Author Topic: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?  (Read 4972 times)

FloridaWindSUP

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Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« on: June 26, 2015, 06:57:08 AM »
It's Friday. I have a 4.3 mile flatwater SUP race on Sunday morning. I'm trying to figure out what the best type of training is for today (two days out) and tomorrow (day before).

Saturday I did a 6.5 mile SUP race
Sunday I SUP'ed a slow 3 miles with non-racers
Monday I didn't do anything
Tuesday I worked out hard at the YMCA
Wednesday I did 8 x 1/4 mile SUP sprints
Thursday I did a 3 mile run

Today I'm thinking I need a moderate paddle workout that I can be totally recovered from by Sunday morning. I was going to do 4-5 miles focused on form at a little less than full race effort. But really I have no idea what would be best. Also I have no idea if I should do some kind of workout on the day before the race, like a jog or something. I'd welcome suggestions.
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Off-Shore

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2015, 07:43:45 AM »
I know the dilemma well. Too much before a race can be counterproductive. 2 days before I usually try to do as you suggest. The same distance as the race but not at full pace. Alternative to this has been 25% more distance also at less than race pace. The thinking here is to get myself used to a bit more than the race distance. 

The day before the race I try not to do anything major at a high level for long. I may practice some sprints or do a longer distance cruise but nothing that is going to hurt or wear me down.
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PonoBill

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2015, 08:00:06 AM »
I like to paddle the course at a moderate pace, and do it twice, so the distance feels short on race day. Finish up with some sprints and buoy turns if they are part of the race. I can do a pretty good buoy turn when I'm practicing, but during a race they fall apart.

The day before the race I practice starts, and then do very easy paddling, just cruising, to keep my shoulders loose.
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pdxmike

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2015, 12:41:40 PM »
I'd say it depends how much training you're used to.  When I was swimming a lot, if I took a couple days off, I felt like I was starting over and needed to relearn all the strokes.  Biggest thing to realize is that you're not going to get in better shape between now and then, so things like PB said--that keep you loose and get you in a racing frame of mind--make more sense than squeezing in another workout (unless this is a minor race, and you're training through it towards some peak later on).


And if it were a longer race, I'd say you should taper enough you feel almost too rested and desperate to start the race.  For a short race, not so much, since you've got to be sharp right from the start.


Also, my old high school track coach always said to get a good night's rest two nights before.  The night before, you'll be excited, and may not have a lot of control over your sleep. 
« Last Edit: June 26, 2015, 12:44:00 PM by pdxmike »

FloridaWindSUP

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2015, 09:43:59 PM »
Thanks for the advice guys! Since my goal for the 6.9 km race is to average 9+ kph, I did the training as 8 km at 8.5 kph. Had fun doing the 8 km as two giant squares in the ocean, each 1 km on a side.

http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2015/06/sloppy-squares-8-km-grid-workout-sup-in.html
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Off-Shore

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2015, 02:47:03 AM »
FSW. Look forward to hearing how the race goes. I have a 200m sprint, 4km race and then a 4 x 400m relay tomorrow and I did not take my own advice. Was going to have a casual Surf SUP today but the wind was blowing and so I ended up overdoing it. A downwind before lunch, then 45 mins SUS in the onshore mush and then gave up and did another downwind...  I'm already feeling it, so tomorrow will be interesting...
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FloridaWindSUP

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2015, 11:49:43 AM »
Race went well today. 6.97 km in 45:45, 9.14 kph (5.68 mph) pace. Got 2nd place 11 seconds behind the leader Mark Athanacio. Mark is fitter and faster than me but he had done a big race the day before so he wasn't going 100%. We kind of cooperated trading pulling and drafting until after the last turn where we broke apart.

When we started at 9:30 am it was already 31C, but I'd taken y'all's advice regarding doing lots of pre-race hydration and getting in the water / shade to stay cool. It helped. Also I went with short, loose, light-colored trunks and no hat, no shirt, no camelback, which I think helped with not overheating.

After the race the host, CGT Kayaks and Paddleboards, had a buffet with pulled pork bbq sandwich sliders. They were to die for.
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Off-Shore

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2015, 12:24:04 AM »
FSW. Awesome result and speed. Glad everything worked out! We had 32 deg C, direct sun and 80% humidity for our racing yesterday and so I decided to arrive after the 200m sprints and stay cool for the 4km. Unfortunately the race start was delayed to 11.30am and the shallow water due to low tide meant the water temp was like a bath at 30 deg C. I ended up overheating along with everyone else and getting 3rd overall with a speed of around 8kph / 5mph dying in last 1/3rd of the race. One of my slowest ever. It's amazing how much heat affects performance.
« Last Edit: June 29, 2015, 12:32:37 AM by Off-Shore »
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natas585

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #8 on: July 01, 2015, 01:30:26 PM »
First thing you want to do is check to see if I'm in the race. If so, you can take it easy because no matter how hard you paddle I'll paddle harder. Hahaha. You  forgot to mention that not only had I raced and podium finished the day before but that I'm also over 50 years old.  Wish I would have seen this thread sooner so I could have given you some real far out advice before you found out my screen name on the Zone.  Kidding aside, CGT does put on a solid time trial once a month for an extremely nominal fee that includes lunch.  Now being even more serious regarding your question. Experiment with different rest times before a race to determine how much you need with whichever volume you have been training at the previous few weeks, or days, or months.  Measure, measure more, and measure again. Get lots of data to use. Heat, currents, wind, equipment, nutrition, rest, ect.  I'm not telling you anything mindblowing here. Simple stuff done with consistency.
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FloridaWindSUP

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Re: Best workout for 2 & 1 day before race?
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2015, 07:02:23 PM »
natas- Oh no, it's you! ;) I like your tips and philosophy about doing lots of experimenting and measuring with your training. UPS should be bringing me a Speedcoach2 in the mail tomorrow so I'll have lots of data to work with then. Of course what I probably really need to do is hire a professional fitness trainer to teach me how to train right.
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