I have been doing back to back races a couple months in a row now. The day before I completed my third time trial up Tiger Mountain, Race Report Here: http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid...

What I was trying to accomplish with back to back racing with no taper was using them as compound workouts. Becuase the time trial is a straight up mountain run it uses very different muscles and "systems" than a more flat, speed-based race like the New Balance series. I figured coming into a "speed" race with some muscular fatigue would be good for digging deep to finish fast in a longer race. Additionally, I wanted to prioritize a good base vs. taper-race-recover type training more oriented around race performance.

Anyhoo, to the race! Because it was on the track we were divided into heats so, everything I am talking about is specific to my heat.

I lined up a touch back from the starting curve, just because I purposefully wanted to refrain from starting too fast.

The official came out with the gun in the air, "On your marks" ...."BANG!"
and we were off!

I moved to lane one immediately and let the more uhhh....enthusiastic competitors duke it out in front of me. I kept the pace moderate from the get go and eased into what I felt I could handle for the entirety of the race.

My plan was to go by feel and my ballpark idea was that I'd run about a 6:20 first mile and try to bring down to 6:10 in the second by really using feel vs the clock.

The first quarter marked a 1:34, not too far off what I thought might happen.

It was great being out there with a lot of high-schoolers as their coaches were there. I always forget how awesome it is to be able to be coached each lap. I listened to their advice and applied it as much as I could, even though it wasn't specific to me. "Chest up, pump those arms, keep that turnover, relax your face"

I began passing the initial wave of overzealous racers, slowly moving my way up.

I didn't feel fast, but I felt steady and relaxed.

I closed the second mile in 6:16 and felt good. I decided I would try to keep the same pace for the next lap, a little faster for the third and then go hard the first half of the last lap before getting reckless with the final 100 meters or so.

I tried to relax my face and hold form. I passed another person and could see the lead pack, maybe 15 seconds ahead. Sadly I was kind of in no mans land with no one to pace with and probably too big of a gap to jump. So, I just focused on my own plan.

I came into the final curve then turned it on. My stride lengthened a bit and my cadence increased. I could feel the strain of running faster than a distance runner typically moves and I crossed the finish, breathless.



I'd train for the specific distance if I was focused on it, but this was a workout so I probably wouldn't change much given the context. I think I maybe could have run with the lead pack with the same effort if we took turns but I didn't really know that in the beginning.

I'm not really "fast" but I can feel some progress being made now that I have a few weeks of quality workouts under my belt. I think I am in a good spot to start true marathon training now.

Ran a few easy miles then headed to the mountains for a ski tour!


Non-specific training, race the day before, no taper