We’re closing in on the end of the season for many triathletes and cyclists and A races are looming. There’s just one thing left to do to prepare: taper. This is a tricky time. You’re worried about losing all your hard earned fitness by not doing enough but you also know that you need to rest up. Here are my dos and don’ts to nail your taper and arrive at your start line ready to race to your potential.
DO
Make your taper long enough. For half-Ironmans, shorter distance triathlons and big cycling events, two weeks is ideal. For long races involving a lot of running such as Ironmans and marathons, your taper should start three weeks before your race. Make that weekend your final long run and ride and cut back significantly over the next two weekends pre-race.
Remember that you cannot gain any further fitness for your race in the final 10 days beforehand. This is how long it takes for physiological adaptations from training to happen. Your last regular “hard” workout should be 10 days before your race.
Cut the volume of your training back dramatically during your taper, especially running which is hard on the body. This allows the underlying fatigue to lift and your hard-earned fitness to start to shine through.
Maintain some intensity in the final week or so before your race. Workouts 4-7 days out with some short (3-5 minute) intervals at and above race pace are perfect for keeping the engine revved and the body ready to go hard on race day.
Workout the day before the race. This is NOT a good day to take a complete day off. Your legs will likely feel flat on race day if you take the day before off. Include a few short (30-60 second) hard efforts to continue keeping the engine revved and the body ready to go hard. For cyclists and triathletes riding “until your legs feel good” is a great rule of thumb to follow for your pre-race ride. This might be anywhere from 15-90 minutes.
Factor in how travel and jet lag will affect your body and stress levels. For races several time zones away get there as early as possible, especially if you have to travel East. If you have a long drive then stop and walk around every few hours. Go for an easy spin, an easy run or a short walk on arrival. Take a foam roller and do some foam rolling and mobility work post-travel and pre-race to combat the effects of all the sitting.
Check all your race day gear. Get your bike tuned up by your local bike shop if necessary.
Check all the details for your race. The course maps. Timings. Rules. Registration. Etc. Have a plan for race day and the days leading in. Many people like to have a written plan but even thinking everything through and having a plan in your mind is good.
In the final days pre-race, relax as much as possible. Watching movies with your feet up is a perfect way to spend the afternoon the day before your race.
DON’T
Squeeze in any last minute “panic training”. Unless your training in the previous month has been unusually limited (e.g. due to illness or injury) and you are still building back up, then there is nothing to be gained and everything to be lost by doing long and/or hard workouts in the final two weeks before a race. The closer you get to race day, the more this holds. If you have to do longer workouts in the final couple of days before a race (e.g. to pre-ride sections of MTB or gravel race courses) then keep these as easy as you can.
Carbo load by eating a lot of extra carbs in the final week before the race. With the dramatic reduction in work load, continuing to eat your usual amount will maximize the glycogen stores in your muscles. You don’t need lots of extra plates of pasta to do this!
Fill the extra time you have doing other things that are stressful on the body or mind e.g. yard work and house projects!
Let any weird aches and pains that arise in race week bother you. They are entirely normal and are most likely phantom pains that will disappear on race morning.
Follow this advice and after a few races you will find a taper routine that works for you. Follow the same routine, as much as possible, every time and your body will know that it’s “race time” and you will arrive at the start line ready to race.