I've read nearly every taper thread on this forum, learnt how people feel like crap and freak out before their meets, I have read about their doubts and fears and the encouraging responses given by experienced users and still I have no idea of what I'm getting into :afraid:
I have been training very intensely for the last two and something weeks. My idea was to peak training then taper. From the 11th to the 24th of June I've swum seventeen times, ten of these workouts were high-intensity race pace stuff with lots of rest, and lifted weights four times. The other workouts were the usual 5km+ ones with my team.
There are two upcoming meets for me which are a week apart and I'm focusing on the second one which is more important.
I have never tapered though and I don't know what I'm doing, I thought that a two-week taper would be fine then I read that the second week is the one when you feel like crap so I fear that I will hit my taper after the meet :doh:
I tried to come up with some kind of a taper plan for these two weeks, the number on the left is the day. Ez/drill stuff is not reported.
24 4x25fr, 2x75fr, 2x50fly
25 OFF
26 OFF
27 2x25fr, 200fr broken
28 2x25fr, 100fly broken, 50fr
29 ?
30 MEET 50fr
1 MEET 50fr/100fly
2 MEET 100fr
3 MEET OFF
4 2x25fr, 75fr
5 2x25fr, 50fly
6 2x25fr
7 1000 ez/drill
8 MEET 200fr
9 MEET 200fly?
10 MEET 100fly/100fr
What do you think? Is it the right road? Should I ever do a full broken 200fr or 100 fly during taper? What should I do on the day before the first meet? :dunno:
I don't know how long it should be, I know that the duration of a taper varies with age, I'm 24 so younger than most here, I should be fine with less rest right? still I fear to miss my taper. If I screw up the second meet I'll have to explain my coach how I have ever come up with this crazy idea of resting, because you know "rest" is a swearword for him :bitching:
Thank you very much :)
The length of the taper is determined (in part) by the amount of training you do on a daily basis at your peak. If you're doing 5-6k, your taper could fall in the 2-3 week range (probably closer to 2). I define the start of the taper as the point when you begin decreasing overall practice distance or the distance total of your main set.
As for weights...I wouldn't do more than 1 or 2 other sessions of weights (if I was you) and it would only be at 50-75%.
If you truly want to "swim through" your first meet, the practice the day before the meet should have a similar total distance to the prior day. Don't drastically reduce the practice.
I would never recommend doing anything 400+ at a meet the week before your taper meet...so looking at the events you have planned, I don't think it will negatively impact you. Just make sure your total yardage (or meterage, I guess) at the meet does not surpass the previous days practices, otherwise you're going backwards. So warmup + events + warmdown. Plan those totals ahead of time and see how that compares to the practice totals before and after the meet.
I used to believe tapering was a highly individualized process, but I'm starting to think that it's not really the case. People have a tendency to blame their taper when they don't swim as planned, but I think the reality is that there are many other variables that combine to be more powerful than whether or not you were "off by one week."
Traveling issues (driving, flying, time zones), rest (between events or sleeping), meal preparation, pool conditions (warmup, warmdown, water temp, air temp, opponent wake, opponent draft), level of competition, and mental fortitude are aspects that combine to be far more important than minor details of the taper. But, it's easier to just say you missed your taper if something bad happens.
In summary, gradually decrease what you do between now and the meet and you will swim awesome. Try not to stress every little thing, although sometimes that is easier said than done :)
Should I ever do a full broken 200fr or 100 fly during taper?Yes, but not the day before. As late as 3-4 days before might be fine.
The length of the taper is determined (in part) by the amount of training you do on a daily basis at your peak. If you're doing 5-6k, your taper could fall in the 2-3 week range (probably closer to 2). I define the start of the taper as the point when you begin decreasing overall practice distance or the distance total of your main set.
As for weights...I wouldn't do more than 1 or 2 other sessions of weights (if I was you) and it would only be at 50-75%.
If you truly want to "swim through" your first meet, the practice the day before the meet should have a similar total distance to the prior day. Don't drastically reduce the practice.
I would never recommend doing anything 400+ at a meet the week before your taper meet...so looking at the events you have planned, I don't think it will negatively impact you. Just make sure your total yardage (or meterage, I guess) at the meet does not surpass the previous days practices, otherwise you're going backwards. So warmup + events + warmdown. Plan those totals ahead of time and see how that compares to the practice totals before and after the meet.
I used to believe tapering was a highly individualized process, but I'm starting to think that it's not really the case. People have a tendency to blame their taper when they don't swim as planned, but I think the reality is that there are many other variables that combine to be more powerful than whether or not you were "off by one week."
Traveling issues (driving, flying, time zones), rest (between events or sleeping), meal preparation, pool conditions (warmup, warmdown, water temp, air temp, opponent wake, opponent draft), level of competition, and mental fortitude are aspects that combine to be far more important than minor details of the taper. But, it's easier to just say you missed your taper if something bad happens.
In summary, gradually decrease what you do between now and the meet and you will swim awesome. Try not to stress every little thing, although sometimes that is easier said than done :)
Should I ever do a full broken 200fr or 100 fly during taper?Yes, but not the day before. As late as 3-4 days before might be fine.
