it is easy to get into a pattern of race, recover, race, recover, race, recover…. The end result of this is the process of "peaking" followed by gradual "de-training". While you can race 3-5 times in a span of 6-8 weeks (Olympic or Sprint distance), you will note that performance may start to decline towards the end of this racing block.
If you want to avoid running on fumes in September and October, it is important at the end of the summer to revisit training your aerobic system, and doing a short re-build phase. Incorporate 1-2 base oriented runs per week and 1-2 base oriented bikes per week back into your schedule. These sessions should be at 75-80% of the duration of your longest early season base building sessions for the bike and the run. For the swim, revisit longer pull paddle sets at a controlled pace, and steady endurance swims of 25-40 minutes in the open water. Your swim volume should also climb, and consider adding one extra swim focused on technique.
Your mid week bike and run base sessions should be shorter than the weekend sessions. For instance, if your long run is 90 minutes and your long ride is 2.5 hours on the weekend, then run mid-week for 60 minutes and ride for about two hours. Your weekend sessions should be aerobic, with rolling hills and some steady climbs to rebuild strength. Your heart rate should 5-7 beats higher for the mid week shorter base sessions. They should be just a little crisper.
While not the focus of the program, stay in touch with shorter threshold and speed sessions that are sub-maximal (i.e. they don't finish you off!).
After two weeks of revisiting base, take a recovery week, and then return to more typical threshold building sessions in preparation for your next event.
Most successful age group athletes work with a coach to create meaningful blocks through the year to keep improving. Enjoy your last few races of the season, and remember, August is a good time to sit down with your coach and start sketching out your fall and winter plan to ensure improvement for 2013.
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