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Choosing Races

When and Why

 

Goals | Frequency | Type | Travel | Experience

One of the most frequent questions I get from athletes concerns whether they should participate in a certain race. Depending on the sport and region of the country, there are races almost every Saturday and Sunday, not to mention weekday "training" races from which to choose. Here are a handful of guidelines that will help one identify if a particular race is for them.

Goals Take a moment to read about goal setting. To evaluate a potential race, ask yourself where it fits with your goals for the season. Some races will can be stepping stones to a season’s major goals.

Label races A, B or C. An 'A' race should be a a major goal. Successful completion, or top finish in these races usually define your season. 'B' races are usually races of similar character to your 'A' race (in length, terrain, etc) that will help you prepare and assess your readiness for your big goal. 'C' races are those that are early in the season, help you get in the race mode, etc. Practicing here will give you the mental and physical base for other more important races. These will also give you (and your coach) an evaluation of your progress, and a basis for directing your training.

Frequency Depending on the sport, one needs varying amounts of recovery time after race intensity efforts. An experienced, well-trained cyclist can race several days back-to-back, and may have several 'A' races during the season. An experienced marathon runner however, needs 36-48 hours between race intensity efforts, and rarely races more than two marathons per year. Marathoners generally need 2-4 weeks or rest and recovery after running a marathon before beginning a new training cycle. Triathletes also need considerable time after a race to recover, but because of the different sports involved can train more frequently and mix single sport races in their race calendar.

Type Cyclists specializing in criteriums will obviously do more of these than road races. Time trials will help a cyclist train for all types of races. Runners traditionally stay with their specialty distance. I routinely recommend that marathoners and 10k athletes run 5k's and half-marathons for the training and race-day experience. Triathletes can also get race-day experience (especially transitions) by racing shorter distance (sprint or Olympic) events. Course: If your weakness is hills, then train hills, and occasionally race them. If you absolutely hate hills, and won't have anything to do with them, training or otherwise, avoid them. While that seems intuitive, many athletes put races on their calendar that really, really don't appeal to them. Doing so sets them up for failure. Not only will their performance probably be sub-par in that race, but the mental challenge and injury may impair performance down the line. On the other hand, if you love criteriums, but hate corners, more races challenging your skills will be better (but sit out that race with six tight corners until your confidence and ability are there).

If you're new to the sport, then give everything a judicious try, but be prepared to pare back your race schedule if you find something you'd prefer to specialize in, or prefer to avoid.

Travel If you are fortunate to live in a 'hot bed' of racing for your sport, traveling more than a few hours by car may not be necessary. If your goals (or sport) require a trip overnight or by plane, it's a good idea to take a “practice' trip to another race before the big day.

Experience If you're a novice racer, more races may help you get fit, mentally and physically. However, if you're being dropped out of the pack, and can't compete at the level you'd like, it may be wise to pare down your race schedule, and focus on training your weaknesses.

The element tying all these guidelines together is the athlete. By knowing yourself, honestly assessing your skills, mental and physical readiness, and having smart goals, you can put together a race calendar that will be fun and rewarding.

Jonathan Siegel, Director of Coaching
JDS Sportcoaching, LLC

Jonathan Siegel, CSCS, is an RRCA-certified running coach and certified cycling coach. If you have training questions or comments or are interested in a lactate test, contact JDS Sportcoaching,LLC.