Tapering for Ironman

With less than 14 days to go now until an Ironman, all the hard work has been done. The plain simple fact is that you aren’t going to get much fitter than you are now which means that there isn’t much point in a heavy training load as it will have no benefit until after race day! (see point 1 below)

Ironman UK start. Image © RAF Triathlon

In fact you would be much better off following a taper routine. Points to note before you taper:

1. Training adaptations take at least 10-14 days to show up in your system.

2. You won’t lose your fitness – because the training needed to maintain fitness is much less than is needed to reach that level in the first place

3. You won’t get fat – unless you eat too much. You may get heavier but this is because your glycogen stores are replenished
4. Periods of high volume training reduce muscle strength and cause mental fatigue

5. Peak performance on race day requires maximal mental and physical readiness

Benefits of a taper
1. Healing of muscle tissue damage from previous high volume training
2. Recovery of muscle strength and power which is reduced by consistent high training load
3. Restoration of muscle glycogen levels
4. Gives your mind a break from the rigors of frequent high volume training

What to include in your taper
1. Reduce the volume, maintain intensity and frequency
2. Increased quality rest
3. Good quality nutrition
4. Preparation of equipment
5. Reinforcement of race strategy
6. Reduced stress at work and home

What NOT to include in your taper
1. Extra training just to make up for what you missed
2. Extra work in your job to fill in for reduced training and to “get ahead” while you are away having fun!
3. Extra chores at home for the same reason as above
4. Extra training to get ahead of your mates
5. Dramatically reduced calorie intake because you are training less
6. Extra training, because it seems like everyone else is

Be strong, stick to your plan! Extra training may not make you any faster on race day, but it can certainly make you a lot slower!

About the author of this blog post
Article reproduced courtesy of Simon Ward, founder and head coach of Thetriathloncoach.com. Since he started coaching in 1995 Simon has helped over 100 triathletes complete Ironman events including several Hawaii qualifiers (& finishers). In addition he has experience of working with elite and age group athletes who race at the standard distance.

Thetriathloncoach.com offers tailor made training programs to help athletes of all abilities reach their goals. IronmanPB.com
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