It's nearly taper time! My husband's big event Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene is June 21st, leaving him 34 days until the cannon fires on race morning.
Of course, it helps to have a working bike before you start your taper. (Ken found out Friday May 8th that his FELT S22 had a crack in the rear seat-stay making it unrideable. We've been working since then to get a replacement frame under FELT's lifetime warranty.) Ken has an appointment this Friday (May 22) to get a new bike fit on the frame currently in transit.
So, that brings us to the taper. We hope Ken will have his new bike fit & settled this week, giving him two days before starting a 4-week taper & 9 nine days if using a 21-day taper. Oh my.
A few weeks ago we listened to six-time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen & Luis Vargas, USAT Level II coach, co-founders of MarkAllenOnline, discuss "Beginner's Guide to Triathlon Training, Peaking & Periodization" via a USA Triathlon webinar.
Allen and Vargas suggest a 4-week taper, cutting 15-30 percent off of previous peak week's total volume and workout length. Ninety percent of endurance athletes go into events overtrained, they said. It's better to be 10 percent undertrained than 10 percent overtrained.
The taper may feel 
strange. Allen & Vargas summed it up with these four phases:
strange. Allen & Vargas summed it up with these four phases:week one: feel like a champ
week two: feel like a chump
week three: feel more normal
week four: feel like a champ again
Overall, you need rest, suggested Allen. Naps are great ideas! Read more from Mark Allen in "The Perfect Taper" and Five Perfect Weeks to Kona: The Art of Tapering.
More Taper Help
Question for You:
- What's your taper experience been like? Were you able to stay on plan?
- Who else could use a nap?
photo: our youngest catches some sleep.
