dhyte's Group - FULL (Page 4)

Hey Danny,

Good to hear some good news!  Got a question for you..

How much and how far should I taper for a race?  I'm doing 6-8 sprints this season, including an Xterra race or two, maybe 1 or 2 Olympic races.  I've kind of been building week after week, then just cutting way down... you can see my logs... but I never really know how much or how far ahead...and then I always just jump right back in the day after my races. 

Any ideas on this?

So here's my take.....

For sprints, I would say that you need to be getting two days of good rest before the race.  Three for an Olympic.  This may allow for some very light exercising to get some blood in the muscles, but you want to keep it very minimal. The other issue is sleep.  Two extra full nights of sleep will always make TON of difference on race day.

With sprints and olympic distance, it is tempting to go full bore right up to race day, allow yourself to not be fully rested, because you know you can "muscle" through the distance.  Anything over 2 hours will start to expose the shortcomings of this approach.

As far as post race recovery time....I like to rest/swim the 2 days after a race.  The swimming is a good way to stretch out the legs again without overdoing it.  Again, the recovery time will be even more of an issue after a more demanding effort/distance.

From your comment above, you may be racing as many as 12 times this year.  I'd suggest picking which are your "A" races and prepare accordingly.  You can treat the others a training days and dial in technique, nutrition, and other.  I would defintely structure my season around the A races and go from there.

You have a very heavy training regimen, and at some point need t think about preservation throughout the race season (not overtaxing yourself, allowing for some good diversions/cross training, avoiding injuries, and holding back just alittle when it makes sense, in order to perform at your highest during your A races).

Danny

I think you could do a HIM today.  Which ones are you thinking about?  I see the picture on your log page for Oceanside, but you should do one this year.  Is the 1/2 vineman sold out?  I did it in 2005 and it was a great race.

Wow, that's so incredibly nice of you... let me check on registration, and I'll let you know for sure!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

Resting HR could be affected by a variety of different factors. Sleep quantity/quality, fatigue, anxiety, stress, diet/stimulants, medications, and alot of medical reasons that I'm not qualified to speak on, could all be reasons for the change in your HR.

How is your performance while training? Is your HR rising any quicker than usual during activity? What about fatigue (in general as well as when exercising)?

Any sleep pattern, medication, or life changes? Maybe I stressed everyone (in addition to myself) out this week !

If the HR change is isolated, I wouldn't worry much. If you are really concerned, and/or there are other symptoms, maybe a visit to the DR would be a good idea?

Danny

Trish,

I meant to also ask you when, where, and how you are measuring your HR.

Danny 

Hello All,

Thanks for the input regarding earplugs, much appreciated. I am gonna try them tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.

You might consider checking your HR at a couple of of different times in the day, but only compare the readings from each specifc time to subesequent day's values.

For instance check every morning when you first wake up (I have read about some people sleeping with a HR monitor on!). Only compare data values from additional morning readings to this number, in order to compare apples-to-apples.

Maybe do the same thing for mid day, or evening readings.

Another interesting data set would be pre-exercise, vs 1 or 2 hour post exercise. I have read that recovery period and HR trending back down to "normal" levels is a good indicator of heart health and fitness.

Again, I'm not qualified to offer medical advice, but I think the HR #s would be more meaniful if taken in a very delierate manner and compared very specifically.

Danny

I won't be doing the race, but I have the last 3 years.  If you would like some input on the course (especially the bike) let me know.   Since I found out I can still exercise prior to the 7th, I may be available to ride the course next Sunday afternoon.  Let me know if you (or any of the others are interested).

Danny

We could meet early afternoon (1 pm??).  I'd suggest we meet in the parking lot at Spanish Landing (will be used for transition area during race). 

Here is the location:

    http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=113246358085936270917.00000112dd56ee62d7384

Here is a link to the bike course map that we will ride:

     http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&channel=s&msa=0&msid=112723654055640081259.0000011280a62e6b44d6c&t=h&om=1&z=13 

Let me know if 1 pm is a good time for eveyone.  Bring your running shoes for an optional short run afterwards.

I plan to take an easy/moderate pace for the day, so don't wear me out....  

Danny