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Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary?
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 2009-06-04 10:44 AM |
Elite  3315    Miami |  Subject: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary?I have a couple of sprint comming up but they are mainly fun races and I don't want to taper since I am training for Olympic and HIM race....is it necessary to taper. for example race is on sunday can I still do a long bike on saturday, i understand my perf on sunday race might be slightly slower, any thoughts on the subject? Is it also a smart thing to do a Olympic race 3 weeks prior to my first HIM? |
| 2009-06-04 10:54 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
Coach 10487  Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? trix - 2009-06-04 10:44 AM I have a couple of sprint comming up but they are mainly fun races and I don't want to taper since I am training for Olympic and HIM race....is it necessary to taper. for example race is on sunday can I still do a long bike on saturday, i understand my perf on sunday race might be slightly slower, any thoughts on the subject? Is it also a smart thing to do a Olympic race 3 weeks prior to my first HIM? NO... if those are fun races used as training for the Oly and HIM you don't need to taper; you only taper for the races in which you want to achieve your max performance. Since we only can strive to peak so many times x season it is wise to choose a few races to peak for, otherwise you might blew your best performance on a B or C race by tapering too much. Racing without rest it doesn't mean you won't attempt to achieve a good result but since you will have some chronic fatigue from training you won't deliver your very best and that's ok. Still you will gain some adaptations from the race to keep on increasing your fitness and use that for your main event. I wrote this on another post before: Tapering is nothing more than reducing training load enough to allow your body to recover while doing enough to sustain the maximum amount of gained fitness. Every time you train you get fitter but you also can get proportionally more fatigue. Think it like this, every time you train you earn fitness and fatigue points. Usually fatigue points worth more than fitness point but fitness points linger longer than fatigue ones. IOW you get more tired after a session but you recover faster and the adaptation gains (fitness) will last longer. The reasoning behind tapering is that you want to keep as much fitness as you have achieved during months of training but at the same time get rid of as much of the accumulated fatigue. When you taper you get rid of that fatigue but you can also start losing some of your hard earned fitness hence while the volume is diminished we still perform some intensity to generate enough load to ‘maintain’ your fitness while allowing your body to recover at the same time.When you taper is because your main goal is to perform at your very best on race day. You are allowing your body to recover while maintaining your hard earned fitness. When athlete race with partial or no tapering it just means that while they still will strive for the best possible performance on race day given their current fitness level + chronic fatigue, the result won't be as good as if they were rested. Since athletes can only achieve a few top peak performances (max) every season, that’s why they allocate priorities to races labeling A, B, C races. The A races are those in which the athlete will taper 100% in hopes to achieve peak performance, B races are those in which the athlete will taper partially to achieve a solid performance and C races are those in which the athlete won’t taper, still a good performance might be desired but not granted. Tapering is very personal hence while fitter athletes can taper for shorter period because their bodies tend to recover faster still they tend to train more hence they might end up needing more days to recover. Less trained athletes might need more days to recover due to their lesser fitness however since usually they tend to train less they might be race ready in lesser tapering days.In the end, tapering for you will vary based on your fitness, experience, genes, etc. If you are following a plan just follow it and while training pay attention how fast or not you recover from hard/long sessions. Somewhere along training you’ll learn how much tapering you’ll need. Good luck! |
| 2009-06-04 10:55 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
Pro 5169 Burbs | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? trix - 2009-06-04 11:44 AM I have a couple of sprint comming up but they are mainly fun races and I don't want to taper since I am training for Olympic and HIM race....is it necessary to taper. for example race is on sunday can I still do a long bike on saturday, i understand my perf on sunday race might be slightly slower, any thoughts on the subject? Is it also a smart thing to do a Olympic race 3 weeks prior to my first HIM? I don't think you need to do a taper.... I wouldn't do the long bike on Saturday though [your legs might be trashed for your race] -- maybe move your rest day to Saturday or do an easy swim? The Oly three weeks before the HIM should be fine, too -- just make sure you do taper for that HIM  |
