Against Orders: Doing Back-to-back Races
Just recently, I did something that I usually advise against: I joined 2 races in one weekend.
Normally, doing back-to-back races on the same weekend isn't a good idea. But sometimes, the races are just too cool to pass up.
This is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when I agreed to participate in two team events: The Bull Runner Dream Team Run and X-Terra Putik Pare. I was part of a team in both events and while my training was lacking, we still managed to put in decent performances in both.
Doing back-to-back races is possible as long as you keep a few things in mind.
Choose an A race. Treat one race as a training race and the second one as "the big one." The twin efforts put so much strain on the body, it's near impossible to treat each race as an "A race". In my case, I was transitioning to off-road races so I chose to race X-Terra and treat the Dream Team Run as my training run. That meant running slower than my usual race pace on the run so I could save my legs for the next day's Putik Pare. Looking back, I'm glad I did because we had to run through lahar fields in Putik Pare and that really took its toll on my legs.
Recovery is your best friend. Long runs will take their toll on your muscles. Micro tears will form on your muscle tissues, which will only heal as you recover between workouts. Take in lots of protein and rest as much as you can. After the TBR Dream Team Run, I stayed off my legs as much I could throughout the day and put in a nap in the afternoon. If your race involves a long distance trip, make sure you get lots of sleep!
Hydrate days before the race weekend. Going into a race weekend, you should begin storing electrolytes in your body by increasing your fluid intake, especially sports drinks. Personally, I prefer Pocari Sweat. Aside from my regular intake during a workout, I added 1-2 bottles per day in the 3 days leading up to the race weekend. Pre-loading also helps you avoid over-hydrating on race day. Not only is over hydrating uncomfortable because of the sloshing in your stomach, but taking in too much water could result in a dangerous condition called hyponatremia (lack of sodium in the body).
Avoid overtraining. Preparing 2 separate training plans for 2 different races could be too much for your body to handle. Feel free to combine training plans in favor of your A-race but err on the side of safety. If it feels like too much, it probably is. Ease back on the training intensity if you feel too tired. For this weekend, I maintained my regular 6-day/week workout schedule but increased the distances of my long and tempo runs in order to prepare for the 21k run.
Train with friends. Then race with them to make the experience twice as memorable.
Don't make a habit out of it! Back-to-back races should be a rare "indulgence" on your race calendar so try not to do them too often.
