I’m debating to not taper my swim before a HIM. I just don’t see the need to do a full taper for the swim. But maybe I am wrong. Any thoughts to this? I plan on swimming lots till 2 days before the race. I plan on swimming 12-15K yards. Is this too much? The last 4 weeks I have been swimming in this range (12-15k yards).
I’m debating to not taper my swim before a HIM. I just don’t see the need to do a full taper for the swim. But maybe I am wrong. Any thoughts to this? I plan on swimming lots till 2 days before the race. I plan on swimming 12-15K yards. Is this too much? The last 4 weeks I have been swimming in this range (12-15k yards).
It depends of course on many things.
People usually say, if you are going to make a mistake with a taper, it is better to do too little work than to do too much (err on the side of more rest). That being said, with swimming in triathlon, I think it is hard to make a taper mistake.
Taper is a big part of swimming, no doubt, but real swimmers are putting in 10k yards a day and trying to race at most a 15 minute race, most of them are racing a 1 or 2 minute race (and all of them are racing HARD during that swim).
A typical triathlete MIGHT be doing 10k yards a WEEK and then for HIM is going to race for 30 or 40 minutes at what should be a moderate intensity.
I would say it is far more important to get some good rest/recovery on your run, and then on your bike second.
A true swim taper in triathlon is probably not necessary for most, take a day or two off of swimming before the race if you feel like it. Make sure your workouts aren’t too crazy sick that last week, that should be fine.
Personally, I like to do no training the day before a big race, not even swim, but that’s just me. I also prefer to not run 2 days before a big race.
Actually, tapering is said to bring the biggest benefit for the more muscular athlete who is swimming high volume. But, everyone can benefits physically and psychologically from one. Here is what I do and it works for me …
Taper length - 2 weeks. Start it 2-2.5 week before race day.
Frequency - same except none or very short the day before the race. If you swim 3X per week, keep up that number per week.
Yardage per practice… First week work your way down, starting 90->70% of normal volume. Second week 65->35% …
Effort - You want to do both LSD and interval speed work during the taper. Be sure you get your HR into zone 4 for each practice for 10-20% of the total practice time.
Last swim - If possible, do it at the race course or somewhere where you can simulate race conditions (sighting, enter, exit water, gear check). Getting loose is all you need to do.
Day before the race - take it easy w no swim. Check your gear, hydrate, hang out.
I don’t think you swim enough volume typcally as a triathlete ot benfit much. Personally I’ll change the nature of my workouts the week before and reduce the volume slightly. Only swim 2-2.5 hours instead of 3-3.5 but i try to still do 4 swims since I think 1 benefit of swimming is that it aids recovery form hard run and bike workouts. I mostly reduce the volume so I can catch up on sleep a little the last week before a race.
I’ll do sets of 100 or 200y just above race pace, but with longer rest. along with some 100’s sprinting almost flat out but with even longer rest, maybe on 3 minute intervals.
The day before a race I’m doing a easy 25-30 minutes run depending how I feel with some strides at the end. That’s it. I do a normal Tuesday interval bike workout and Thursday run interval workout but the pace is just slightly above HIM pace and it’s shorter intervals and long rest between.
I am reducing my run and bike volume this week. My plan for the swim this week is a normal 4000 yard swim today, Tuesday 4000 yard, Wednesday no swim, Thursday 2250 yard (normally 3000 yard), Friday 1500 yards or no swim, Saturday no swim, Sunday Race
I typically bump my swimming up during taper. It keeps me sane. The recovery period from my typical tri-swim workout is nothing compared to a swimmers workout, a bike workout, or run workout. I use the past 4 weeks to build my yardage up until Wednesday or Thursday before the race. That’s when I taper off.
I typically bump my swimming up during taper.
I have a friend who is not a fish by trade and has had good success doing this.
As a non-fish, cutting back on my swim throws my technique off enough that it probably wouldn’t be worth it. In any case, the swim is the shortest part so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
off the three sports you recover from swimming quickest as it has the lowest impact. In that sense you can still do hard workouts during the week of your A race, I wouldn’t be doing any long hard aerobic sets (e.g. 10x400, 30x100) more than 5 days before the race. In the week leading up I’d shorten your sessions slights, but keep the intensity, add some speed work (e.g. high rest 50s and 100s) so you can maintain feel for the water and also get some practice for that start.
I am in a big swim block (1 week below 3ks since June 15) I find if I back off mileage by 30% I feel fresh, hence its all relative to the mileage you are doing. I’d go down to 10K from 15 in the weak leading up to the race