600K and HIM

[Susan Otcenas]

So, I got an email from my coach this morning, and even though this weekend's 600K rando ride has been on my calendar for months, for some reason she thought I wasn't doing it. Don't know why. Now she's trying to convince me not to ride it, because it messes with the training plan she has laid out for my HIM in 5 weeks.

I'm irritated with myself for not communicating with her better, and I'm irritated with her for not asking for more clarification on the schedule if she was unclear as to whether or not I was doing it.

But, I think I'm going to be stubborn and do it anyway. Her point is that with a ride of this magnitude, she can't give me a training plan this week or next that will get me closer to my goal of doing well at the HIM. She says she understands that cycling is my passion, but that I should make a sacrifice (ie. not do the 600K) to do better at the HIM.

I have a time goal for the HIM (6:45) but really mostly just want to finish it without falling apart. That will be a huge accomplishment for me. I told my coach early on that I would probably be wanting to do things that were not necessarily "advisable" as part of the "ideal" HIM training plan, but that it was really important to me that this plan not become too much like "work". In other words, when I have to give up cycling (which is my sanity saver) in pursuit of a plan or goal (the HIM), that makes me feel resentful.

Am I completely off my rocker? Am I not seeing the forest for the trees??

[Becky]

You have to do what makes you happy, IMO. You've worked hard for the 600k and, if doing it will make you happy, then go for it! It sounds like you'll have at least a month to get back to HIM training.

[Veronica]

Well, I think you're crazy for wanting to do a 600 K period. My smilies don't work on my work computer, so imagine a big grin.

However, if that's your idea of fun you should do what is fun. Unless your HIM course is really nasty, I think you're going to blow 6:45 out ofthe water anyway. You have been so focused up to this point. You need to do what makes you happy. That's why we do this... we're not getting paid for it. We do 'cause we like it.

Veronica

[rocknrollgirl]

Well,
I can only speak from my personal experience. I race on a team, and last season I turned myself inside out to "take one for the team", changing my own training schedule and sacrificing some of my personal goals. In the end, my sacrifice and accomplishements were a blip on the radar.

This season, I am sticking to my own personal goals, and my own schedule. It will put me out of sync with my teammates, but it is what is best for me.

If your goal at the HIM is to finish without falling apart, that will be doable. I say go for the cycling goals too and do the rando.

[kacie tri-ing]

I go back and forth--

Your coach typically knows best--especially when it is the stuff you DONT want to hear. That's why I have a coach--he tells me things I don't want to hear or admit ALL the time.

There are more seasons and more races, but at the same time, it is your season/adventure.

[GLC1968]

You are already running, riding and swimming well in excess of the distances necessary for your HIM and you are still 6 weeks out. I don't think two weeks of altered plans is going to greatly effect your performance at your HIM. You will still make your goal times, I'm sure of it.

I think you should do the 600K. In the big picture, isn't it a pretty major stepping stone for you? I don't think you should pass up this opportunity.

[colby]

You are already running, riding and swimming well in excess of the distances necessary for your HIM and you are still 6 weeks out. I don't think two weeks of altered plans is going to greatly effect your performance at your HIM. You will still make your goal times, I'm sure of it.

I think you should do the 600K. In the big picture, isn't it a pretty major stepping stone for you? I don't think you should pass up this opportunity.

I would tend to agree with V and GLC - you are going to have no problem finishing the HIM, and will probably surpass your goals. The important thing is to build a little more and then taper. If the HIM is your "A" race of the season, though, you may want to consider alternatives - maybe make this HIM a "B" race and race another in the fall? (Or skip the 600k and try to find another of those in the fall)

So, week 1 - 600k
Week 2 - Recover - low percentage of volume (25-50%?)
Week 3 - Some percentage of your normal volume (50-75%?)
Week 4 - Taper
Week 5 - HIM

[tulip]

Can your trainer adapt your training plan to accommodate the 600k rando? Seems like with 5-6 weeks to work with, that would be a reasonable request.

I agree that you should go towards your goals.

[maillotpois]

I say go for the 600k (duh, what else would I say?). When I did mine I did back out of a planned ride the next week (DMD), but you have plenty of time to recover til your event and there just aren't all that many 600ks around. Your head's in the 600k (which it has to be in order to be successful), and you should really capitalize on that momentum.

[kacie tri-ing]

Decided yet? I am really interested to see what you decide!

[Susan Otcenas]

Decided yet? I am really interested to see what you decide!

Damn the torpedoes. I'm doing it.

And now I'm even more ticked at my coach. She sent me my week's plan and said "this is what I would have had you do if you weren't doing the 600K, so adapt it as you need to." Um, isn't that what I'm paying YOU for??

I'll have 5 weeks from this Saturday to the HIM. In the grand scheme of things, I just don't think this is going to mess with my HIM preparedness all that much, unless I manage to injure myself.

Thank you all for your words of advice - it helped!

BTW, I'm flattered by the votes of confidence on my time goal, but I suspect I'll come in pretty close to that. The race is at elevation (4000 feet for the swim & run, and the bike course is hilly and climbs up Mt. Bachelor to an elevation of 6500 feet) and it's typically in the 90s in afternoon.

[kacie tri-ing]

So exciting

You probably need to open that door of communication back up with your coach fast. DH and I have found that if we let coaching frustrations simmer, they totally pop back up later on in some way. Work it out...it will be better for your training She is probably just feeling like you are not listening, and you are feeling the same way!

[tulip]

Good advice, kacie, about the communication. She probably thinks, "what is she paying me for, if she won't do what I tell her to do!?" And you're probably saying, "what am I paying you for, if you won't tell me how to do what I want to do!?"

What gets me, though, is that the rando has been on your calendar for months, and your coach chose to ignore it instead of working with you for the past few months to adapt your training to accommodate your goals. It's not like you popped up one day last week and decided to do this out of the blue.

Can't wait to read the ride report!

[Susan Otcenas]

What gets me, though, is that the rando has been on your calendar for months, and your coach chose to ignore it instead of working with you for the past few months to adapt your training to accommodate your goals. It's not like you popped up one day last week and decided to do this out of the blue.

Bingo.

And it's not like it's the first rando ride I've done this year, either. I guess that's what bugs me - like she's not paying attention.

And yes, I should communicate with her more. Takes two to tango.

[Pedal Wench]

A little late to the party, but I think you should definitely do the 600K. Like others have said, you're not being paid to do the HIM, you're doing them BOTH for the satifaction, pride, and sense of acheivement that you'll get for tackling two major events. Do them both, and ask your coach to please adjust your plan to fit the rides you're doing. My coach adjusts my plan for my 24-hour race to allow for a pesky business trip that hits every year right when my plan should be maxed out. That's what I pay her for.