Taper do's and don'ts

"This is so hard!"
"I don't feel like myself!"

"I don't know if I can survive this!"

For many athletes, the taper period before a race can feel harder than any interval workout. You've reached a point in your season when you put in countless hours of training, more miles than you would ever consider driving at one time and have accomplished so many workouts that you termed "impossible" when you started and now, the only thing between you and putting all that training to good use is a week or two of a drop in training volume, less total workouts and more rest. 

Yes, now you can clearly see why athletes dread taper. 

Your "normal" routine changes.......

And we all know that most athletes do not do well with change.  

Some athletes feel they may lose fitness during taper whereas other athletes feel "off". It's important to understand that every athlete handles their taper differently - and depending on the athlete and race distance/intensity, there are many different types of tapers. 

For me personally, I don't mind tapering at all. I love the drop in volume and more downtime in my life. I totally trust the process of tapering and know it works to go into a race fresh, rested, sharp and hungry to race. Overtime, I have learned the best taper for me and my body to ensure that I don't feel flat too close to the race but recovered and rested from many periodized months of training. 

To help you out before your next race, here are a few of my taper do's and don'ts.

TAPER DO and DON'TS

Do not rest too much. A drastic drop in mileage and intensity can leave you feeling sluggish and mentally "off". A proper taper helps you recharge. It is not a period of complete rest from removing multiple days of training from your plan (especially on race week).

Do lower the volume (ex. for a half or full Ironman, 2 weeks out from race day) and accept that at first, your body will experience a drastic change in the demands of the body. It's much better to feel a bit flat 2 weeks out from race day than on race week. Nearing 6-7 days out from race day, add a little intensity to your routine (with double to triple recovery time in between short intervals) to wake-up the body and to help you feel sharp. Remember that you are using your taper to fully (for the first time in a long time) fully absorb and recover from all your previous training so you need to find the right balance between rest and just enough time working out to keep your feel for your sport. 

Do not get obsessed with your weight during your taper. Do not weigh yourself, talk about race weight or bash your body.

Do thank your body for getting you to your start line healthy and injury free. Remember, that same body that you may call names because it doesn't look/weigh what you feel is "ideal", is the same body that is going to get you to your finish line.

Do not worry about your diet during taper.

Do eat healthy. Consider the foods that will best prepare your body for your race. Foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and electrolytes will not only help to energize your body but will also keep your immune system healthy and well. The closer you get to race day, the more you will need to focus on the energy-giving foods that will digest the easiest (low residue/fiber). No need to carbo-load your body for two weeks but instead, maintain a healthy relationship with food so that you honor your biological hunger but also do not overindulge just because you are racing. To avoid feeling "heavy" from a slight increase in carbohydrates, make your morning meal your carb-rich meal and then add an extra snack during your day like fruit, raisins or a handful of granola.

Do not do fear based workouts. 

Do trust your current fitness. Feeling undertrained is 100% better than being overtrained. Most athletes who feel underprepared are many times, very prepared. There is no good you can do by squeezing in one or two more key workouts just to prove you can do a certain distance or pace before your race. You will race with your current level of fitness on race day (regardless of what work you didn't/did do) and that is the day when you can prove to yourself that you can do the distance at the pace that you trained yourself to do.

Do not give your best performance in training, when no one is watching.

Do save your best performance for race day. Avoid "testing" your speed during your taper, joining group workouts (that have nothing to do with your taper) or abiding by haphazard training just because you are feeling good. Bottle up that energy and use it when you get a medal at the finish line. 

Do not change your daily routine too much. 

Do get a bit more sleep, practice your mental skills and lower your volume but remember, your body likes a routine. If you feel lost with your life because your taper plan includes a day off on Friday and you never miss a Friday workout, fill in the gap with something that is productive and makes you feel good but will not affect your taper. Go to the gym and instead of your normal Friday interval run, sleep in and then casually walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and listen to a podcast. If you no longer workout twice a day and instead only work out once, take an evening (or morning) walk with your dog or neighbor or enjoy your extra free time and do nothing. Rather than doing your normal long run, drive to a new location for your shorter run and enjoy the new scenery. Instead of your weekly masters swim, invite a friend/training partner to join you for your taper swim and then enjoy a cup of coffee/tea after your workout and enjoy your "free" time. 

It's important that you follow your taper plan that will likely have a drop in workout volume and frequency but you can still feel like you have a routine. 

Do not change what has worked in training. 

