I despise tapering so much, it sometimes makes me NOT want to compete anymore. I feel moody, tired, and depressed and worried about my races because I'm so used to being very active on a daily basis. I remember reading that Laura Val doesn't worry about a taper but the article had no details. Is there anyone else who has been able to perform really well without cutting way back on yardage? I would be interested in hearing what you do.
I love to taper, and all of my best times are from big meets. Consequently, I am a believer.
Instead of concentrating on yardage, think about swimming race pace with lots of rest. The yardage will take care of itself because of the increased rest during practice.
For the last few weeks, I experiment with a meet warm-up. It's important to find what combination works for you to be ready for the first race. Then, I concentrate on getting my body to know what race pace is. To prepare for distance events, I'll swim (4-5) x 100 to see if I can hit the correct pace. All my races are broken down into what splits I should do to accomplish my goal times. For distance, sometimes I break it into 50s. But I never go over 1/2 the race distance.
For 100's, I practice with 25's. For 200's, I practice 2 x 50. If I have sometime to time me, I may do the 1st 100 of a 200. Preparing for 50's is the hardest for me. I need someone to time me on 25's to get that 1st 25 fast enough.
When I start getting restless and want to do more, I know I'm ready.
Don't forget a good cool-down each practice.
I love to taper, and all of my best times are from big meets. Consequently, I am a believer.
Instead of concentrating on yardage, think about swimming race pace with lots of rest. The yardage will take care of itself because of the increased rest during practice.
For the last few weeks, I experiment with a meet warm-up. It's important to find what combination works for you to be ready for the first race. Then, I concentrate on getting my body to know what race pace is. To prepare for distance events, I'll swim (4-5) x 100 to see if I can hit the correct pace. All my races are broken down into what splits I should do to accomplish my goal times. For distance, sometimes I break it into 50s. But I never go over 1/2 the race distance.
For 100's, I practice with 25's. For 200's, I practice 2 x 50. If I have sometime to time me, I may do the 1st 100 of a 200. Preparing for 50's is the hardest for me. I need someone to time me on 25's to get that 1st 25 fast enough.
When I start getting restless and want to do more, I know I'm ready.
Don't forget a good cool-down each practice.
