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Ask The Experts

How should I train in the run-up to a race?

Graham Benton: "What would you recommend I do over the remaining few days to maximise my performance in Boston on the 23rd? I intend to train for the final time on Thursday 20th; I am happy to train as often as you suggest prior to then but was thinking every day as a minimum - having said that, I didn't row yesterday because I have a bad back and did 50 minutes hard aerobic exercise (cycling/cross-trainer) and today I am resting. Starting tomorrow I was going to row every day until the 20th, back allowing."Terry O'Neill: Between now and the 23rd you have to balance the possibility of increasing your level of fitness against the risk of fatigue and injury. The chances of making a significant improvement to your fitness are almost nil, but the risks of fatigue and illness are considerable. When you follow a training programme, the improvement in performance comes about as the body adapts to the load during periods of rest. This process is called supercompensation and will last for about three weeks. So effectively, you could stop training now and your fitness level would not drop by the 23rd. Most athletes find it difficult to get their heads around this and prefer to carry on training, which is fine as long as the sessions do not accumulate fatigue. Between now and Boston take the opportunity to work out your race strategy, practice your starts and pre-race warm up. After this weekend don't do any work that involves high lactate levels. Keep the pieces short and high quality. Try to relate the pieces to sections of your race e.g. get familiar with race pace through the middle thousand metres. Practice coming off the start high and hard but settling into your race rhythm before 250m. You have a target time and now is the time to break this down into manageable chunks that form your race strategy. Get familiar with being on the pace all the way down the track rather than going off in a red mist. Make Sunday your last hard session; after this keep it short and sharp. Fill up the time with drills and exercises so you feel you have had a work out but are not knackered.
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