Effect of Taper on Bike Leg (70.3)

Triathlon Forum
1

I am about to enter my 14 day-ish taper for my “A” race (Austria) and it got me thinking about the whole process and its effect on the various legs of the race.

-I’m not tapering the swim in any meaningful way (lifelong distance swimmer)

-For the bike, I’m following the TR high volume 70.3 plan which has a ~2 week gradual taper

-For the run, I’ll reduce volume from 40-25 mpw (BarryP plan)

I understand the effect of tapering on the run (at least, how it makes me feel): fresher legs, higher energy stores = faster run split. However, for the bike, should I expect my split to be any different on the same course, than if I wasn’t rested? For instance, I have done 2 HIM this year (my first year at this distance) without any substantial rest (trained through them) and my NP has been right around the 80% mark for both. My runs were about 10 minutes slower than my open HM time, though the HIM courses were much hillier (delta ~1,000 ft of gain). I do attribute this delta somewhat to fatigue and not necessarily overcooking the bike (though I can’t be sure).

So question is: Do I just keep my target NP at 80%, and expect my run to be closer to my open HM time due to the taper and fresher legs? Or is there a school of thought and/or experience that says you can slightly increase wattage (maybe 81-82%) and get away with it during your peak? Or is this all n=1 conjecture and I won’t know until I try it?

Edit: To summarize, when you taper - where does the time drop come from (theoretically)? A tiny bit from the swim? A lot from the run? Any from the bike?

Thanks

2

I would think that you’d increased your FTP during your training but obviously never assessed it during the plan. A taper should allow you to see some gains, but who knows how much. Unless you know what 80% of your new FTP is, I wouldn’t risk blowing up on the run because you rode too hard.

3

You’ve got to race with the fitness you’ve got, not the fitness you wanted. FTP changes every day, and it is because of this that I think racing with power is not a good idea. However, measuring absolute performance (power) is a good method to measure progress for training.

On race day, what is your FTP? Depends: race day weather, rest the night(s) prior, travel stress, pre-race meals, etc. can all lead to an FTP on race day that is not what you expected. A common scenario is that people stick with an FTP that was from their best day, at home, rested, then get to a race where they don’t sleep the night before, it is hot/humid, yet stick to that “most awesome day” FTP. The result is a blown race that is usually blamed on “nutrition problems”.

Your use to using power, so stick with it, but only as a guide. Don’t be afraid to alter on race day based on how you feel.

Summary: Hopefully your taper helps all three disciplines. But race day is just another day, and it may not be your best day. Be prepared for that.

4

In endurance sports, a taper is used to gain a higher probability of performing to current fitness on race day.