Will 1/2 Ironman Training Hurt or Help Sprints

rbalazs - 2007-01-12 11:37 AM I'm adding much more volume at a slower pace to build for my A race which will be Buffalo Springs 70.3 June 23 and I'm wondering if this will help or hurt the Sprint races I want to do earlier in the season? Even though the 1/2IM is my A race I know my competitive juices won't let me go slow in the Sprints. I usually place in my AG during sprints and want to defend. I'll have at least 2 weeks recovery between my last sprint and A race. Lastly, to keep my speed up, particularly running, can I just continue to have 1 of my weekly runs be a 5-7k run at a higher heart rate?

Did you plan to do the sprint races before or after the 1/2IM??  If you are doing the sprints after your 1/2IM, then disregard my advice. 

I went through this cunundrum(sp?) 2 seasons ago.  I feel that if you want to do well in sprint tri's, you must train for speed.  Doing mostly long, slow distance training will make you just plain slow!!  I plan to do a 1/2 in early June, then do some sprints later in the summer.  So my plan is to train for the 1/2 IM now, and after that race, I will start adding in speedwork and intervals.  The way I look at it, all that distance will give me a great endurance base to start with. 

My opinion is it can only help.  You will have a much stronger aerobic base to work from and as long as you do your workouts with a smart approach (staying at or below your LT for most workouts until the last phase of your HIM training) you will see a speed increase accross the board.

Other than the "required" speedwork that I did for my marathon training over the Fall I basically hardly ever do any sort of interval work.  Just tempo and endurance.  And I've dropped my 5k time down to an 18:36.

Remember that "speed" is the last thing that you should work on in a training plan because it is the thing that disappears the quickest, and presents the highest opportunity for injury.

A lot of people have set different types of PR's at shorter distances just following their IM, HIM and marathon training.  That should be an indicator right there.

My best ever placing in a Sprint so far has been 2 weeks after my first HIM, then while tapering for my 2nd HIM I did a 5k and trounced my previous PR.  

I'd say it can only help.