Late Season Race? Here's What to Focus on in September
The race season hits at different times of the year for different athletes. Some of you may be wrapping up your season at the beginning of October with Playtri Fort Worth or the Waco 70.3. Others of you may be still in the thick of training especially if you are doing IM Arizona, Florida, or one of the late season 70.3 races. If you have a late season race that you are looking to peak for, while everyone else is talking about what their plans are for the offseason then here are a few recommendations.
Get Race Specific. With a late season race, it is possible to get a little off track when it comes to race specificity in your training. Although endurance sports are primarily about aerobic fitness, just going out and swimming for a long time and riding your bike for a long time and then running for a long time won’t be the best option for you. Take a look at the course profile and consider the challenges. Racing Arizona? The water is COLD! Do some cold water immersion or cold showers to prepare for race morning. Racing Florida? There’s only 1800 ft of elevation gain in 112 miles on the bike. How comfortable are you in the aero position? Does your bike fit need to be revisited? Racing La Quinta 70.3? The run course has a lot of turns, are you incorporating turns, starts, and stops into your long run?
Mix It Up! Specificity is great, but the mental fatigue of a long season can take its toll. Mixing it up can be helpful. Need to get an open water swim workout in? Try Swim Across America! Bike rallies are a great way to get a long ride in. And doing a 5k is an excellent way to work on maintaining a high cadence when you are spending most of your time doing aerobic based running.
Get Strong. If you started racing in March or April and your last race is in November or December, then the wear and tear on your body starts to add up with the mental fatigue. While mixing it up can help you keep things fresh mentally, doing strength work can help keep things fresh physically. Since aerobic endurance is still your primary focus, your strength work should support it by including developing core strength, lower back strength for the aero position, lat strength for the swim, and strengthening stabilizing muscles in the hips and glutes. A lot can be done with simple tools like a TRX trainer, resistance bands, mini bands, swim bands, and light weights or kettlebells.
Put the “Fun” in Fundamentals. There is never a bad time to work on skill development! If your swim form or open water swim skills are lacking, then participate in an open water swim workout or take a swim lesson. If you need to practice taking bottle hand offs, then ask a friend to help. Set up cones in a parking lot to practice your bike handling skills. Don’t forget the small stuff while you are tackling the big goals!
I hope you found this article helpful. Email me at jim.rowe@playtri.com if you have any questions. Happy training and racing this year!
Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 5 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and an Ironman and 70.3 World Championship Qualifier who works with adult athletes who are chasing PRs, moving up to long course racing, or want to qualify for a world championship. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.