Introduction and overview

The taper at its essence is simple: Reduce your overall training volume while maintaining or even slightly increasing your intensity. For purposes of this essay let's define intensity as training at or higher than your goal race pace.

The mechanism of tapering is this: Over the past few weeks and months, you've consistently broken down (training overload) and then rebuilt your muscles (recovery periods). Now is your time to allow them to fully recover before you launch your final attack on your goal race. The entire rebuilding/healing process can take about two weeks, plus or minus a few days. The greater your overall training volume, the longer the entire process will take, and vice versa.

Note that some folks simply don't respond as well to longer periods of rest/taper. This is because:

a) Training volume was not high enough to require extended recovery period (for example, 8 hours total training time per week average for a 30-year old triathlete. This simply is not high enough to require a full taper).
b) The athlete's genetic disposition allows them to recover quickly from both volume and intensity throughout the training cycle.
c) The athlete's training cycle has not followed a periodized plan of base-build-peak (or general-specific, or Lydiard-like strength-speed-peak) training strategy but has been static.

For athletes that fall into the above categories, a sensible final two weeks followed by a shorter period of rest (2-5 days reduced volume) is your best bet.

General taper strategy

In general terms, reduce the training load about 20% over the last 3 weeks leading into your goal race with a larger drop in the final week. Counting backwards (race week is 0), week 2 would be about 80% of week 3, while intensity would remain just about the same. Week 1 would be about 80% of week 2 with intensity also down about 20%. Week 0 (race week), volume should drop by 25% or more while intensity is limited to short accelerations to race pace. Lydiard would call this sort of intensity training at the end of the cycle sharpening. Friel calls it peaking.

Some athletes have found that a final 5-10 minute effort at goal race effort 3-5 days out helps them 'dial in' their pace. A recent research study from the University of Western Australia on carbo loading found that 3 minutes at high effort 1-3 days out immediately followed by high carb consumption assisted with 'carb loading,' the process of jamming as much glycogen into your muscles as possible for use on race day. (Click here for an in-depth explanation from Owen Anderson of Peak Performance.) YMMV.

Specific examples

Below are a few tables with possible taper volume and intensity targets. I've included rows with suggested amount of time spent at or above lactate threshold (LT). Newer athletes training for long-distance races may find that threshold work does not help their primary limiters (stamina/endurance). More experienced athletes may find that the time required to recover from threshold work is not worth the return in performance they experience from the work. However, threshold work is essential for excelling in short course racing. Every athlete is different, so keep that in mind if you decide to use something you read here in your own training plan.

IM training volume avg 20hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	20	16	13	5
>Race pace (hrs)	6	5	3	1
>LTHR (hrs)	1	1	<1	<.25
*LT included in >race pace
IM training volume avg 15hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	15	12	9	4
>Race pace (hrs)	4	4	2.5	~1
>LTHR (hrs)	1	<1	<1	NA
IM training volume avg 12hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	12	10	8	4
>Race pace (hrs)	3	3	2.5	~1
>LTHR (hrs)	1	<1	NA	NA
Half-IM training volume avg 20hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	20	16	13	5-6
>Race pace (hrs)	5	4	2.5	<1
>LTHR (hrs)	2	2	1	<.25
Half-IM training volume avg 12hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	12	10	8	5
>Race pace (hrs)	3	2.5	1.5	<1
>LTHR (hrs)	1.5	1	<1	<.25
Olympic & sprint distance training volume avg 20hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	20	16	13-14	6
>Race pace (hrs)	4	3	2	<.5
>LTHR (hrs)	3.5	2.5	1.5	<.25
Olympic & sprint distance training volume avg 12hrs
	week 3	week 2	week 1	race week (does not include race time)
Time (hrs)	12	11	9	4
>Race pace (hrs)	2	1.5	1.5	<.5
>LTHR (hrs)	2	1.5	1	<.25

 

You should notice that as the race distance gets shorter the time spent at 'intensity' or race effort becomes less. That's because the effort level is increasing. 70-75% at IM, 80-88% at half-IM, 85% and higher for Olympic and sprint.

