Race Taper

Twelve days before the Tupper Lake Tinman 1/2 Ironman triathlon and the taper has officially begun. Now is the time to wonder if you did enough training, not that it really matters anymore. All we can do now is overtrain, not get enough sleep and worry. Far better to realize going into a race possibly a bit undertrained is a good thing.

Top Ten Things to do (or not) when tapering;

1. Don't eat as many calories as when you were training 8-12 hours a week. Gaining 2-3 pounds won't help your race!
2. Run/Ride/Swim shorter distances, but do a few minutes of high quality work in several of the sessions.
3. Stop drinking so much alcohol.
4. Replace your bike tires.
5. Take a complete rest day (or two) each week.
6. Do only one workout on many days.
7. Sleep more.
8. Rest, don't replace the free time you now have from not exercising as much with other physical activities.
9. Practice transitions, imagine yourself in each stage of the race, visualize the course and the success you will have.
10. Plan your on-course nutrition requirements, especially the bike stage, but also what you might keep in the transition area.

You have trained a long time for the race, months, weeks, days, hours. Begin to enjoy the experience now and carry positive thoughts through race day. Your training will get you through the race successfully. Have three goals for the race, for example;

C. Finishing, no matter what the time, as long as it's under the organizer's allotted amount.
B. Meeting a time goal based on your training for each discipline.
A. A top three age group finish or top 50% in your age group, or a fast bike/run split, something that is a bit lofty in case you are having a great day and can push it.