That pretty much sums it up for me. Only 25 days remain till the longest weekend of racing in my year. On May 31st I will be attempting Revolution 3’s Olympic distance race at Quassy. As if that wasn’t enough, somewhere along the way I got the big idea of racing on June 1st as well and decided to race Revolution 3’s Quassy 70.3 course.

I have worried and feared this day with the excitement of a brash athlete who has been there and done it before. I continue play this card not in a rude manner but for psyching myself into racing confidently. The mental part of racing is just as important if not more so than the physical part of racing. Sure, being undertrained will physically keep you from the finish line but mentally you can check yourself out of the race before you even show up. Of course I am going to have pre-race jitters but I have done both courses before. However both races were during separate years, alternatively I know how much it is going to hurt. Feeling the pain is part of finding your limitations, and then hanging right there on the edge of pushing to hard is the challenge.

Part of my pre-race psyche has been staying true to my customized training plan. I built this crazy idea of a training plan within the limitations of my body, time constraints, and of course life’s obstacles. I want to share this plan with you all now, maybe it will help someone reach their full distance goals, just like I hope it helps me reach mine. The formula is simple; I complete the same discipline three days in a row (always building from shorter to longer intervals or distance). The trick is on the first of the three days I am BRicking (meaning I am finishing the last day of one of the alternate disciplines) and then on the third day of the discipline I am shifting my focus to the next discipline. This would make most people’s head spin. Now layer in a unique physical limitation of mine, because of my hip replacement I have to manage my running mileage very carefully. I generally don’t run two days in a row, I mix in a stability and strength workout in the middle of the three consecutive run days. This also occasionally acts as an active recovery day. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here I have provided a visual representation of two week schedule.

I am curious to know the internet’s thoughts, and what other triathletes who attempt Ultra’s or race midcourse back to back think. Please share your opinions.

This past weekend I got myself positioned to test the waters and did back-to-back Ride and Runs off the bike that would simulate race weekend. I tried to fatigue my legs as much as possible in the days leading up to the weekend to really push myself to my limits. I have to say I might not have found my limit but I was truly happy with the results. The weekday set up went like this, Wed night swim and spin, Thursday night 12 Harlem Hill repeats on the bike, Friday morning TT in the park (which I set a PR for myself – 15:29 BOOM! must be working last year’s PR was 16:44) I road 47 miles on Saturday and ran 10k off the bike, Sunday I ran 15k. All pain free! I think all these results and workouts have been the result of careful planning, tedious calculations, and great support.

As Quassy approaches only race day will prove if the method works, I would be curious to coach someone through a similar training plan to see if this is not just a unique strategy with results for me. Any volunteers are welcome!

Important note: If anyone is interested in riding the Quassy Oly or Half course Rev3 has coordinated a preview weekend May 10th, see link here: http://www.active.com/middlebury-ct/triathlon/races/quassy-course-preview-ride-2014