[orlin03]

I started racing triathlons and duathlons last September, and have had a fair amount of success so far, not to mention tons of fun. So far, I've had a 4th, a second, and an 11th overall finish (2nd, 1st, and 4th in my age group), with the last two being in duathlons (the 2nd was an international distance and the 11th was a sprint against what I considered a tough field). I felt unprepared for my last race, having spent the week before riding, running, swimming, and lifting much too hard, and want to perform at my peak in the race I have planned for Saturday night. I have stayed away from the weight room this week, and got some serious riding and running in over the weekend, but am feeling anxious as to how I should plan the rest of my week. I know I need rest, but can't help feeling that if I'm not riding, I'm getting slower.
How easy is too easy to take it before a race? When should my last day of serious running/ riding be before I settle into a rest mode? Should I plan one more day of fairly intense efforts (like tomorrow morning), or should I just log some easy miles? Also, with a race starting at 6:00 Saturday night, would it be better to get a nice easy ride in Friday night, or should I shoot for one in the morning instead? My race is not that long, but will be fairly intense; it will consist of three 1.8 mile runs separated by two 11 mile rides.

 

[Kram]

It all depends. I seem to do better if I have a fairly hard session/race the day before I race. Others find their bodies react differently. I'd definately skip the weights prior to the race, but then, I only lift for about 10 weeks during the winter.

 

[Dwayne Barry]

Effecitive taper strategies have generally been shown to consist of a large decrease in volume (e.g. 25-50% of normal training volume) with a minimal or even no drop in intensity (i.e. do your normal hard workouts).

 

[orlin03]

Thanks for the advice! It makes sense to me to do shorter length/ high intensity workouts; glad to hear that it works for others.

 

[flyboy50]

It makes sense to me to do shorter length/ high intensity workouts; glad to hear that it works for others.

Well, you have to be careful. Tapering is really for big events that you REALLY want to do well at. If all you did during the summer was taper for a race every other week, you probably wouldn't get any better because you lose so much mileage. You have to pick a few events (preferably spaced apart) that are worth the loss in long term gain in order to compete well. If it's a huge event near the end of the season, it's pretty difficult to over-taper. I know for swimming, at the end of the season we do a 2-2.5 week taper with the yardage decreasing to about 25% of what it was before the taper. That works wonders.

Good luck. :thumbsup:

 

[pretender]

The Bible (either flavor) maps out a peak/taper schedule in great detail. But the overall message is, decrease volume and maintain intensity, focus on form. (In your case, maybe fine-tune your transitions, as there will be four of them.)