Difference in recovery between tapered vs. non-tapered meets
Former Member
Just wondering if any of you have experienced a difference in your recovery between tapered and non-tapered meets. This weekend I swam my first truly non-tapered meet. My times weren't that far off my best times, which was fairly encouraging. However, I did notice that on the second day of the meet I was more fatigued than I normally am on the second day of meets, with other variables being similar. And today I had a particularly crappy practice -- couldn't hit intervals that normally wouldn't be a problem for me, even the day after most meets. Should I be concerned, with Nationals two and a half weeks from now? Or is this to be expected and the result of not tapering for this meet?
I think I'm probably obsessing too much. Nats nerves, I guess. :)
Parents
Former Member
Funny. I used to pay much more attention to immediate recovery nutrition when I used to do triathlons. It was chocolate milk or Endurox within 10-15 minutes of finishing my workout. Now that I'm mainly swimming, I'm not as vigilant. Maybe because the long races in swimming take me 20 minutes to finish as opposed to long races of 11-12 hours in triathlon... But I do know that it's just as important as I'm utilizing different energy systems.
My initial question had me wondering if there was a difference between non-tapered and tapered meets when it comes to recovery. Now I'm thinking that I need to pay more attention to recovery nutrition at the end of the day as opposed to just after the individual races in ALL meets, and that I'm just able to "fake it" better during and after tapered meets. I think it also boils down to me being a bit calorie conscious. I recently lost 25 pounds and have no intention of putting it back on. :afraid:
Funny. I used to pay much more attention to immediate recovery nutrition when I used to do triathlons. It was chocolate milk or Endurox within 10-15 minutes of finishing my workout. Now that I'm mainly swimming, I'm not as vigilant. Maybe because the long races in swimming take me 20 minutes to finish as opposed to long races of 11-12 hours in triathlon... But I do know that it's just as important as I'm utilizing different energy systems.
My initial question had me wondering if there was a difference between non-tapered and tapered meets when it comes to recovery. Now I'm thinking that I need to pay more attention to recovery nutrition at the end of the day as opposed to just after the individual races in ALL meets, and that I'm just able to "fake it" better during and after tapered meets. I think it also boils down to me being a bit calorie conscious. I recently lost 25 pounds and have no intention of putting it back on. :afraid:
