General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Race taper - what to do? Rss Feed  
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2009-08-25 2:13 PM

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Watertown, MA
Subject: Race taper - what to do?
I finished my second sprint on Saturday--had a decent race though the run was beyond awful--and three days later I'm wondering what to do for the OLY I have coming up on Sunday.

I've never done an OLY, and quite frankly because of a knee injury I haven't really trained myself up for the distance.  After the sprint I was hoping to get a solid taper in Monday through Friday but I'm undecided right now if training at all this week is a good idea.  Basically, I have pretty bad cramping--still--in my inner quad, that goes from mid-thigh down toward the knee.  It's not an injury of any sort, it's just a badly cramped muscle that despite my best efforts (tons of water and sodium, massage, ice, rest, etc) just won't go away.  I'm pretty sure I can bike without any issue, but I'm also wondering if rest is the simple solution to this problem.

So I put this to the forum: with just today through Saturday to get a few days of training/tapering in, what would you suggest?  I had originally scheduled a bike ride on the OLY course for today, a half hour interval run tomorrow, a 10x100 swim on Thursday, Friday as a rest day then a slow 5 mile bike, 1 mi jog on Saturday.  Any suggestions on how to modify this?  Should I scrap any run/bike training this week and just concentrate on getting the quad back into working shape, go with the original plan and see how it feels or maybe something altogether different?  Keep in mind this is my first OLY...the swim will be absolutely fine, the bike won't be a problem at all, but the run is going to kill me, no question about it. 

Thanks for any and all help, I appreciate it!


2009-08-25 2:30 PM
in reply to: #2369902

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Subject: RE: Race taper - what to do?
There is no way for you to taper for a week for a race you aren't trained for.  Nothing you can do this week will make much difference to your race.   Unless, of course, you hurt yourself further.  So your first goal is "do no harm".  Whatever else you can do is gravy.  I will say that intervals of any kind seem a pointless idea. 
2009-08-25 2:31 PM
in reply to: #2369902

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Subject: RE: Race taper - what to do?
I'm just doing my 2nd sprint this weekend, so i may not be the right person for advice, but i would take care of the cramp.  I would rather be near 100% healthy and a tad out of shape/practice, then try to maintain a few days of fitness and have to compete with or risk the cramp reoccuring.  I know it's hard and i feel bad when i miss a day of training, but you know you can finish if you're healthy - if you're not, you risk a DNF. 

Good luck!

Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
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