Ah taper. That magical time when the training volume starts to decrease and the pre-race nerves and anxiety skyrocket.
For those who don’t know what taper is, it’s a gradual decrease in training load as you approach race day.
The goal of taper is to reduce fatigue just enough to provide the body with rest and recovery for optimum performance, without de-training.
Does taper really work? Yes! A 2007 meta-analysis of 27 different studies showed that taper can result in a 4.2% performance improvement.
So taper does make you faster.
But honestly, it also kind of sucks.
During taper you might feel sore, cranky, bored, tired, or all of the above. You might get the taper crazies that push you to within an inch of your sanity (and those around you).
And that’s totally normal.
While taper is important, there are a lot of weird things that happen to your body during this time. So if you’re tapering for a 70.3 or an Ironman, approach taper with an understanding of why things are happening, and extend yourself a little grace.
Also, it’s important to know what not to do during taper.
What you do during the last few weeks, or days, before your race can set you up for success, or ruin your race before it even starts.
Today, we’re going to talk about:
- What taper is and how it works- Science!
- Factors that influence taper
- Common taper mistakes to avoid
What taper is and how it works. Science!
The main reason athletes taper before a race is to reduce load in order to provide the body with enough rest and recovery so you arrive on race day feeling primed and ready to perform to the best of your ability.
(Load = intensity x volume) or (Load = how hard x how much)
Taper is achieved by manipulating a few key factors.
- Training intensity (how hard)
- Training frequency (how often)
- Training volume (how much)
Remember that 2007 meta-analysis of 27 different studies I referenced earlier? The one that showed taper can result in a 4.2% increase in performance?
The authors, Bosquent et al., did a large-scale analysis of studies on taper in different sports like running, swimming, cycling, rowing, and triathlon. They analyzed all the data to come up with a few “best practices” regarding taper.
Here are some of their findings.
- Some studies suggest reduction in training volume should be substantial- near 85% of normal training volume. While some studies reported improvements after just a 31% reduction.
- The most common method of decreasing training volume was done by decreasing the duration of each training session. But some manipulated training frequency(the number of sessions per week).
- Most studies used a 2-week taper for significant improvement, but some reported improvements with a much shorter time frame (under 7 days) or longer time frame (over 28 days). The best tapers seem to be within 8-14 days.
Overall, they concluded that “maximal gains are obtained with a tapering intervention of 2-week duration, where the training volume is exponentially decreased by 41-60%, without any modification of either training intensity or frequency.”
This makes sense.
Frequency is kind of a no-brainer, right? Reducing the number of times you run a week, while keeping volume high, doesn’t seem like a great way to reduce overall load.
But intensity is an interesting one. You might think that in the lead up to a big event, like a 70.3 or Ironman, you’d need to keep all sessions easy in order to recover. But that’s not necessarily the case. Research has shown that maintaining some intensity in the lead up to race day is important.
Without any intensity, it’s easy for your body to lose touch of what those race day sensations feel like. So you might get to race day feeling sluggish and dull.
Here’s a practical example.
Consider a brick workout with a 1:30 bike ride followed by a 45 minute run. Depending on the actual workout, there will be periods of varying intensity- easy, moderate, hard.
During the taper period, the workout might only be a 45-minute bike ride with a 25-30 minute run (so there’s a reduction in volume). But there’s still some intensity, mostly short periods in and around race pace.
Other factors that influence taper
There are other “less scientific” factors that affect taper as well.
Athlete experience is one. A more seasoned athlete who’s used to logging repeated training blocks with high volume might require a slightly different taper than a beginner athlete doing her first half Ironman.
Athlete preference and physiology also play a role. For example, my body has shown me time and time again that I need more volume during race week than other athletes. On the other hand, my husband seems to do just fine with less volume. Our bodies are all unique and respond differently, so what works for one person might not work as well for another.
Length of taper is also affected by the distance of race. For example, you might taper just a week for a sprint or Olympic, where a taper for a 70.3 might be 2 weeks and an Ironman might be 2-3 weeks.
Also, consider your race goals. Is this a celebratory event, aka a “victory lap.” Is this a prep event leading up to your A-race? Is this the main focus of your season, and you’re shooting for performance-based goals? This can affect taper as well.
Sound complicated? It can be.
The human body is complex and there are so many different factors that affect fatigue. That’s why I have a coach who plans taper for me. No second-guessing if I’m doing too much or not enough.
(Just one of the many benefits of having a triathlon coach, which my readers know I always advocate for, especially for long distance triathlons- 70.3 or Ironman.)
However, if you don’t have a coach, you can still create your own taper. The most important thing to keep in mind is a gradual reduction in training volume as race day approaches (studies say 41-60%) while maintaining some intensity.
Common Taper Mistakes to Avoid
Earlier this year, I wrote a fun article for Triathlete Magazine about the different taper week personalities.
Are you the type of athlete who directs all your excess energy into color-coding the closet or alphabetizing the spice rack? If so, you’re probably The Super Scrubber.
Do you sneak in a last-minute long run to “test your fitness” or “see if the taper worked?” If so, you’re probably The Anti-Taperer.
Are you the athlete who doesn’t train at all during taper, sits on the couch, and binge-watches Lionel Sanders’ YouTube videos? You might be The Couch Potato.
It was all in good fun, but there’s a lot of truth to it as well. We all have different taper personalities, and the decisions we make during this period are affected by our thoughts, fears, and motivations.
Now that we know what taper is and why it’s important, we can move on to what not to do during taper. On the whole, most of these common mistakes occur during race week.
Remember, what you do in the days before your race can set you up for success, or ruin your race before it even starts.