Do trust what has worked in training. With months of training behind you, you have had many opportunities to dial in your pre and during sport nutrition, gear, race outfit bike set-up (ex. race wheels, helmet, hydration system), run gear (fuel belt, shoes, etc.), practice pacing and build confidence. Avoid energy suckers on social media or forums that persuade you to change what you know works well for you, your body and race goals. On your last weekend of working out, immediately after the workout(s), write down what gear you plan to use on race day and also include nutrition before and during the race. If you never tried the nutrition strategy you plan to use on race day, never rode your race wheels in a long training ride (especially in similar race day conditions), never worn your fuel belt with your race kit on or....you get the idea.....rethink why all of a sudden you are changing what you know works well in training. The fastest athletes on race day are those who are confident in their well-practiced nutrition and pacing plans and feel comfortable in their race day gear and equipment. Karel answers a lot of questions about race wheels and he says that the fastest race wheels are the wheels that that you can ride the fastest in a straight line on your race day terrain/conditions. 

(You've never seen me ride in a disc or deep dish wheel on race day because I've tried in training and Karel knows it would take a lot of extra energy for me to race and control my bike in hilly or windy terrain with that type of wheel set.)

Do not become a different person during your taper. Do not voluntarily become a carpenter and start a house project, make a life change, put extra work projects on your plate or overwhelm yourself with to do's.

Do wrap yourself in bubble wrap, lock yourself inside your house and do not step close to anyone who is breathing. Only kidding - well, kinda. With all your extra time, it's very easy to take on responsibilities around the house or work that could cause injury or sickness. Or you may be seeking ways to fill in your free time and find yourself becoming extra social, in settings that your body is not use to. Be smart with your available time and seriously, just be ok with doing nothing. Your race is coming and you will have many hours to do something with your body in a week or two.

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The most important thing to remember is that your taper is the culmination of many months of training. It is a very special time in your training plan when you get to intentionally rest your body. For months, you likely only had an intentional rest day (or active recovery day) once a week. That's only 4 days a month or 24 days of rest in a 6 month time frame!!
Whereas your training helped you gain fitness, your taper will allow you to best use that fitness on race day.
Above all, a taper is only as good as your trust in your previous training. Athletes who nail their taper have a great ability to stay focused, confident and determined to succeed. No matter how you feel your training went or how good/bad you feel during taper, never ever stop believing in yourself.

You are capable of so much more than what you think you can achieve. 

Get excited for your upcoming race so you can prove to yourself that you now a stronger, faster, healthier, smarter and better athlete than when you started training for your event.

Enjoy a healthy taper before your race

Taper is an interesting time. 

Physically, it is needed for endurance events to ensure that the body is rested and well-fueled for the upcoming long haul but the style of tapering may differ depending on fitness ability and prior experience. 

However, emotionally and mentally, here is why tapering can be rather difficult. On one end, you long for the first day of taper when you have a sigh of relief that the end of "training" is near but on the other end, a change in schedule, appetite, structure, etc. can make tapering a rather uncomfortable time. 

With 8 Ironman and 8 half Ironman distance events behind me, I have not only learned the most appropriate taper for my body but also how to best taper each one of my athletes (although, it's only through a long term athlete/coach relationship that a taper is essentially discovered). 

But most of all, I have learned to embrace taper. 

It is a beautiful thing. 

Many athletes go into taper seeing it as a horrible time. Appetite issues, sleep issues, random aches, fatigue, mood changes, uncontrollable nerves, extra time (not sure how this is a bad thing for an age group athlete). These are a few of the many complaints that athletes describe when it comes to tapering. 

Although some of these may occur, I do believe that athletes need to learn how to have a healthier relationship with taper in order to enjoy the time before race day for it is necessary and beneficial. 

Here are a few of my tips to have a healthy taper

1. Continue to eat for fuel and for health

If you didn't master this mindset in training, you may find yourself doing the opposite during taper......eating too much or too little. Aim to be satisfied with your meals and snacks and if you struggle in this area (either feeling like you are eating too much because you are always hungry OR eating too little because you are afraid to change your body composition) first contact a sport RD who can assist you so that you do not waste months of training because you are unable to understand how to properly fuel your body in the 2-3 weeks before race day. Additionally, plan your diet in the morning and then reflect in the evening. If you do this (write down your eating for the day, including meals, snacks, hydration and sport nutrition before, during and after workouts) for 3-4 days (in a row at the beginning of your taper) you should be able to master your diet as you identify areas that may be causing you to overeat or areas that need tweaks for better balance in the diet.

Look at your dietary choices in two ways: What foods are keeping your immune system healthy so that you do not get sick as your body is healing itself from months and months of intense/higher volume training? What foods are keeping your body fueled for it's current level of activity?

Because ice cream, cookies and coke do not boost your immune system nor give you nutrients to support your training load, these foods (and many others) should not be seen as "needed" in your taper diet. The reason why I say needed is because you can certainly indulge as you wish anytime in your training cycle but when you indulge, you should always feel better after you eat them than before. Although I do believe that it is possible not to have extreme sweet/salty cravings with long distance training (both Karel and I have very minimal cravings, if ever, during or after workouts during IM training), if you are curbing cravings with these foods during high volume training, it is likely that you have a craving for them because of expending additional calories. With a drop in training load, address the place of these calorie-dense foods in your current diet. With a good mindset about your diet and current training routine, fueling your body during taper will be a fun time. Because every athlete wants success on race day, see the foods that you choose to eat as having a purpose greater than to just curb a craving or because you deserve it.

