Help me plan my Ironman Taper, with the following information: I am 54 YO and I lose fitness very quickly. If I skip run intervals for one week, I feel as though I am starting all over again. So I need to err on the side of pushing it a little harder.
Tapering doesnt mean completely missing sessions or intensity. Tapering is a time of sharpening up all the training volume you have put in. It means you just decrease the volume, throw in a little speed, but allow for more recover time between sessions. Depending on how long you plan to taper, I would suggest you still do your running interval sessions although only do 50-75% volume, but at a slight (10-20%) higher intensity. Bike would include 3-5 10min TT efforts a couple of sessions in your taper, plus doing some short hill work. In the swim, focus on little bursts of speed, mimicking bridging gaps to get on others feet, or into open water.
How long are you planning to taper? 3 weeks? 4? 2? Are you planning to taper each leg differently? eg 3 weeks run taper, 2 weeks cycle taper, 1 week swim taper?
pinkboy
Well, I was thinking that the last long run would be two weeks out, last long bike and swim one week out. Saturday is race day, so I was thinking a ten mile tempo run on Monday, and miscellaneous speed work on the bike, run and swim thereafter. Thursday off, and Friday speedwork in each.
What IM are you doing? Last long run two weeks out is too close IMO and so is the last long bike depending on what you mean by long. You might check Gordo’s forum for a taper protocol and adjust for your ability/program.
I would call the long run 16miles and a long bike 100.
This thread over on Gordo’s board has been helpful to me–check out the link to the discussion on his older board. That lays out his thoughts in more detail.
http://www.coachgordo.com/forum2/upload/index.php?showtopic=617
My last long run (2 hours) is 17 days out. Last really long ride is 4 weeks out, but weeks 3 and 2 are 3-4 hour rides.
clm
How many long rides/runs have you done of those distances? What is your running background? How many 1/2s have you done? If your long run is only 16 then my guess is that the run endurance is a limiter - same as me.
Definitely check out the link on Gordo’s site and maybe do a search on the old site depending on what link is there. I remember G answering several different people on what to do and he was basically looking at your background and how many 100 mile rides you have already done. For the Kona folks and people with a lot of 100 mile rides two weeks out was ok. For running - same thing only a longer taper for the run than the bike is usually required. Mark Allen also has a good article in one of the old triathlete mags last year - sorry cannot remember the month.
Since this is your first, I would err on the side of being conservative as your taper is so you can get fresh and peak for the right level of intensity required - not to get extra fitness or endurance. I’ve read this quote about 100 time - “better to be undertrained by 10% than overtrained by 1%” or something along those lines.