Beer Drinkers Appreciation Society (BDAS) --Always Open (Page 26)

Good morning, all! 

@Jenn - hope you're enjoying your post-race recovery.  Congrats again on your journey and really well-executed race given the conditions.

@Andrew - as I got the "Dollar Store" J&J vaccine, my tracker only works when it's sunny out and doesn't lose connection to the satellites, sort of like my old Garmin 305. 

As for me, I've decided to not race this weekend.  My BIL is not doing well (that's an understatement) and my wife's a bit of a mess right now so I don't think my racing is a priority (though I'm sure she wouldn't complain).  My neck has been bothering me the last week or so, too.  I had some neck issues like 8 years ago that eventually went away, but I have no idea why they're back.

I've settled on my race schedule for next year, two sprint tris (May/Sept), an Oly aquabike (Sept), two 40k TTs (July/Aug) and as many criteriums as I can fit in locally here.  I also ordered my smart trainer, which should get here today.  I'm sure like every other thing I'll research and play around with it for three weeks before actually doing anything on it.  LOL

I got up at 5:15 this morning and went to Bikram Yoga for the first time in months.  I met my low expectations.    I treated it as a recovery / PT thing rather than a workout per se, so it wasn't too bad but I have no balance at all right now.  Jumping on the bike for a quick easy ride at lunch to figure out how to get Trainer Road and Zwift to work together.  I love TR's workouts but it's like staring at a wall.

Hope everyone's week is going well so far.  Onward!

Your running and swimming base are way above what you need for a sprint, and it's probably too late to do any speed work though I think with you playing football, etc. you get some anyway.  Get out on your real bike once or twice and just hammer it for a few minutes each time after a warm up it's different feel then the Peloton spin bike with that huge flywheel. 

As for tapering, for a sprint I tone it down starting about a week ahead of time, but keeping some intensity.  I wouldn't do Masters Friday morning unless you just go for a 30 minute session.  If your race is Saturday, Thursday is the day to do NOTHING.  Light workouts in all three sports the day before.  If you get a chance to go to Hammerman, do a dry run (and that place is great for doing that, and you probably won't be alone as it's the only legal OWS that I know of in MD).  Transitions really matter in sprints so practice.  If you're wearing a wetsuit, get at least a pool swim with it on, even though you'll look ridiculous and be sure to rinse it immediately.

OK, I think I've done enough man-splaining for the day. 

Originally posted by nicole14e

Originally posted by jmhpsu93

Originally posted by nicole14e Hey all, I failed again this morning at completing a brick, but decided to start a power zone program on the Pelly (what I'm not going to call my Peloton b/c I am lazy). They have a 5 week program so I started it today, kind of stupidly since I won't be able to do much next week. But I'll do my FTP test tomorrow or Friday so I'll at least have that done, even if I don't do the full program. I'd love some advice for next week. I feel probably the most prepared I've ever felt leading up to a triathlon. I've been running regularly, swimming consistently for the last couple months, and now with my Pelly I'll have more "bike" training than I've ever had. For a sprint, I feel like I don't need to "taper," but any advice on what I should do as to not overdo it? This is where I struggle, and without a plan I will likely do too much or too little.

Your running and swimming base are way above what you need for a sprint, and it's probably too late to do any speed work though I think with you playing football, etc. you get some anyway.  Get out on your real bike once or twice and just hammer it for a few minutes each time after a warm up it's different feel then the Peloton spin bike with that huge flywheel. 

As for tapering, for a sprint I tone it down starting about a week ahead of time, but keeping some intensity.  I wouldn't do Masters Friday morning unless you just go for a 30 minute session.  If your race is Saturday, Thursday is the day to do NOTHING.  Light workouts in all three sports the day before.  If you get a chance to go to Hammerman, do a dry run (and that place is great for doing that, and you probably won't be alone as it's the only legal OWS that I know of in MD).  Transitions really matter in sprints so practice.  If you're wearing a wetsuit, get at least a pool swim with it on, even though you'll look ridiculous and be sure to rinse it immediately.

OK, I think I've done enough man-splaining for the day. 

It's not mansplaining if I asked Def won't be wearing the wetsuit unless it's required, which I doubt it will be looking at the 10 day forecast. This is super helpful, thank you! I definitely need to get my bike in good shape this weekend and get out on it a few times, that's excellent advice. So with this in mind, my rough plan for the rest of the time is going to be the following (let me know if you'd change anything): Thursday - FTP test Friday - Masters and noon Pelly ride Saturday - Masters Sunday - OWS at Hammerman, possibly bike and run as well while there Monday - 30-45 min Pelly ride Tuesday - 30 minute run Wednesday - 20-30 minute ride outside Thursday - Nada Friday - 10 minute light run, 10-20 minute light bike ride outside Saturday - Be a Bada$$!

The only thing I'd add is a couple of swims the week of the race.  Short, fast.  You're probably more in tune with how you race swimming vs. how much rest you've had...I'm better off keeping my feel for the water and only tapering total distance vs. frequency leading up to a race. 

I've tried both ways, Nathalie, and the off day two days before a race then about 30-35 minutes of "quick" pacing work across the three disciplines works better for me than the day off before a race.  Friel recommends that in his plans and his books.  I think the science behind it is your legs don't have quite the "snap" after an off day, and the the short, quick bursts the day before prevent that.  If you can do any of this at the race site, so much the better.