Whether you’re looking to use a race as a means of focus to get fit and healthy, or the races you really want to do just happen to be a few weeks up to a month apart, training for this will require some special attention. It can be done, but you need to set yourself up with a plan well ahead of time to make sure to give yourself enough time to peak, and also rest and recover from the training necessary to make this possible.
Quite a few years ago, my first year of racing triathlons actually, I got signed up for a Full Iron Distance (140.6 miles) Triathlon, but had never even participated in a triathlon before. I knew it was going to be a lot to get ready for a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a full marathon. So I decided to sign up for all the triathlon distances in that year (Sprint, Olympic, 70.3 and 140.6) in order to get ready for the big one. I’d been coaching athletes mostly in cycling events, road racing, criterium, and time trial, and I had a new athlete who was doing triathlons. She's the reason I signed up for the race! Luckily I had 7 months to prepare for it. With the triathlon season starting in April and my big race in July, there was the potential for multiple races happening within a short period of each other.
I look back now and can reflect, and objectively recognize and understand learning points that I gained from that experience. The amount of work I put in that year was incredible, and NOT what I would be able to do now as a masters athlete. My recovery between hard bouts was poor, and my nutrition questionable. It made me start thinking, “How do endurance athletes race events successfully back to back?” Well I learned a lot, and have been using that experience to help my athletes plan for seasons where you may have several races clumped up close to one another.
Plan Well Ahead of Time
Before you even start training for your events, you must plan out your season to build up for a big event or events. Identify which event(s) are most important to you, and which are more of just the experience event. This may be Nationals, an Ironman sanctioned event, a world championship or the local event you want to win or PR in.
Once you’ve decided, then you can address how you want to treat all your events throughout the season. Do I want to be competitive in that distance? Do I want to finish in a certain time? Are there qualification requirements to get into the race(s)? Has your nutrition and hydration been a pain point for you? Etc.
To help you organize your races/events there is this wonderful labeling system for this sort of thing. They are labeled as “A,” “B” or “C” events based on how important they are to you. You can have more than one “A” race in a year, but you have to really be sure there is enough time between them to prepare for each one adequately. More importantly, after one of these “A” races, you’ll need to recover, rebuild and then re-peak.
Lastly you need to make sure that mentally and emotionally you have committed to these race labels, not just on paper. I’ve seen athletes say that an event is only a “C,” but then their nemesis shows up at the event and they go all out, throwing their hard work and recovery plans out the door. It’s best to keep to your plan as best you can for the best possible outcome.
Manage your Load
I use the Annual Training Plan (ATP) on Training Peaks to help build a season, and it’s the perfect management system. The ATP will allow you to plan out when your build, transition, peak and recovery times will be. It will also allow you to track your amount of weekly stress and compare it to how you feel you are recovering. With that information it will allow you to figure out how much training is needed to peak for your “A” race, and any other races that may be close to it, and also how much recovery you will need to make the peak the strongest possible.
When building your ATP it is helpful if you have some prior training. This allows you to see how much training you were capable of and how long it took you to recover from it. Even if you don’t have prior info, you can still plan out your training, you will just need to be patient as it may take some time to figure out your capabilities.
Many of my long course athletes like doing an ultramarathon or marathon event during the winter or early season to help boost their running fitness. As a coach I can argue both ways if it is beneficial or not, but if it is not your main race, why shy away from doing a long bike ride the day before to simulate racing? Equally, remember that each triathlon distance or endurance event brings with it different physiological stresses that have to be trained for. What you have to be good at for long distance triathlon racing is very different from the sprint or standard distance races.
I use the Annual Training Plan (ATP) on Training Peaks to help build a season, and it’s the perfect management system. The ATP will allow you to plan out when your build, transition, peak and recovery times will be. It will also allow you to track your amount of weekly stress and compare it to how you feel you are recovering. With that information it will allow you to figure out how much training is needed to peak for your “A” race, and any other races that may be close to it, and also how much recovery you will need to make the peak the strongest possible.
When building your ATP it is helpful if you have some prior training. This allows you to see how much training you were capable of and how long it took you to recover from it. Even if you don’t have prior info, you can still plan out your training, you will just need to be patient as it may take some time to figure out your capabilities.
Many of my long course athletes like doing an ultramarathon or marathon event during the winter or early season to help boost their running fitness. As a coach I can argue both ways if it is beneficial or not, but if it is not your main race, why shy away from doing a long bike ride the day before to simulate racing? Equally, remember that each triathlon distance or endurance event brings with it different physiological stresses that have to be trained for. What you have to be good at for long distance triathlon racing is very different from the sprint or standard distance races.
Recover Right
When you race, you are pushing your body to the limit. Things like carbohydrate storages will be low and cortisol will be higher than they would normally be. If you don’t recover properly, you could end up ill, injured, fatigued or lose interest all together. Racing is exhausting both physically and mentally, and a recovery phase can bring you back to form and feeling stronger than before.This is how we allow our bodies to adapt to the training we just put it through. Think of it this way, Build, Peak, Race, Recover, Build from a higher level of fitness, Peak higher, Race better, Recover, Repeat.
