Racing Day After Day

You just got done with your race. What is up next? Oh yeah, another race. Sometimes the turnaround is only a few hours! Race in the AM then PM, or PM then AM. There are several key things you can do to make sure that you are prepared to do your best day after day. Let's look at the training required for multi-day racing as well as the particulars of the time between each event that will make a big difference.

Block Training

As with all competition, preparation for the event specific demands is very important. With multi-day racing you will want to include multi-day "blocks" of training. In block training you will spend 2-3 days in a row doing race intensity efforts and then 2-3 days of recovery pace exercise. You can repeat this pattern for up to a couple of weeks. Block training works to stress the body in much the same way as multi-day racing. You need to stress your body in a fashion similar to your racing in order to perform well. Block training does just that. For events that have multiple events on the same day you can go that extra step and perform 2+ workouts on a given day. In fact this is an excellent way to split up training stress and give your body two efforts that can sum up to more than one longer effort.

Race Day Techniques

Once you have properly prepared for an event in your training there are several things that you can do on race day that will help greatly.

• Cool down after the each effort. Don't just stop, even though you may be tired. You need to do a complete cool down by keeping our heart rate in the 60% range for at least 15-20 minutes, more if the effort was particularly short and intense. This speeds recovery and is less taxing on your heart. During exercise your muscles contract and squeeze blood in the veins back to the heart. This is called the "muscle pump", and it makes it so your heart doesn't have to work so hard. I always say that the cool down is really the beginning of your next workout. Give yourself the benefit of a proper cool down and you'll feel the positive effects when you start up next time.
• Refuel quickly after the event. Research has shown that muscle glycogen stores (the muscle's energy supply) are replenished in 12 hours when you refuel regardless of timing. However, in under 12 hours athletes that refueled quickly (within 30-60 minutes of exercise) had higher muscle glycogen stores sooner. So, if you are doing multiple events in the same day it is really important to get start refueling promtly.
• Warm up for the next event. Make sure that you are getting everything "opened up" prior to the start of the subsequent events. With repeated efforts it is often harder to get everything up to full speed. Take the time to get a full warm up in so that you are ready at the start.
• Rest. Between efforts make sure that you are doing as little as possible. Most of us are not pro athletes, so we'll probably have to do some things. The saying goes "If you don't have to stand, sit. If you don't have to sit, lie down." Don't put extra fatigue into your body by walking around all day after the event or standing in the hot sun. Get as much rest as you can.

Do It Again

When you have done the preparation in your training and taken good care of yourself between events you can be confident that you can go out and do it again. You are tougher than you think you are. Believe in yourself and have fun!