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The Taper

brandonsaidbrandonsaid
in General Training Discussions

So I'm a week out from Placid and this is the first time I've tapered for a race.  

So what's exactly suppose to happen during the taper and more importantly how do I know if its working?  I'm not worried about losing any fitness but the weather is nice and every time I turn on the TDF I just want to ride my bike up a mountain.  

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

     Brandon - do not give in to temptation. Your body is rebuilding many of its stressed systems at this point, such as endocrine hormones, central nervous system nerve transmission chemicals, GI tract absorption mucosa, equilibrating intra- and extra-cellular water,  etc etc. Give it a rest! There are two things to accomplish during the final week before an IM, "training" wise. One is to not let the increasing sense of excess internal energy give you mental jitters. So stretching and shorter easy rides/runs help with that. Also, muscle mitochondria need to be continually reminded o reproduce themselves, so a few short bursts of effort (like 6-10 x 25 pool sprints and strides, or a few bike spin-ups), help with that. I've found that about 5-6 hours of total swim/bike/run time in the week before an IM gives me the best results; 9 hours and 2 hours have both produced bad races.

    If you still are obsessed with training, put that mental energy into visualizing your race and triple checking your plans and equipment. And keep watching TdF - its a good way to waste time.

  • brandonsaidbrandonsaid
    @ Al. Thanks for the great advice above for my taper. Followed your advice and did about 5 hours of work with short bursts of intensity. Felt really fresh and sharp during the race until late in the run when the pain starting slowing hitting my legs.

    Would you apply this same advice for a HIM?
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    Tapering is highly individual both for the person and for the race - I've never found a good consistent rule that always works. But for an HIM, what I usually try is to do good hard (but slightly shorter) Mon-Wed workouts in each sport, then continue with enough volume to make me feel good, but not exhausted, on Thurs-Fri/Sat. I'm not scared of working out the day or two before an HIM or Oly.

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