I hate that I never can get over the anxiety of will my taper work!!!
I've always had great tapers, but every time I wonder if I'm doing it right.....
This time is a little different because of the long layoff since my last season of competition (20 years), but I remember always having these same concerns.
Does anyone else have these same fears??
At this point, the work is done and crop has been sown. (Look to Paul's post for ways to actually blow a taper.)
So, not just will my taper work, but have I done enough up front and am I giving myself enough rest on the back end?
....too late to do anything about doing enough training or competition, so I focus on the good days and good sets for encouragement, especially when 90% of taper time tends to make me feel really crappy. Resting used to be about 2 weeks and moderate yardage, but after 20 years, I find 3 weeks and even less yardage is beneficial.
During taper, just go with it. If you have the need for speed, go ahead and blast a few 25s. If it doesn't feel right after warm-up, just do 500-1000 extra easy kick/drill/swim and try again the next day. Sometimes a 8x50 set with short rest can flush out that jonesin' feeling from the drop in yardage.
Broken swims are always a good indicator of where you are at going into the meet.
At this point, the work is done and crop has been sown. (Look to Paul's post for ways to actually blow a taper.)
So, not just will my taper work, but have I done enough up front and am I giving myself enough rest on the back end?
....too late to do anything about doing enough training or competition, so I focus on the good days and good sets for encouragement, especially when 90% of taper time tends to make me feel really crappy. Resting used to be about 2 weeks and moderate yardage, but after 20 years, I find 3 weeks and even less yardage is beneficial.
During taper, just go with it. If you have the need for speed, go ahead and blast a few 25s. If it doesn't feel right after warm-up, just do 500-1000 extra easy kick/drill/swim and try again the next day. Sometimes a 8x50 set with short rest can flush out that jonesin' feeling from the drop in yardage.
Broken swims are always a good indicator of where you are at going into the meet.
