For the last several months, you have been training your butt off getting ready for your big triathlon. You are doing everything you can to have a successful race. You have been committed to your training program, missing few if any workouts and putting in your best effort in all aspects of your training. You have devoted time in the pool, on your bike, and running on the road.
Then, with your race approaching, you look at your training schedule and it reads, “Begin taper.” You are faced with the pre-race taper, usually one week for an Olympic distance up to three weeks for an Ironman. You feel a tightness in your chest. You become short of breath. You start to get scared. You have crazy thoughts like, “I’m going to get out of shape. I’m going to get fat. If I back off now, there’s no way I can have a good race.” You are now experiencing “taper anxiety,” the fear of losing everything you have gained from your training and failing to achieve your race goals.
Everyone talks about the importance of the taper and deep down you know you should commit to it. But each day that you go shorter distances and with less intensity, you feel more and more like a lazy bum. Taper anxiety can drive you to do crazy things—like a hard track workout or a long run a few days before your race. I saw extreme examples of taper anxiety when I arrived at Ironman Lake Placid. One fellow I met rode the first loop of the bike—56 miles—three days before the race! A group of triathletes I know went for a hilly, two-hour ride two days before the race! These people have serious tapering issues.
You are now at a fork in the road that will determine whether you have a successful triathlon. If you give in to your urge to act on your taper anxiety and you maintain your training volume and intensity shortly before your race, you will almost guarantee to fail to achieve your triathlon goals. You will enter the race physically tired and mentally dull. You will lack strength, endurance, energy, motivation, confidence, and focus. You will feel frustrated, sad, and, ultimately, disappointed. After your race you will be angry at yourself for not following your program to the end—which meant DOING YOUR TAPER! If you begin to take this fork in the road, be sure to have someone nearby who hasn’t completely lost his or her mind and who can talk some sense back into you. Having someone you trust who can help you regain your perspective and get you back on the right road is essential. I find a good smack on the back of the head works pretty well (gentle prodding might not be enough).
It’s simple; tapering will make your race. If you do an triathlon without a taper, you will likely bonk along the way or, at the very least, not perform up to your ability. Your body needs the taper to fully prepare itself for your race. The taper allows your body to rest, repair all the damage you did to it, and maximize the benefits you gained from the long and hard months of training.
Because of its importance, you have to change your attitude toward the taper and relieve your taper anxiety. See it as an essential part of your training program that you must adhere to—would you skip workouts that are on your schedule? Enjoy this “chill” time before the race. See the taper as your reward for those last few weeks of high volume/high intensity training. Direct your energy into something else, such as spend more time with your family and friends—they deserve it after all of the time you have devoted to triathlon—get some more things done at work, take yoga or get a massage, anything that will either reduce your taper anxiety or at least distract you from it. Finally, tell yourself in no uncertain terms, “I must taper or I will not achieve my goals,” believing that you will be rewarded for your commitment to the taper with a great race.
A big part of this lesson for me was the evolution of how I felt during my taper for Ironman Lake Placid (this example applies for shorter distance races too). For the first ten days, I felt awful: tired, unmotivated, sluggish in my training efforts, questioning my readiness for the race, and just not psyched to do an Ironman. I was truly worried that I was overtrained and that I would experience a solid day—and night!—of joyless suffering. Then something amazing happened. I woke up on the 11th day, went for a hilly 40-mile ride and felt great—lots of energy and enthusiasm, power on the climbs, and I had fun for the first time in a while. I had turned a corner that I didn’t know was there. I had gotten my “mojo” back. The final days before the race I continued to feel strong and ready for the Ironman. And I had a great race!
Preparing for a triathlon involves putting together all of the pieces of a complex puzzle—fitness, technique, equipment, tactics, and finally, the taper. Committing to a sufficient taper will not only ensure that you have the best race of which you are capable and achieve your triathlon goals, but, more importantly, that you enjoy yourself every step of the way.
