Tapers

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. Figure out what training cadence triggers supercompensation effect for you and then do that in the days before each competition. en.wikipedia.org/.../Supercompensation www.mensjournal.com/.../4

Figure out what training cadence triggers supercompensation effect for you and then do that in the days before each competition. en.wikipedia.org/.../Supercompensation www.mensjournal.com/.../4 I have no idea how I would figure this out since I do different workouts on different days - IM, lactate, middle distance, sprint. I do know I recover most slowly from sprint workouts...

I have no idea how I would figure this out since I do different workouts on different days - IM, lactate, middle distance, sprint. I do know I recover most slowly from sprint workouts... When you have a great meet or swim really fast in practice, take a look at your last couple days of training. Then see if what just happened is repeatable, or if it was a fluke.

Depends what you mean by cutting back. I cut out only 1000m per day off my workouts by the end of taper, and I dropped 3-4 seconds off my untapered 100 free the last two years when coupled with a shave. The other side of that is... i only train 2000m per day three times a week :) So it is a pretty drastic 50%. I usually do 2600-3300 4 or 5 days a week and a lot of cross training. My preference would be to swim at least 1800 every day during "taper." That is about the minimum yardage for me to feel normal.

Is there anyone else who has been able to perform really well without cutting way back on yardage? Depends what you mean by cutting back. I cut out only 1000m per day off my workouts by the end of taper, and I dropped 3-4 seconds off my untapered 100 free the last two years when coupled with a shave. The other side of that is... i only train 2000m per day three times a week :) So it is a pretty drastic 50%.

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 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 used to hate tapering as well. But it does yield results and hence I persist in my 3 week tapers. However, I agree that the lack of exercise can make the taper period a mental game with the taper b*tchies and worry. I have had very good luck with shorter drop tapers for in season meets. I'll lay off drylands 7-10 days before X meet and beginning on Monday decrease yardage from 3000-1500 and also decrease intensity. I laid down some pretty fast pre-nationals times using this approach and it definitely avoids the taper lunacy and makes meets more fun and relaxed. I did speak to Laura at Nationals. She said she did her usual 5000 the Monday before the meet started and just eased up a few days. Seems to work well for her!

I live for the taper. But do I recall that Mesa was the last time you tapered?

As cokie pointed out (and many others will attest), tapering/resting is highly individualized. In the ballpark of 2600-3300 yard workouts, I would peg you for a 3 day rest period. Mon - 3,300 Tues - 2,800 Wed - 2,000-2,500 (basically a normal practice, just shorten your main set a bit) Thurs - ~1,500 (meet warmup plus some 100's or 50's pace) Fri - ~1,000 (or meet warmup equivalent) Sat - Meet At the yardages you describe, you can quickly get back up to speed the following week. You could test that out at just about any meet and it's not going to ruin your training. However, you said you don't feel normal with less than 1,800 yards. If that truly is the case, I would suggest continuing with your normal practices except the day before the meet (do meet warmup) and reducing/eliminating any dryland work the same week of your meet. Greg, I'm thinking that might work. I've done a lot of 3 day tapers for state meets and had good results. When I say I don't feel normal, I'm talking all mental. I just feel so uptight and out of sorts sometimes what used to be fun feels like a chore.

Some random thoughts, hopefully something will help: -- Pure yardage is not always a reliable metric, I can see a taper that would consist of nearly the same amount of yardage that you normally do but that is more restful or has a different focus. (For example, I'll often do 3000 or more during one day of a meet...though a lot of that is easy swimming.) -- You didn't mention what you do with your cross-training during taper. Since that appears to be a good part of your normal exercise routine, you obviously need a taper plan for that too. Since the goal is to swim fast, I would venture to say that a good part of your taper may even be cutting back on and eventually eliminating your cross-training. -- If sprinting is what taxes you the most, you definitely need to cut back on it. Personally, I wouldn't do lactate work the week before your meet. Good luck. Hi Chris, Thanks for your suggestions. I do cut back on all cross training - that feels like the most important part of tapering for breaststroke swims -conserving the legs, so I do no strength workouts for 2 weeks, I try to "coach" rather than all-out teach my classes, and no running. I do sometime walk the dog here and there and garden...What I can't change is that I'm standing several hours a day training people... I will say the best meet I ever had was one where I was injured and did pretty much only easy swimming for a couple of weeks and no breaststroke at all. I did keep the yardage up over 2000 until a few days out, though.