Following the discussion on recovery weeks, I was curious to hear how people peak for a race. Not like full training or what you do to train for the race. But let’s say 2 weeks or 3 weeks out from your A race, what does your training look like? Are you shortening your intervals? Shift from long intervals to short VO2 or sprints? How do you come into those last few weeks mentally and physically prepared to hit your best form?
I have tried different things and don’t really have a set taper (hence the question) but looking at my best results or performances, I have found a 2 week taper to work best for me, with a big weekend exactly 2 weeks prior to the race. So for a weekend race, the weekend 2 weeks prior is my last big intensity work and I try to have a really big TSS weekend. Then some easy rides with short VO2 or Sprint-type workouts. The week of the race I’ll do some intensity but short intervals and a big drop in TSS. And then the day before the race, I can’t have a total rest day as I find to feel a little dead the next day.
What does your taper look like? And did it take some time to dial it in?
I usually take some time off the bike 5-6 days out. About 3-4 days out I’ll do a some intervals, nothing crazy hard that makes me sore, but something to wake my legs up, and an easy endurance ride. The day before I’ll do an easy ride with some short 20-30 second openers at vo2/ish power. Main thing is focusing on extra sleep, low stress, hydration, and carbs just as you did the previous 6 months of training. If your fitness has been good leading up to the rest week, and you weren’t super fatigued coming into the rest week, it’s hard to screw up.
Yes, experiment with the final training block and the taper. Know what level of training and fatigue bring your best power and endurance.
Depends on the race. If it’s a 1-4 hour crit, road race or TT then I’ll typically just have easy days 2 and 3 days out, some openers the day before and that’s it. Big epic challenge type race where I’ll be digging really deep but also where top end power/sharpness isn’t so necessary e.g. A Marmotte or multi day event sort of thing then I’ll just schedule it so it falls at the end of a recovery week.
If it’s a triathlon or any other race involving running then I think the taper is much more important as takes longer for the fatigue from running to clear the legs. I’ve done Ironman and marathons in the past and needed to do my last long run about 3 weeks out to be really fresh. But cycling being non impact doesn’t take the same toll on the legs, and I’ve been doing enough volume for enough years that just a couple of light days is really all I need to be pretty mentally and physically fresh.
“Back in the day” when I was a serious… for whatever reason I could never really get my peak right (running). Some of my best races actually came while I was in the middle of a big training block and was tired. At the end of the season when we would back off and taper I would get restless legs and just never feel like I was in a groove. Can’t explain it.
These days I just kinda take it easy the week of the race and maybe some “openers” a couple days before.
I think it probably depends on the race profile, but for the last couple years I’ve been targeting Long events like Leadville.
What’s worked there is 2-2.5 weeks out drop volume by ~40% (or more), maintaining a little bit of intensity to keep things sharp. But that’s after pushing volume and TTE pretty hard in the heat of the summer, so need some recovery by that point.
You’re not going to gain any fitness in those last two weeks - so it’s really about coming in fresh and rested without being stale.
Same as @BCM , in the two weeks leading up drop volume to between 40-60% and maintain frequency and intensity. It’s all about getting some freshness back in this old body.
Tapering can certainly vary from person to person… Some athletes prefer a big dip in volume, while some prefer a little bit less of a decrease. Intensity, of course, will remain throughout the taper so you stay sharp!
Ultimately, you’ll have to experiment and find what works best for you… But here’s a TR resource that might help you out if you haven’t read through it already:
I focus on longer events and generally peak my volume and training load 4 weeks prior to my target race. Always a really big “overload” push the last couple weeks. Then a very easy rest week followed by 3 weeks of reduced volume but keeping some intensity in the mix. 2 weeks out, ideally a tune up race that’ s shorter than my target event (or just a big saturday ride if not racing). Final 2 weeks I’m always stressing that I’ve lost all my fitness and I want to push so bad, but I’ve been pretty disciplined the last couple seasons and it’s worked out well. On race day, unleash the animal that’s been caged for most of the last month.