There are a lot of flavors to an Iron distance taper plan. Do you reduce the volume, the frequency or both? This article will go over some tried-and-true taper plans.
Using a high-volume schedule for many months is not the best tactic. Build speed and skill several months out, and then transition to a high-volume IM plan.
This plan is an advanced plan in terms of volume and intensity and appropriate for someone who is looking to go under 5:00 and as fast as 4:30. There isn’t a lot of fluff in the plan.
Executing this full Ironman plan for 17 weeks would give people with one Ironman under their belts very good preparation for a 2nd and 3rd. Preferably, you should have a 6:30 or faster HIM time.
This half Ironman plan covers many weeks of challenging, but attainable training for someone who has some endurance experience, and ideally some Olympic distance races within the past season.