I’ve just I’ve just finished my base phases and moving on to build and specialty. My first A race comes right at the end of my build phase to give me a good rest before the race. The second A race will come with an extra week between finishing the specialty build and race week. To clarify, the specialty will end Wk41, nothing is planned for Wk42, and race week with openers is Wk43. Should I add something before starting my specialty phases, add something after the specialty phases, or make it an extra week of recovery? Another thought is leave it open for now as a buffer for those “life happens” times where my plan may get bumped around a bit.
I’m not a racer so take this with a grain of salt, but if it were me, I’d do a modified specialty. Same type of stuff you found challenging in specialty, just shorter. No need to wear yourself out, just get a little more comfortable with the stuff that might make you uncomfortable.
(I used to be a middle school band director and this was the approach I’d take when the kids were ready for a concert, but the performance date was still another week or so away. It worked great.)