Dpeeples....sorry this is soooo long, but...
its depends on how much you've build in your base and how much volume/intensity you have been doing lately.
(last 2-3 weeks
) Hopefully a lot?
I started building base back in Jan and over the last month have really turned up the volume
(longer ride, swims, runs & speed work
) I maxed with a 14 mi run late last week, then the Oly Tri this past Sat avg HR 168, then over 130mi of riding in the last 3 days, plus a 10K, plus 1.5 mi swims 3 times this week.
Last year I did a 3 week taper and believe "for me", it was to long. Only going with a 2 week taper this year starting tomorrow or Sunday.
(maybe one more interval 10K
)
I like to keep it simply during taper, keep the frequency & intensity of your workouts the same,
(same amount per week
) but cut the volume in half.
(60mi rides become 30mi, 12 mi runs, 10K's...etc
) Keep the intensity the same but STOP all speed work
(interval training
).
You might feel the need after a week or so to "test" yourself speed wise....dont. You want to feel like your not doing enough. So on race day you feel light and springy.
Race week I finish with a relaxed 30mi ride on wed. then a flushing massage on wed night.
Driving down on thrus
(off day
)
A REAL relaxed sunrise 10K or less on Friday
(10min mi max, HR 140's
)
Then a sunrise lite 30-40 swim sat morning in the hotel pool, just moving the body.
I like to get up with the sun on fri and sat to get use to 3:30am on Sunday.
I also like to eat just a bit more for dinner on Thru and Fri nights, making sure to refill the tank for Sunday, but keep Sat nights dinner just a bit smaller. The last week I'm really anal and eat really clean all week, lots of chix, tuna, pasta, sweet potatoes, protein bars, yogurt, gatorade, H2o....etc.
That's what works for me, but everyone is different. Hope this helps a bit.
FM