The truth is, no matter how much pre-planning you have made, you can never fully estimate how you will fare after the event, especially if the event in question is long distance. When you are racing back-to-back events, don’t have unrealistic expectations of “smashing” each race. Treat the race with the priority it deserves based on your goals. Then the recovery process becomes much easier. Most importantly, listen to your body, not your ego. Your body may need more recovery than the plan gives, you’ll need to let your coach know and adapt the program as necessary.
Equally, if you have decided to train straight through one race to your next event, do exactly that, put in the big overload sessions as planned. Don’t shy away from them because you are tired. You had planned to be! Stick to your annual plan.
Often doing some familiar workout loops can help you compare yourself using time, speed, power or RPE. Your local loop lets you know how well you are feeling and performing so you can gauge your fatigue and overall performance level better.
When you race, you are pushing your body to the limit. Things like carbohydrate storages will be low and cortisol will be higher than they would normally be. If you don’t recover properly, you could end up ill, injured, fatigued or lose interest all together. Racing is exhausting both physically and mentally, and a recovery phase can bring you back to form and feeling stronger than before.This is how we allow our bodies to adapt to the training we just put it through. Think of it this way, Build, Peak, Race, Recover, Build from a higher level of fitness, Peak higher, Race better, Recover, Repeat.
The truth is, no matter how much pre-planning you have made, you can never fully estimate how you will fare after the event, especially if the event in question is long distance. When you are racing back-to-back events, don’t have unrealistic expectations of “smashing” each race. Treat the race with the priority it deserves based on your goals. Then the recovery process becomes much easier. Most importantly, listen to your body, not your ego. Your body may need more recovery than the plan gives, you’ll need to let your coach know and adapt the program as necessary.
Equally, if you have decided to train straight through one race to your next event, do exactly that, put in the big overload sessions as planned. Don’t shy away from them because you are tired. You had planned to be! Stick to your annual plan.
Often doing some familiar workout loops can help you compare yourself using time, speed, power or RPE. Your local loop lets you know how well you are feeling and performing so you can gauge your fatigue and overall performance level better.
Pay Attention to Signs of Over-Fatigue or Injury
I can’t say this enough, listen to your body. If you feel a niggle, address it, talk to your coach, don’t just follow the plan blindly. All aches and pains are information, and this information is useful. If you keep on struggling to hit targets, you may be going too hard too soon, or it may be time for a recovery week. Maybe you are more tired than you anticipated being at this point in the year, maybe your nutrition is in need of a check in. Make sure you bring this up with your coach, don’t just keep following the plan without saying something.
When you're training for these goals, you’re putting stress on your body, and it needs to be given time to recover. This will allow you to look at what you were doing, see if it was enough or not enough, and you can learn something new about yourself in the process.
Going back to my first year of racing and all the events I did within a 2 month span - I recall even now the comment of a teammate that I obviously heard but for whatever reason chose to ignore - probably because I was 35 and invincible - ,“Are you eating enough and getting enough recovery?”
I can’t say this enough, listen to your body. If you feel a niggle, address it, talk to your coach, don’t just follow the plan blindly. All aches and pains are information, and this information is useful. If you keep on struggling to hit targets, you may be going too hard too soon, or it may be time for a recovery week. Maybe you are more tired than you anticipated being at this point in the year, maybe your nutrition is in need of a check in. Make sure you bring this up with your coach, don’t just keep following the plan without saying something.
When you're training for these goals, you’re putting stress on your body, and it needs to be given time to recover. This will allow you to look at what you were doing, see if it was enough or not enough, and you can learn something new about yourself in the process.
Going back to my first year of racing and all the events I did within a 2 month span - I recall even now the comment of a teammate that I obviously heard but for whatever reason chose to ignore - probably because I was 35 and invincible - ,“Are you eating enough and getting enough recovery?”
Summary
At the end of the day, if you have plenty of time between events, you will want to reset and rebuild into the second event. However, if you only have a few weeks between your big events, you’ll most likely need to favor one over the other, and that would be something you went over with your coach in your annual training planning meeting.
The period in between two back-to-back races can literally make or break your season, so you’ll have to pay attention to both your training data and your body's overall energy or fatigue then make your decision based on both of them. This is where a coach can really help you through giving an objective perspective to help you keep on track for your “A” race(s).
At the end of the day, if you have plenty of time between events, you will want to reset and rebuild into the second event. However, if you only have a few weeks between your big events, you’ll most likely need to favor one over the other, and that would be something you went over with your coach in your annual training planning meeting.
The period in between two back-to-back races can literally make or break your season, so you’ll have to pay attention to both your training data and your body's overall energy or fatigue then make your decision based on both of them. This is where a coach can really help you through giving an objective perspective to help you keep on track for your “A” race(s).
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