| Setting the 2007 Calendar by Cherie Gruenfeld
From Ironman World Champion Cherie Gruenfeld
As you hand over your Christmas "Wish List" to the loved ones and hope you've been good enough, it's time to admit that you've already started your 2007 season. With big races filling so quickly, hopefully you've already registered for your key race(s) and are starting to think through an appropriate training and a supporting racing schedule that will work for you.
We've all heard plenty about A,B and C races:
A: top priority
B: key to preparation for A race
C: training
If you're a candidate for Kona, you can read the above as:
A: Kona
B: qualifying race
C: all others
Prioritizing your schedule into A, B and C races is not a new concept and is easy to do. But I'd like to present a few ideas that I hope will provoke some additional thought about your C races.
1) We triathletes seem to have an obsession about comparing our performances from year to year. There are some pros and cons to that. When we perform better, we think we're pretty cool and it's a big boost. If it goes the other way, for whatever reason, we can be very hard on ourselves, wasting a lot of time and energy on "Why?"
That problem can be solved by entering some new events for your C races. Go race some fresh venues where you have no past results for comparison. These are training races and your goals can be accomplished on any course. Go have some new adventures instead of the same old test.
2) Your C races are training days which implies that you will be training right through them with no rest and taper. Your legs will be tired and your focus may be elsewhere. This is the time to "park your ego" because you're likely going to get beat and perhaps by competitors that you have beaten in the past. For a C race, the mark of success should not be winning or besting an old rival, but rather accomplishing the specific goal you set for that day (e.g. running strong off the bike). The key to a productive C race is to keep in mind the overall strategy for the season – preparing for a great A race, not winning the C race. And, because you're training through it, you want to get right back to training afterwards, so trashing yourself on tired legs with an all-out effort to win will probably leave you needing some additional recovery time.
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3) The timing of a C race, in relation to your A race, can be critical. I'll preface this by reminding you that what works for one athlete will not work for all athletes. So the following are simply considerations:
Many times there is a good race three or four weeks out which looks perfect as a final test of your Build/Peak Phase before you head into your taper. Putting the "cap" on your training with this sort of race works beautifully for many athletes. But, there is a huge mental component of this to keep in mind. If, for some reason, the race should not go as well as you expected, it's possible to lose that confidence you were so carefully building. At this point in the schedule, there's no time to regroup and regain the confidence. This race, unlike other C races, is not a learning race. Its purpose is only as a confidence booster – giving you the mental edge you'll need for your upcoming A race day. So think it through before you sign up.
If the race that looks so perfect is 4-6 weeks before your A race, this presents another consideration. Again, this may work perfectly for some athletes. For others, recovery may be an issue to think about.
If the race is a Half and you're using it as a good training day, your body is going to be put in stress and will need a good recovery. What is problematic about this is that the recovery time will come right during the key Build/Peak phase of your Ironman training for the upcoming A race. So you need to consider the trade-offs – a good race intensity workout versus time out of the training schedule for recovery. Your call.
Only you will know what works for you. One final thought: If last season wasn't one you're still talking about, mix it up this year. Try some new races and some new strategies and let your A race in 2006 be one you'll be bragging about long into 2007.
Good luck,
Cherie
Articles from Cherie:
Key Workouts for a Successful Ironman Race Part I - Part II - Key Workouts for a Successful Ironman Race - Analyzing the Last Season to Have a Better Next Season - Setting the 2006 Calendar - Breaking it Down - Something for Nothing - Work + Recovery = Peak Performance - Getting Back in the Game - To Race or Not to Race? - Kona Moments - PERIODIZATION Ð MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU - New Age Group Record at IM Arizona - Critical Success Factors for a Great Ironman - The Ironman Run: It's a Mind Game - Remain a Competitive Racer - What's This Race All About - To Every Workout There is a Purpose -
My 2008 Resolutions
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Looking Forward to the Future
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How About the Kids? -
Other Kids
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Become An Ironman
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Beware the Pitfalls
To have racing success
Back to the Future
Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3
Circling the Drain
Lessons From Beijing
From the Desk Of Cherie Gruenfeld
Ironman – Now That You've Committed
It's All About the Run
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