If you feel like you have a fairly balanced diet and include many real food choices that will fuel your body and boost your immune system, the easiest change is adjusting how you fuel before, during and after your "new" taper workouts AND not neglecting healthy snacks to prevent overeating at meals or in the late evening. I believe that athletes should still continue to support workouts with fluids, electrolytes and calories during all workouts as well as fueling before/after workouts as this has an incredible positive affect on your immune system, energy, recovery and appetite/cravings.

2. Enjoy your new normal
There is absolutely no reason to be inactive during taper and if anything, you do not want your body to get lazy. It is important to give your body a few days of a very light load of workouts (or a few off days from working out - not necessarily in a row) after your last big block of training. However, once you feel like the body is rested and refueled from those workouts (at least 3-4 days), then you want to incorporate low volume but a bit of intensity (with adequate recovery) to keep your body fresh. Your body may crave or reject the desire for intense intervals for the first two or three workouts that you doing or perhaps in just the first few minutes of a main set but this is ok. You gotta wake that body up so that it knows a race is coming.
(if you feel you are burntout or overtrained, this needs to be discussed with your coach for this is very serious to your health).

There are a few prereqs that come with this.

You should avoid any type of "testing" workouts if you are injured. If your body is injured but you just want to test it, you need to give yourself at least 48 hours after the moment/day you feel "healed" to ensure you do not backtrack. Consider that 1 day too soon testing your body after an injury can put your back 3 days or a week or more. It is absolutely not worth testing your body just to see if you can do "it" when you are still on the road to recovery.

You should never compromise sleep during your taper. Whereas long workouts are often done early morning on the weekends to avoid hot temps later in the day (and perhaps to accommodate family schedules) this is understood. But the shorter volume workouts  during taper should allow you to not be so rushed in the early morning. Athletes who continue to wake up at 4:30-5:30am on the first weekend of taper (assuming this follows 4-6 days of waking up at 4:30-5:30am to work out before work) are not taking full advantage of taper. Unless you are getting at least 7-8 hours of restful sleep at night, allow your body to sleep without waking up to an alarm. Sleep will not only help repair and rejuvinate your body but it will help with appetite as well.

You are not lazy. You do not have to train for a marathon, ironman or any distance more than 90 minutes just to be "healthy" or to maintain your body composition. If anything, what you are doing to do your body in training for this long distance event is extremely unhealthy. It is important that you do not see taper as a negative for your body in that you are losing fitness, gaining weight or being lazy. Accept that you needed to put in the work to train your body and now you need to rest it through a lighter load and adequate fuel. Remember, you are doing all of the phases of training to have a great race day performance so do not sabotage yourself on race day by doing too much during taper week (or by hating every moment that you are not training more). When your "workout" is over, find ways in your life that you can keep your body and mind healthy and happy. Explore new places, spend time in the kitchen, catch up with chores/to-do's, volunteer, go for long walks, etc. there is so much you can do with your extra time that no athlete should ever feel bored, antsy or upset with having extra time.

3. Maintain a healthy relationship with your body
I believe that athletes need to prioritize this tip for it is extremely important in feeling confident with your body before race day. In the 2-3 weeks before a race, your body may add a little water weight, it may feel different and it may feel tired. All of this can cause an athlete to hate their body, feel the need to do something extreme/drastic with the diet/exercise routine during taper or doubt fitness ability before a race. All of this is not advantageous to a great race day experience.

If you struggle in this area, you must focus on what your body is capable of doing on race day. Direct your energy to how amazing your body is and where it was (fitness-wise) when you started training for this upcoming event and where it is today. What are you able to do now that you once couldn't? What is your body capable of on race day? What is it that you want from your body on race day?
Keep in mind that you are not racing for the ideal body image on race day. Your fans, fellow athletes, teammates and spectators are watching what your body can do on race day and not what your body looks like.

With 12 months in a year, yes, you had a long time to work on your fitness as well as change your body composition (if that was your goal). But regardless if your fitness is there or not (perhaps relative to your goals) AND regardless of your current body composition, the only thing you can do in the 2-3 weeks before a long distance race is keep your body and mind healthy so that you can fully enjoy your race day experience.
Do not try to take the New Years Day approach and change 6-12 months of bad habits in the 1,2 or 3 weeks before a race.

After your season is over, it is your time to be flexible with your diet/workout routine. You can simply do whatever you want during that time and not worry so much about your performance or health. Certainly I would hope that health and an active lifestyle are always important to you but do not let taper be the only time when you are finding yourself doing things that you once did not have the desire/motivation to do during training. Although you should certainly take very good care of yourself during taper, just be sure you do not try to change your body composition through excessive exercise or dieting which can negatively affect performance and health.

Have a happy and healthy taper!