After last week’s post [link] summing up the HOW behind my performance at IronCamp West Coast, I have recieved more than a few emails about how to set up a big week of training when you only have a few hours as week on your regular schedule. It’s one of those things that’s definitely not rocket science, but there is a method to the madness. It’s also important to note there’s no single way to do it. Here are some insights on what I use for my big weeks…
Your Goals. A lot has to do with what exactly your goals for the big training week are. So if you don’t have your goals set up properly, I strongly consider you go back and set the ground rules before you get too carried away. If one of your recurring goals appears to be a drive for the numbers (ooooh, miles! ooooh, hours of training!), you need to think twice. Investing a week of your life into training – and away from everything else – is a serious commitment. You’ll want a better reason than having something to boast about. As an example, my big week goals for ICWC were:
- Log some serious cycling miles to give my fitness a boost after indoor training for the winter (specific target: match biggest week of cycling volume from previous year).
- A big peak before some planned downtime (March) for home improvement work.
- Spend lots of time in the hills so that racing IM USA later this year will make the course seem flat as a pancake (note: this reason is also behind my drive for IronCamp East Coast).
Your Background. First type is your athletic history. If you haven’t been training for at least two years, consistently, you will want to start with a Big Weekend before you start with a Big Week. It just is too much to expect from your body…and will do too much damage to your training rhythm.
Second type is your athletic background. If you have significant experience within a single sport (i.e. competitive swimming), then you certainly have the pedigree to go “big” with that sport. In other words, if you have been a “runner” for a few years and then have fallen into this multisport thing, your body can handle bigger volume for a week. Of course, this assumes that bigger volume for that week, in this discipline, matches the goals you set out above. No point in doing a big running week if cycling is your focus for your next race!
Your Resources. By resources I mean what it is that you have at your disposal to make Big Week training work. Do you have a week of time off available from work or will you play hookey? Can you get away from the family for a week or will you be Mr. Mom in the early AM / after school and you get the day to your training? Do you have the means to go somewhere new/race specific for your training or will you be based out of your ‘hood? All of these elements matter in the planning process. I for one would rather hold out for a big week of training in a new location…couldn’t imagine what it would do to me mentally if I rode the same routes I always ride! I also really respond to hill work (can’t get enough of it here in MA), so I purposely seek out challenging terrain.
There you have it…the three components to planning a big week. Basic for sure, but without these pieces of the puzzle in place, you are just doing miles just to do them. While I have nothing against that, most folks don’t have luxury of pissing away a good week on something to brag about. Use your head!!
The Next Post will cover the two types of Big Weeks and how to choose…stay tuned!
Hi, I'm Patrick McCrann. 
