Back 2 Back Sprints?

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TylerJ76
TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
I have the opportunity on August 4th-5th to do 2 sprint triathlons. One on Saturday, one on Sunday.

Good idea?
Too much too soon?

Replies

  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
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    I'd do one and spectate/volunteer the other. I learned a lot watching Texas 70.3. From how quick the elites come out of the water, to the mess that is the mount/dismount line, etc.
  • jjjohnson31
    jjjohnson31 Posts: 108 Member
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    I like the idea; seems like an interesting challenge for the weekend.

    I am a big-time planner; so the quick turnaround of gear would pose a set of issues all by itself. But as long as you know your equipment/transition set up, then this too would add to the fun/challenge of the weekend.

    I would be very interested to read a race report on back-to-back sprints, both in terms of logistical challenges but also performance from one race to the next.
  • freezerburn2012
    freezerburn2012 Posts: 273 Member
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    Why not? It's just a sprint. :wink: :devil:

    If you do both, I would go hard on the first one and take it easy on the second one. Drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep, eat your calories and have fun!

    Don't forget to put up a race report!
  • Cgirlish
    Cgirlish Posts: 263 Member
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    it might help you if your thinking of doing longer distances , you can think of it as a 2 day olympic distance :)
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
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    Why not? It's just a sprint. :wink: :devil:

    If you do both, I would go hard on the first one and take it easy on the second one. Drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep, eat your calories and have fun!

    Don't forget to put up a race report!

    I would do just the opposite. Easy on the first one, then hard as I had on the second one. But I'd sure do them both.

    It takes more planning than you might think. Laying out 2 sets of race gear (I don't dryer my washed outfits, I let them air dry), making sure you have extra nutrition, drink LOTS of liquids between the 2 races. Once you're done with race number 1, it's not sitting on your duff till the next morning. You gotta really focus on recovering quickly and resetting for day 2. Recovery foods don't necessarily make the best pre-race foods. You gotta really get that figured out. It's a challenge, but it can be done.

    Last year some friends and I made it to Savageman in western Maryland. It was a 30 mile day 1, and a 70 mile day 2. Day 2's HIM race is an absolute monster. So you HAD to lay off on day 1, otherwise you were staring straight at a day 2 DNF. It was "fun", if your version of fun involves pain, struggles, stiffness, dehydrating, severe exhaustion, and heart palpitations the entire ride home. Luckily for me, mine does...

    In short, is there really a decision to be made here? Seems all but paid for to me...
  • Canuck_TriFit
    Canuck_TriFit Posts: 97 Member
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    I would say it depends on your fitness level. Can you remember how you felt the day after your last triathlon? I was in one triathlon where a guy did an Olympic, a Sprint and a Try-A-Tri all in the same day. I've also seen some people do a Sprint on the Saturday as a warm-up to an Olympic on the Sunday. It all depends on the person.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Depends on how competitive you want to be for them, and what kind of shape you are in. Can you do them back to back? Sure. Can you race them back to back? Maybe, maybe not.
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
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    Depends on how competitive you want to be for them, and what kind of shape you are in. Can you do them back to back? Sure. Can you race them back to back? Maybe, maybe not.

    What's the difference? Who knew there was a difference between "doing" and "racing"? Isn't the appeal of back to back racing trying to find that perfect balance between the two races? Much like finding the perfect balance between bike leg and run leg? The logical conclusion to this statement seems to be "Stick to 5K's so you can do your best racing."

    Sorry. Not seeing your logic.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    If you want to win every race you enter, back-to-back races might not give you the best chance. If you're just trying to get the most out of your body or really dial in your efforts, then sure, have at it.
  • bstamps12
    bstamps12 Posts: 1,184
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    Do it. I was so nervous about this past weekend where I did 2 back to back events, but I know I would have been disappointed if I skipped out on either one. Sunday hurt, but it was the type of "FUN" trijoe described. I wrote about both events on my blog here on MFP, but didn't include too many logistical notes in the blog. I also had a 3 hour drive on Saturday after my event to get to the sprint tri on Sunday. The hardest part was not eating everything in sight (read: junk food) after the event on Saturday. Eating enough quality calories to replace calories burned AND fuel for the next day was a challenge.

    Do a run through on a weekend coming up. It'll help you think through logistics as well as see how your body handles it. Maybe do a swim-bike brick Saturday and a bike-run brick Sunday...it'll be good training even if you decide you only want to do 1 of the sprints in August.

    DO IT!