Saturday, July 30, 2011

My TRIATH-STUD Wife & Need Your Advice...

Michael ...
Most of you follow my Super-Studly-Wife Michael of Slowly Tri-Ing ... if you don't ... DO IT NOW!!! She had another Triathlon this morning and she FRIGGIN' KILLED IT!!! I won't steal her thunder ... but she was awesome!!!  I'm sooooo proud of her! 

Unfortunately she lives a "natural athlete".  Sports & fitness are about the only things I'm just naturally pretty good at in this world.  And she would probably be the first to admit it ... she's not a "natural athlete".  Every step of her journey is a challenge.  I love getting out of bed in the morning to run ... she hates it!  I can't wait to come home and start hammering out my second workout in the afternoon ... she dreads it!  And even though the heat we're in right now is a little tough, I LOVE THE CHALLENGE ... she longs for fall!  But even though this whole fitness thing is a chore for her at times, she is completely devoted to it and does a great job ... and she truly inspires me!  I love you sweetie!

AWESOME JOB BABY ... YOU WERE GREAT TODAY!!!
Michael last year in the Olathe Triathlon ("Wow, great camera work Jim!" ... Awe, thanks everybody!)

Need Advice ...
I had a great 22 mile run this morning in the DRIVING RAIN!  I'm not joking.  It literally poured 20 out of the 22 miles in Lees Summit this morning.  And on the back half, the wind picked up to about 20 mph.  But the good news is ... it was only about 75 degrees and I got though it!  Tomorrow I've got a 10-12 mile recovery run as I build up to my back-to-back marathons in October.  Which brings me to the questions I have for y'all ...

1. Have any of you ever ran back-to-back marathons, halfs, 5Ks, or triathlons?
2. If so, what is the best way to recover and get ready for the second one the next day?
3. How far out did you start training?

I think I can just naturally build up the mileage and simulate the back-to-back process on weekends, but I want to make sure I do it right.  On a regular long run, I of course have a recovery routine ... but should I modify it a little?  I think one thing I'll add is a lot more stretching during the day and try to stay active without sitting around too much.  But I was just curious on every one's thoughts.  Thanks for your help!
... be great today!

21 comments:

  1. GO Michael!! I can't wait to read the race report!

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  2. Awesome Michael!!! Jim - Sorry I don't have any advise for you on back to back marathons. If I were doing it, I would race one and do one for fun. Listen to your body. Sorry - It's all I've got. I'm not crazy enough to try back to back anything. Haha! Good luck with the training. I'm sure you will kill it!

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  3. Congrats to Michael!

    Sorry no advice for you...the only thing I do back to back are rest days. :)

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  4. yay michael!!
    and what you may want to try-modify your recovery ritual.
    include ice bath
    foam roller
    stretching
    post run meals
    hydration
    great idea to simulate back to back races on the weekend!!. use that as a base to modify your recovery between races. take note of how your body is feeling and what works best to quicken the recovery process.
    you will do awesome,no doubts!

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  5. Back to back races scare me! I'm not quite there yet. I have to mentally decompress. The fact that other people do absolutely amazes and motivates me!

    Your wife rocks!

    xo
    Sarah
    Get Up & Go

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  6. I have no idea how to do a back-to-back. Here's my unqualified advice: Focus ALOT on nutrition. To be honest Jim. You will be fit enough for this. I am worried about fueling though. Be very mindful my friend. Go Royals. I may just make them my favorite A.L. team.

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  7. I did 5ks. Last race of the year, first race of the year but 5Ks are pretty easy to pull off. Good luck with it.
    And yes that is a good photo of Michael swimming. Love your write up about the difference between you two with the desire to work out. Doesn't she ever want to deck you - in the nicest way?

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  8. I did the Goofy Challenge in January which is a half one day and then a full the next. Recovery wise, I don't think I did anything special although marathon type mileage like you are probably doing might require a little more thought I would assume. I think I pretty much took it easy, maybe an ice bath that is about it. Race weekend, I just came home, iced down, took a nap and tried to not do much of anything in prep for day two.

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  9. I'll second the foam roller. It's amazing for loosening up that IT band.

    If she's not using recovery drink, I'd recommend starting. Hammer makes a good one, as does Fluid.

    I never used them until a coach told me about them - they speed recovery, which is to say that they reduce pain, stiffness and general "I hate this" stuff.

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  10. So happy for Michael!!!! looking forward to read that post!!!
    back to back...my only experience is back to back pregnancies....I have yet to figure out how to recover from this and it has been 5.5 years!!!

    you will be great I do think that what Christ said makes sense...he does give good advices. dont tell him I said that though..it is top secret

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  11. oopps what a mispelling error there... Chris not Christ...of course...

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  12. I have not done back to back marathons but I do a lot of back to back big training days training for Ironman so RECOVERY is my focus! I think #1 you need to be ridiculously fit and #2 it's all about whole food nutrition. Good stuff... not processed crap. Think tons of fruit and vegetables and plenty of water... And good luck with that!

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  13. Congrats to Michael. Can't wait to read her report.

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  14. I have zero advice for you friend Jim because you're an amazing runner and I wouldnt dare mess with you mo-jo BUT as for Michael, she might not know it but I think she's an inspiration to all of us because she's extremely real and honest and tries her hardest. She doesn't pretend to love training when it sometimes sucks and she has fun which is sometimes something we all lost track of. Go Michael!!

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  15. Congrats to Michael!!

    I have no solid advice but I do think as long as you increase your mileage you will be prepared for the impact.

    I think your plan seems pretty good.

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  16. I have no advice, but one of my goals is to run back to back halves. Can't wait to hear what you learn.

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  17. Great job, Michael! Back-to-back marathons? Sorry...I got nuthin'. :)

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  18. I think you were trying to make us Texans jealous of your rain...... going on 30+ days of 100+ with NO RAIN HERE ---- EEEEKKKKK When do things actually just catch on fire??????

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  19. Congrats indeed to Michael!!!

    I have no idea on the back to back marathon advice, only thing I might recommend is to contact or email Stephanie - she has done back to back marathons before, and also did the 50 state marathon challenge too:

    http://50marathonchallenge.blogspot.com/

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  20. I need a little more information, what are the actual events, the distances of the events.

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  21. Your wife IS a stud! She is so inspiring just like you! As for the advice portion, I do back-to-back marathons almost weekly. What I tend to do is pull an all-nighter after the first marathon. Why even let my body rest? Resting is for the weak. Then I eat candy bars and ice cream and potato chips and drink pop and beer all night. I just ran a marathon for crying out loud- I DESERVE the treats. Then I just put my running shoes back on and get out there and do it again. No big deal.


    =) Love you.
    Don't be mad- I get my sense of humor from YOU.

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