I'm running my first Olympic on the 25th of September, and then three weeks later I'm participating in the Saturn Relay, which is 12-man 36-leg 199 mile run, which for me would consist of 16-20 miles of running split into three 4-7 mile segments with about 10 hours rest in between.
What kind of recovery/workout/taper regimen would you recommend for this interim period? I'm thinking a light build-up during the first week, one or two long runs at the end of the first week/beginning of the second, and then a medium taper of maybe 3-5 miles every other day until the Wednesday or Thursday before the race. Thoughts?
This will largely depend on how well you recover after a race. An Olympic distance triathlon in not insignificant, especially if you have done only shorter distances. Your age and overall condition will determine how well you recover. I'm 40 years young and always take at least 4 days of complete rest after a race of such distance and then slowly start training again at low intensity. Swimming is better to start with since it has less impac, followed by biking and then running. If you can have a good massage or a few ice baths as soon as possible after the race will also aid in your recovery. The good thing is that since you have probably trained very hard for your triathlon you should be able to maintain your overall fitness for those 3 weeks. My opinion that less would be more to get from one race to the next with such a short interval. I always find that I think I feel good afew days after a reace but as soon as I start running again I still feel fatigue in my legs. And it's probably more important to get red of the remaining fatigue then to get more mileage before your second race.