| 2009-06-04 11:12 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
Master 1651 Breckenridge, CO | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? trix - 2009-06-04 9:44 AM I have a couple of sprint comming up but they are mainly fun races and I don't want to taper since I am training for Olympic and HIM race....is it necessary to taper. for example race is on sunday can I still do a long bike on saturday, i understand my perf on sunday race might be slightly slower, any thoughts on the subject? Is it also a smart thing to do a Olympic race 3 weeks prior to my first HIM? I would never taper before a sprint/oly for the good reasons Jorge mentions above. I keep track of training day sequences that result in me feeling fresh on a given day in my training routine. Then I replicate that sequence of days in the lead-in to a sprint/oly race ending with a very easy day, then a rest day, then race day where I'll do my best effort regardless of my fatigue condition. IMO, if you're properly trained for the HIM, doing an oly 3 weeks prior is perfectly fine. |
| 2009-06-04 11:26 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
| Veteran 144 Ann Arbor, MI | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? I didn't taper at all for my sprint last Sunday...in fact, I was doing some intense training the whole week. Mon-Fri before my sprint race, I biked in the morning and ran in the evening. And I fit in a couple swims. The day before the sprint tri, I went on a ride and did a few hill repeats even. Did it affect my sprint tri performance? I have no idea because it was my first tri ever. But I was using the tri as a training session for a oly I have coming up. But honestly, I only felt a little fatigued...I don't think not tapering and not resting impacted my performance by THAT much...maybe a few minutes at best. So just go have fun! |
| 2009-06-04 11:32 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
Elite 3683 Whispering Pines, North Carolina | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? i reduced my training load for a sprint on Saturday and regret it. I won't taper for any more sprints. Olys and above...different story. |
| 2009-06-04 11:33 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
| Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? I just did a Sprint this past weekend and the only thing I changed was I did was get my Long Bike done very early in the week, rested Saturday (actually I did a short OPWS). So my answer is no, I didn't taper, I just made sure there were no Long Sessions within 5 days of the race. Jorge, that was an excellent explanation. Thanks! |
| 2009-06-04 12:02 PM in reply to: #2194814 |
Elite 3315 Miami | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? JorgeM - 2009-06-04 10:54 AM trix - 2009-06-04 10:44 AM I have a couple of sprint comming up but they are mainly fun races and I don't want to taper since I am training for Olympic and HIM race....is it necessary to taper. for example race is on sunday can I still do a long bike on saturday, i understand my perf on sunday race might be slightly slower, any thoughts on the subject? Is it also a smart thing to do a Olympic race 3 weeks prior to my first HIM? NO... if those are fun races used as training for the Oly and HIM you don't need to taper; you only taper for the races in which you want to achieve your max performance. Since we only can strive to peak so many times x season it is wise to choose a few races to peak for, otherwise you might blew your best performance on a B or C race by tapering too much. Racing without rest it doesn't mean you won't attempt to achieve a good result but since you will have some chronic fatigue from training you won't deliver your very best and that's ok. Still you will gain some adaptations from the race to keep on increasing your fitness and use that for your main event. I wrote this on another post before: Tapering is nothing more than reducing training load enough to allow your body to recover while doing enough to sustain the maximum amount of gained fitness. Every time you train you get fitter but you also can get proportionally more fatigue. Think it like this, every time you train you earn fitness and fatigue points. Usually fatigue points worth more than fitness point but fitness points linger longer than fatigue ones. IOW you get more tired after a session but you recover faster and the adaptation gains (fitness) will last longer. The reasoning behind tapering is that you want to keep as much fitness as you have achieved during months of training but at the same time get rid of as much of the accumulated fatigue. When you taper you get rid of that fatigue but you can also start losing some of your hard earned fitness hence while the volume is diminished we still perform some intensity to generate enough load to ‘maintain’ your fitness while allowing your body to recover at the same time.When you taper is because your main goal is to perform at your very best on race day. You are allowing your body to recover while maintaining your hard earned fitness. When athlete race with partial or no tapering it just means that while they still will strive for the best possible performance on race day given their current fitness level + chronic fatigue, the result won't be as good as if they were rested. Since athletes can only achieve a few top peak performances (max) every season, that’s why they allocate priorities to races labeling A, B, C races. The A races are those in which the athlete will taper 100% in hopes to achieve peak performance, B races are those in which the athlete will taper partially to achieve a solid performance and C races are those in which the athlete won’t taper, still a good performance might be desired but not granted. Tapering is very personal hence while fitter athletes can taper for shorter period because their bodies tend to recover faster still they tend to train more hence they might end up needing more days to recover. Less trained athletes might need more days to recover due to their lesser fitness however since usually they tend to train less they might be race ready in lesser tapering days.In the end, tapering for you will vary based on your fitness, experience, genes, etc. If you are following a plan just follow it and while training pay attention how fast or not you recover from hard/long sessions. Somewhere along training you’ll learn how much tapering you’ll need. Good luck! Jorge, thanks this is fantastic and helps alot. i have been trying to get an answer on this since my race season will be beginning with pretty much 1 race per month until december. unfortunately the long ride is with a group I REALLY like on saturday so I will have to ride then. instead of doing 55-60 miler maybe i will do 40. |
| 2009-06-04 12:14 PM in reply to: #2195009 |
Sensei Sin City | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? I would say 'no', but caveate that a bit... I don't think you need to take days off like you would for an Oly or longer. HOWEVER, if I was in the middle of an HIM plan and a sprint popped up, I would maybe move my workouts around to get an off day before the race or an easy day. I would NOT, for example, do a 2 hour long run or 4 hour bike the day before a sprint... It is a race, and I want to be as fresh as possible, but not sacrafice my normal training week for it. |
| 2009-06-04 12:25 PM in reply to: #2195009 |
Coach 10487 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? trix - 2009-06-04 12:02 PM Depends how well you want to do at the race. For instance towards te end of this month there is a sprint race (S 1/2 Mi, B 15 mi, R 5 Mi) I like to do cuz it was my 1st tri ever however it is 2 weeks before RI 70.3 an A race for me and I have scheduled a longish brick the day before. Since the brick is more relevant for my main event I'll do it and the next day I'll raced on tired legs. I know I won't be at the top of my game but I am ok with it, I'll just use the two as a last intense training weekend. Although sometimes you'll suprise yourself what you can do on tired legs Jorge, thanks this is fantastic and helps alot. i have been trying to get an answer on this since my race season will be beginning with pretty much 1 race per month until december. unfortunately the long ride is with a group I REALLY like on saturday so I will have to ride then. instead of doing 55-60 miler maybe i will do 40. As long as if fits your trainig plan, you don't go more of what your fitness can handle and have fun, you'll be fine! |
| 2009-06-04 12:43 PM in reply to: #2194789 |
Champion 10471 Dallas, TX | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? trix - 2009-06-04 10:44 AM I have a couple of sprint comming up but they are mainly fun races and I don't want to taper since I am training for Olympic and HIM race....is it necessary to taper. for example race is on sunday can I still do a long bike on saturday, i understand my perf on sunday race might be slightly slower, any thoughts on the subject? Is it also a smart thing to do a Olympic race 3 weeks prior to my first HIM? If they are not A races... and just training days... no taper. |
| 2009-06-04 12:46 PM in reply to: #2194789 |
Elite 3315 Miami | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? thanks this puts me at ease. i know my tri buddies that race with me will be talking smack but i don't care at the point, i will rip them apart on the oly that is coming up. |
| 2009-06-27 12:28 AM in reply to: #2194789 |
Veteran 242 New York, New York | Subject: RE: Do you all taper before sprint? Is it necessary? Thanks as I was wondering the same thing. |
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