How late is to late to peak?

First off, it's great that you prioritized your family first. So many times, we triathletes obsess over getting in our training. We need to remember that there are (gasp!) more important things in life. ;-)

As for peaking, it really depends on how you feel, and how your training has gone. Nothing wrong with peaking at 42 miles for a half-iron. At that point, another 14 is just a number. Just make sure you get in a bunch of good-quality shorter rides in the meantime.

Then again, it's not awful to skip the taper and just keep building through the race. According to a friend who owns a gym, there is a large percentage of the population who do not necessarily benefit from a taper. If you do it wrong, you risk losing fitness (2 weeks is how long it takes). I know I've never gotten the taper right - most races, I feel more tired at the starting line than I did at my peak 4 weeks prior.

Note: this is not to say that tapering is necessarily bad, just that not tapering is also not necessarily bad. A good taper can leave you refreshed and primed for a great race day. A taper is a very personal thing.

So, you need to think about when your last rest week was (this past weekend, no?), and see how you did after prior breaks. In other words, a good training plan will have built-in recovery weeks. Ie, ride consecutive Saturdays of 2:00, 2:30, and 3:00 hours, then take a week at 1:15, then jump back up to 3:30. It's amazing, the gains you can get from a break. How did you bounce back the week after a break? And the week after that?

So... check your training log. See when your best rides were, and try to emulate that for your race. For instance, my best training ride came 1 week after I'd shelled myself on a hilly training ride. (Biked tuesday-Thursday, then hilly ride Friday and a terrible long ride Saturday; followed with easy rides Tuesday and Thursday, and the next Saturday ride was awesome). So, for my half-iron also on 6/26, I am pushing hard last week through this week, then taking most of next week easy. I can do this because I've been building slowly over the 8 weeks since my last race. If you're starting from a good point, a week's rest is plenty of time for a half-iron. Again, this is where knowing your body/condition comes into play.

If, on the other hand, you were starting to feel tired, then you should consider going ahead with the taper. Do shorter rides, but with good intensity. Maybe focus on the run and swim, and take it back a bit on the bike. Most first-time ultra-distance racers (myself definitely included!) would benefit from a slightly easier bike pace, allowing for a stronger (ie, non-bonking) run.

Also, what are your goals? Finish strong? Or place well AG? Tapering is great if you want to optimize performance, but at the risk of losing some fitness in the meantime.

Overall, it comes down to how you feel right now. You state you want to complete the race - would an over-distance ride of 60 mi this weekend make you a) more confident, or b) too tired?

Good luck!

went with option 3. As a runner I've grown accustom to tapering for 2 weeks before marathons. Being new to road cycling I'd go into the race very nervous about the distance. So I decided that the confidence I would gain would be worth taking the day off.

I'd like to take credit for putting my family before my training, which I usually do, but in the case my wife got home 5 hours late from her girls weekend, needless to say this put me in a bit of a bad mood, especially since now I have to take a day off work to compensate.

Thank for taking the time to reply, I appreciate the suggestions

Great reply westfried and good luck to the both of you ....a few teammates of mine are doing tinman and i am contemplating going up there to cheer/ volunteer

Great reply westfried and good luck to the both of you ....