1. Training too much. Many first-time triathletes worry they will lose fitness during the taper period. They worked so hard for months, and they don’t want it all to go to waste. As a result, they don’t reduce training volume enough.
They add extra miles to existing workouts, or they do workouts harder than intended in an effort to squeeze out a last bit of improvement before the race.
This doesn’t work. There’s nothing you can do during race week that will provide you with more fitness (that’s not how exercise physiology works). But there’s a lot you can do during race week that might waste all the training you’ve done up to this point and result in a bad race day experience.
2. Not training enough. On the other end of the spectrum is the athlete who does nothing during taper. They just stop training entirely.
If you’re training for an Ironman, this thought process is understandable. By the end of your Ironman build, you will probably be tired and perhaps lacking in motivation. You might think, “I need to conserve all my energy for the race!”
But you can’t stop training cold turkey. Taper is a gradual decrease in volume. Also, there needs to be some high intensity work, which helps maintain sharpness and speed. Some athletes cut these out entirely, but that can lead to feeling dull and sluggish on race day.
3. Vacation-style eating. This one mostly applies to race week. For most of us, these big races are our vacations! I totally get it. But resist the urge to overeat and indulge in fatty food leading up to race day. It will just make you feel worse and can lead to stomach upset. We save eating out for the post-race celebration.
A general rule of thumb is to stick with familiar foods you eat at home in the 48 hours leading up to a race. We often stay at an Airbnb, so we bring our own food and always cook the night before a race. If you eat at a restaurant, just make good choices. Pick the most boring thing on the menu- a la chicken and rice, mashed potatoes, pasta, ect.
The day before the race is probably not the best time to try out a new sushi restaurant or experiment with spicy Thai or Mexican food you’ve never eaten before.
4. Neglecting rest. Part of recovering during taper and race week involves rest. “But I don’t have a 10-mile run on the schedule, I have so much time for activities!”
Stop that right now.
Do not use this free time to build a shed in your backyard, renovate the kitchen, or take up pickleball. Just chill the heck out and watch a movie or something. Read a book, get a massage, or walk your dog.
Your body can’t recover if you don’t let it.
5. Not prioritizing sleep. I understand this is a hot-button issue, because many people struggle with sleep, especially during race week. But most athletes don’t sleep well the night before a race anyways. Just try to get a good night sleep two nightsbefore the race and you’ll be fine.
It’s about prioritizing good sleep hygiene, like not endlessly scrolling on social media in bed, or watching TV while you fall asleep. Just make an effort to stick to a regular bedtime and wake-up time and your body will thank you for it.
6. Panic training. This is slightly different than (1. Training too much) This is what happens when an athlete neglects training in the months leading up to a race and tries to “make up for missed time.”
Again, this doesn’t work because (science). At this point, it’s too late. You have all the fitness you’re going to have.
And it’s not restricted to first-time triathletes either. Experienced triathletes are guilty of making this mistake.
I read a great newsletter from Campfire Endurance this week for their athletes prepping for Kona. Here’s an excerpt:
“Why does panic training ever happen? Sure, most triathletes who qualify for Kona are driven (to a fault) type-A personalities, but they’re usually competent and intelligent, too, so what gives with all the people hammering up and down the Queen K on Thursday of race week?
A few of them are racers, yes, but the bulk of them are spouses or family members or friends. But mix in some of the anxiety of long-distance triathlon plus wild heat plus ‘world championships’ and you get an environment where rational thinking doesn’t take place anymore. Some athletes see the huge number of riders or runners or swimmers and think “oh, gosh, everyone is doing it, I guess I should be, too!” Say it with us, everybody: you can take the entire WEEK before an Ironman off and you won’t hurt your performance.”
7. Experimenting with new gear or nutrition. I get it, the expo is fun. There’s so many cool, new products and incredible, new gear. “Maybe I should buy some… and then since I bought it I should probably race in it…”
Stop that right now.
Repeat after me: Nothing new on race day.
This applies to the new energy gel that you’ve never tried before. This includes the new shoes you got at the expo. This also applies to the new wetsuit you’ve never used before.
If it’s something new that you haven’t had the opportunity to try during training, do not use it during a race. Period.
8. Overthinking and doubting the plan. Curious what my taper-week personality is? I’m a combination of The Worrywart + The Med Student. When your body is still, your mind has more time to think… That’s when pre-race anxiety can intensify.
The way I stay calm is by focusing on the things I actually have control over, like packing all my gear, fine-tuning my nutrition plan, and going over my pacing numbers. By focusing on the things you can control, you will feel more confident and self-assured.
9. Neglecting mental preparation. By now you know I love writing about mindset skills. Sadly, it’s an area many athlete neglect. I’m not sure why, because it can give you an extra edge in performance, reduce pre-race anxiety, and contribute to a more enjoyable experience overall.
When I mentally prepare for a race, I review my goals (for each discipline actually). Then, I do a pre-race visualization. I visualize each step of the process from the swim, to transition, the bike, and run, so I know exactly what I plan to do at each moment.
Then, I decide on a few verbal cues I’ll use during the race. It can be something instructional like, “long, smooth strokes” in the swim, or “relax the shoulders, drive from the glutes” during the run. Finally, I come up with a race mantra- something inspirational that I can go back to throughout the day to help me stay focused, provide motivation, and push through when things get hard.
10. Getting overwhelmed by pre-race festivities. Triathlons are large-scale productions. If you’re going to an Ironman branded event, there’s a lot to take in. Y
ou’ve got athlete check-in, the expo, shake-out runs, practice swims, pro panels, welcome dinners, ect. It’s easy to get distracted and spend 3 hours on your feet, in the sun, dehydrating yourself, while trying to do all the activities.
Pick a few things that are most important to you. Don’t try to do everything.