Now, those strong finishes I’m referring too are made easier by a well planned taper. It is important to realize that when you compete in an Olympic Distance Triathlon, you are going to be exerting a lot of energy for, anywhere from, 2 to 4 hours!! When I run a marathon, I taper for a good two weeks and I recommend the same for the Olympic Distance Triathlon as they are similar in duration.

Let me be perfectly clear about what I mean by tapering. I don’t mean, take two weeks off from your program. I mean, cut back slightly on the intensity, duration and frequency of your workouts. Each week, putting in a little less time in each discipline and allowing your body to rest and recover for the ‘big event!’

For a Sprint Distance Triathlon, I think a week to a week and a half is plenty of time to taper. The distances for each event are so short, that you can perform each discipline once a week during the week before the race. Be sure to cut the workout time in half per discipline. An example of a Sprint taper week would be; swim easy on Monday (20 minutes), bike on Wednesday (40 minute easy) , run on Thursday (25 minutes, RPE 2 to 3), Friday: OFF and include your easy swim/ride/run on Saturday before your event. I wouldn’t do any more than that for the Sprint taper.

For the Olympic Taper, I would cut your regular workouts down by 20% the first week of taper and then reduce that 40% to 50% the last week leading up to race day. You must fuel, rest and hydrate your body properly during these last two weeks. You have done all you can up to that point to prepare you for your “A” race. What you do in the last two weeks is not going to affect your preparedness for this race unless you go overboard by over-training (kind of like cramming last minute for an exam in school). Take this time to focus on your race, maybe practice your transitions a few times and know how you are going to handle nutrition, hydration/fueling during the race (a good training plan will include all of this…so you may have been practicing this all along).

Just keep in mind that the taper period is as important to your body as all of the long hours you’ve put in the pool, on the bike and on the road. It is meant to help you rest, recover and rejuvenate. Take advantage of this time! Your body will thank you…especially when you are crossing the finish line of your first ever Olympic Distance Triathlon! Good luck and be well!!!
 

6. Increase your meditation or yoga. Less time working out means more time to prepare mentally! If you don't do yoga already, don't start now. However, find some quiet time during the day to get away from work and working out to clear your mind. Think about how easy that swim will be since you are well-prepared with Tri Swim Coach!

7. You will have more energy during your rest or taper period. Don't be tempted to use it! Save it for your event and you will be glad you did.

 

The Perfect Taper

The final touches to any training program come during the taper. This is the period of your season leading up to a key race when you cut back your overall training volume and allow your body to absorb all of the hard work you did during your base building and speed phases. Doing the right kind of taper is an art unto itself.

A taper is tricky because of what is happening internally when your body is given a chance to recover. When athletes start to give themselves rest, the system in the body that responds to stress (which is the system that allows you to get up for big workouts) starts to shut down. This is like working on the engine of your car. You cannot give the engine an overhaul while it is running. You have to shut it off.

The same is true for our bodies. You have to shut the "engine" off for it to recover and charge up for the big races. And when you do this, you might feel like you are out of energy, sluggish, and getting out of shape. THIS IS NORMAL.

This requires a readjustment of mindset. Allow yourself to feel less-than-stellar. It is just a signal that your body is repairing itself and getting ready for a big effort in a few weeks. Resist the temptation to go out and test your fitness just to make sure you are not losing it. As best as you can stick to the plan I will outline for you. This is the toughest part of a taper…the rest.

The Perfect Taper

The perfect taper is about four weeks in length. Yes, four weeks! It is slightly different for each of the three sports because of the difference in recovery time each one of them needs. Running takes the longest because of the impact. Cycling takes less time, but is still longer than what you will require for swimming.

So the peak week of training, where you will have both your longest individual workout and largest weekly volume for each sport should be placed on your workout calendar as follows: