I'm about 9 days away from my longest race to date, the Manhattan Island Foundation's Little Red Lighthouse race—5 miles, pushed along (I hope) by a nice current.
Over the past 4 weeks, I have worked up to a peak of 6,500 yards per day (one long swim w/ 500 cooldown) alternating with a 4,000-yard mix of different sets, for a total of 5 or 6 days a week.
My question now is, should I taper? And, if so, how much?
I haven't swum this much since high school and I"m exhausted!
Usually I'm a 2-3 week taper (but that's for sprints) and I base down from 4000-5000 per workout. This summer I've been averaging about 3000 per workout 4-5 days per week. I just did a 1.15 mile lake swim and tapered for one week. I dropped 500 yards per day until it hit 500 yards and maintained that for the last 2 days just to stay loose. It worked well as I bettered my time from last year by 2:15.
Usually I'm a 2-3 week taper (but that's for sprints) and I base down from 4000-5000 per workout. This summer I've been averaging about 3000 per workout 4-5 days per week. I just did a 1.15 mile lake swim and tapered for one week. I dropped 500 yards per day until it hit 500 yards and maintained that for the last 2 days just to stay loose. It worked well as I bettered my time from last year by 2:15.
