Thursday 1 August 2013

Planning for the last week before the race



The schedule for the race weekend is now online, and I’ve been working out in my head how .  It might seem a bit premature to mention it now, but I’m one of those people who likes to have things worked out, and, by committing them to paper, it means I can worry about them less because I’m not trying to hold all of the details in my head. 

I am intending to taper two weeks out from the race, my last big (56+ miles) bike ride will take place exactly 2 weeks before the race, and after that I’ll begin to cut down.  The general rule from what I’ve read seems to be cut down to 80% 2 weeks out, and then 50% (or even lighter) the last week, with a focus on race pace efforts (I’m not sure how appropriate that is given that I’m just trying to get round, but the emphasis seems to be on making sure the muscles are firing well).

Here’s what my last week will look like, both in terms of training efforts and other commitments.

Sunday 25th August
Am: Last longish bike ride, but taper distance – 40 miles [total 3 hours of training]
Pm: Rest

Monday 26th August:
Am: 5k run, 2k swim [total 1 hour of training]
Pm: Pack car

Tuesday 27th August:
All day: Travelling, no training

Wednesday 28th August
All day:  travelling
Shake out swim at lake when arrive [30 minutes recovery training]

Thursday 29th August:
Am 1: 13 mile bike ride around lake [1 hour of training]
Am 2:  car-recce of the bike course (both am)
Pm trip to Salzburg for the theatre and dinner out.

Friday 30th August:
Am: Official swim training session 8am-10am (25 minutes walk away from hotel at Schuttdorf) – swim round course loop – [30 minutes]
Pm: 2pm race registration opens (10 minutes walk from hotel at the Ferry Porsche Congress Centre).
After race registration, go on boat trip, and then relax in the spa at hotel.  Check bikes?

Saturday 31st August:
[Am: Official swim training 8-10am – I will give this a miss but Mr Tuna may wish to go]
Am: 10-11am Race Briefing (10 minutes walk from hotel at Ferry Porsche Congress Centre).  After race briefing register for Irongirl run.
12pm: Pack bags for transition and check bikes over.
3pm: Irongirl race (I’ve entered this as it’s only 4.2km, cost only 12E and you get a t-shirt.  I will not be running, just doing a little trot…
4pm: Mr Tuna to look after bikes and transition bags during Irongirl so that once finished, can cycle down to transition and check in.
5.30pm: Back at hotel, rest before early (6.30pm?) dinner.

Sunday 1st September:
10:10am – Mr Tuna’s wave starts
10.15am – My wave starts
18:15pm – my anticipated finish?

2 comments:

  1. Looks like a good plan, and it's exciting to see your schedule for the run-up to the event! We must all remember that Europe is an hour ahead of the UK on the day, mustn't we!

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  2. Oh, and I would plan everything out like you! The schedule for my next race was just posted online, so I've been working backwards to determine when I'll eat, when I'll wake up, etc.

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