General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Why do people not train at full distance? Rss Feed  
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2008-01-18 9:12 PM
in reply to: #1157314

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Subject: RE: Why do people not train at full distance?

To echo what Shane and Jorge said, the rhyme behind the reason of not doing the entire distance in running is primarily injury prevention and diminishing returns (both of which have already been covered so I won't repeat what has been already posted).

 

For Triathlon bricks the primary reason is recovery. Most often in beginners (and for that matter in experienced athletes also) recovery is an ignored or slighted component in training. What you (not you personally, the general you) don't realize is the damage that you do to your body while training for longer distance races. This mostly applies to the HIM and IM distance, since overdistance training is common and very helpful to the Sprint or Olympic distance athlete.

The longest brick that I prescribe for my IM athletes are a 5hr bike/1hr run (sometimes a 4  hr bike/2 hr run, but only in certain cases), and this is due to the recovery time. When you tear your body up you have to let it heal in order to 1) realize the physiological adaptations from that training bout, and 2) prevent further destruction of muscle or connective tissue that will result in injury. Can you imagine if you repeated the IM distance multiple times (or for that matter even once) during your training? You would have to take 3-4 weeks either off or at a very reduced training load in order to let your  body recover. This is not an effective use of your training time which is much better spent doing shorter efforts that have a cumulative effect.



2008-01-19 10:32 AM
in reply to: #1157314

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Subject: RE: Why do people not train at full distance?
I understand what everyone is saying... and for bricks, I definitely understand.

That said... for the swim, I will always swim over distance during training. It is my weak spot, and I like to know I can do it comfortably. Its that whole "dont change anything on race day" thing. I like to know what I am doing in my race, I have done before.

For the bike.. I will always train over distance. This is my strongest event, and my favorite. Therefore, I try to bolster my strength in cycling and the recovery time from cycling is less for me than in the other events.

For the run... to prevent foot injuries. I likely will never train past marathon distance. I am a pretty strong runner, but I tend to get more injuries running than in the other events, and therefore, in order to prevent injuries prior to race day, I would keep running at or under race disatnce.

Right or wrong... this is just me.. and how I train, and how my body works. Im not saying this is appropriate for anyone else, but its just how I work.
2008-01-19 10:37 AM
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Subject: RE: Why do people not train at full distance?
Because I'm lazy?
2008-01-19 12:01 PM
in reply to: #1157314

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Subject: RE: Why do people not train at full distance?

What a great thread!

 



Edited by })i({RunnerGirl 2008-01-19 12:01 PM
2008-01-19 4:06 PM
in reply to: #1157746

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Subject: RE: Why do people not train at full distance?
chirunner134 - 2008-01-15 11:54 AM
Scout7 - 2008-01-15 1:47 PM

chirunner134 - 2008-01-15 2:44 PM If you do a marathon in training then why bother to do the marathon? Then you already did it and do not need to bother. Alot of people race to ulimately just to "finish" the distance.

If this were ultimately the case, then people could save themselves the entry fee and just go do it on their own.  Whether they admit it or not, they want to do the race. 

Well yeah they want to do the race. You do not get credit or glory if you do not do the distance in a race. Most of the people training do not want to do 1 20 miler let alone 26.2.

Duh...you sign up for the race to get the t-shirt and the finishers' medal.

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