I've been attempting to do some reasonable 10 day-2 week taper for an upcoming meet. Perhaps this is unusual for a sprinter, but I've found I hate tapering. I'm not terribly good at sticking to a taper plan. I feel more unfit each passing day. I just want to get back to my usual workouts and cross training ...
On top of this general angst, a tri friend told me today that tapering makes you b*tchy. :bitching: I've read this in running books too. Seems somewhat true for me, unfortunately for my family.
Anyone else hate tapering or is it just me?!
Having said this, I'm sure I'll have fun at the meet.
I hate tapering also, but I found an easy solution....if you don't do meets, there's no need to taper. ;)
The longest I tapered was 1-1/2 weeks for SCY Nationals when my team hosted a few years back, and it was way too long. For the typical state meets, I usually just taper 3-5 days to get the best results.
The problem I have with tapering is that it's before big meets. I start to get jumpy about when psych sheets come out and then I have all this extra energy as well as getting paranoid about hurting myself or getting sick.Throw in that the second week I feel loggy and my splits are never where I want them to be and a good time is had by all(just ask my wife.)
Hey Taper-Haters!
I too will be starting a 3 week taper on Wednesday after my "long" swim (1.5 miles). I've done some half-a**ed tapers in the past, but I'm actully trying to stick to a planned one this time for my 1.4 miler on Sept 8. I am fairly new to tapering, and I know the mantra tends to be keep up the intensity but shorten the mileage and increase the interval between workouts to reduce volume. How strict should I be when resting? Can I hop on an exercise bike for 30 minutes to keep from going totally bonkers, or should I be joining Fort in b**tchy land? :D Thanks!!
No biking, if you're serious! Otherwise it will be half-a**ed. You'll just have to put up with the b*tchies. They'll go away quickly when you swim fast.
Stud:
Prolo jabs are to the shoulder, not the guns. You're just jealous because you never lift weights!
Thanks Dana! I'm a fan of July and August meets. I can breathe during those months. Plus, I love the muppets' pool. And, uh, you're pretty fast yourself. Two big meets in two weekends with a slew of PBs. Very impressive!
For 10 days prior to Nationals we had to listen to our coach give a speach that included things like "taper is not an exact science," and "better to be one day too rested than one day not rested enough". If hearing that every day doesn't make someone b*tchy, I don't know what would.
BTW Fortress-taper or not, injured or not, sick or not--you're FREAKING FAST!
Mel- thanks for posting on the weight gain/bloated feeling you noted during tapers. The scale has not been my friend the past few weeks, even though I was very careful to eat smarter and watch portion sizes due to the decreased yardage. It's good to hear that this may be a normal reaction to the taper.
Dana
Good point. LOL.
It appears to have worked pretty well on day one since I swam PBs.
Are you sure it's not the prolo jabs.. your guns looked pretty ripped....:dedhorse:
Stud:
Prolo jabs are to the shoulder, not the guns. You're just jealous because you never lift weights!
I don't need to with my guns!! Mine are all naturally and cown mouldingly induced...
:drink:
Sorry, I've been:Lurking:, but enjoying this thread.
How long do you typically taper? For a 70.3 mile race (1.2 mile swim), I may taper 2 weeks and only one week of swimming. For the usual Olympic Distance of 46.2 miles (1500M), I taper a week of Running and biking, the swimming may take a day off.
:confused:
I may not be tapering enough, but my old swim coach said that in Tri's (which is anywhere from 800m to 1.2 miles) you don't taper.
Am I doing it wrong?
This thread has been great - I really appreciate all the good advice and will feel MUCH better going into my taper knowing I will be crabby and have some temporary osmotic weight gain. I'm sure my husband will also be perfectly understanding as well....hah!
My long swim today went great from an endurance standpoint - I am still a real SLOW-n-steady, but it was nice to know that my 200 splits were all within 5 seconds of each other right up until the end, and I got out of the pool feeling tired but quite good and still having some energy. Which makes me think about what FMIF said - I can't help but wonder if I feel ok getting out at 1.5 miles, how much further COULD I go? :wiggle:
I am with you!!
I hate to taper....partially because I have never hit a true taper..except for one time in 2005...when it was on it was really:cheerleader: BUT when you miss it is really:doh:.... I am a distance person that pretends to do the IM/*** and I have found that if I taper for more than 2 weeks I usually have a great practice about 8th day and then am a little flat around meet time.
I am open for any tips... I practice about 4x aweek and average about 5000-6000 yds. I know what you mean I get really antsy and quite B*itchy...also a little bloated feeling...good to know about the weight gain.
Anyway this is a rather disjointed post but I wanted to say that when the taper works it is like the swimming gods are smiling but when it is off it is:censor:
