Hey all,
After a pretty strange season, I’m finally feeling ready to tackle my everesting goal (to come in under the former WR before Phil started changing life as we know it, which is about 8:46). I found the hill, worked on the nutrition, have the bike set up…now it’s just time to do it.
The problem is (besides, you know, actually doing it) is timing. When should I fit this into my season? I originally had it on the calendar for sometime in July/August, but my A races have been added, removed, shuffled, and mixed around so many times this year that I’ve had to change my plan building plan nearly 10 full times. It’s been a mess trying to keep training through it (with the vaccine on top of that).
My next A race is LOTOJA Sept 11th. I still have time before then to do it and recover, but I’m more curious on how I actually fit it into my training. Here’s my concerns:
Doing it during a recovery/rest week is definitely not a rest week
Doing it during a training block would murder my chances of finishing future workouts
Waiting till the last day of a training block means I’m too fatigued to really yeet myself properly.
So what would you all suggest? I have the freedom to basically do it any day of the week, but I’m more concerned with not ruining the rest of my season (even though it’s a major A goal). I can’t exactly stuff another A race into the calendar now, so I don’t know how to use PB for it.
Any tips would be welcomed!
I wish I could do it tomorrow, but it would have been too hard to scrape everything together and fully prep the bike (need to remove bottle cage and replace brake pads).
Theoretically I could wait until right after LOTOJA I suppose. Unless maybe I just yeet my butt up the mtn next weekend or so? I could take Sunday off like normal, then a super mellow spin Monday, or complete rest, then get back to it Tues/wed. That’s a bit of time before LOTOJA and it wouldn’t mess the schedule too much.
Do it towards the start or in the middle of your recovery week and then take the rest of the week off the bike - just give your body the few days rest and recovery it will undoubtedly need (I felt jet lagged for a couple of days after my successful attempt, though my eating was pretty stable - I didn’t eat much more or frequently than I usually do).
You really must ensure you keep on top of your fuelling and hydration during your attempt. Not only will this have obvious benefits for your attempt but it will also have a positive effect on your rate of recovery.
If you really feel up to it, do a couple of short (30-45 minute) gentle recovery / low intensity endurance rides or workouts a few days after your attempt, just to get the legs turning again (nothing too strenuous or mentally / physically demanding). Then, the week after Everesting, do some standard endurance or tempo workouts (use Train Now for suggestions). Following that, pick up on your plan - you won’t have lost any of your fitness, you’ll be fine (though, if necessary, lower the intensity slightly or do shorter versions of some of the more demanding workouts once you start following your plan again).
