The Taper

[update: February 26, 2007]

Quick question – I am 5 weeks out from Ironman South Africa (my third IM) and was interested in how you handled your Kona taper in 2006 ?

Coming from a marathon/ultra-marathon background I am used to a full 3 week taper with a lot less volume

-Lloyd

HI Lloyd,

I like to start my taper three weeks out from an Ironman. Three weekends before I do my last long run and ride and then gradually cut back on volume each week so that the last week I am doing very little, focusing on feeling good and keeping things snappy. You cannot get in better shape the last three weeks before, you can only overdue things. Keep this in mind even when you have those “garbage days” during your taper. There were days in my last two weeks pre-Kona when I felt so horrible I began doubting the work I had done. This is all a good sign, that your body is shutting down to heal itself to be super strong for race day.

It is important to reduce your volume but to keep up intensity until the last week. I like to some 800’s on the track at a “feel good” pace just to keep some turn over in my legs 10 days out from race day. I will also do some fast repeats on the bike the last weekend before with long recovery to keep the juices flowing. The last week is a very important time to get a ton of sleep, eat well and spend the lack of training time to get organized so that last few days pre-race are as stress free as possible. Good luck!

-Desiree

Avoiding the sick bug

[update: December 21, 2006]

My question has to do with health and nutrition. After wearing your body down for these races, what kind of supplements, nutrition, etc. do you focus on to prevent yourself from getting sick? I find the recovery phase to be most important and have recently gotten sick following the Chicago marathon that affected my triathlon training. Because you can’t afford to get sick for a week, what kind of things do you do to help your immune system? I already focus on fruits, veggies, and aim for 8 hours of sleep a night.

-Shannon S.

Hi Shannon,

This is a great question and as a an athlete this is something you do have to be especially cognisant of. The 8 hours of sleep a night is great. I also eat a large grapefruit daily (peeled as if it were an orange), take Alive! whole food vitamins twice a day and also use EmergenC in my water a few times a week. These things keep me from getting sick very often. Another thing, most importantly but the hardest mentally is- if you feel like you are coming down with something, nip it in the bud by cutting off the training and resting instead. You aren’t going to do yourself any favors but gutting out a workout while driving yourself to the sick bed for the next week! I am still working on this one myself….hope this helps.

Ice Baths

[update: December 08, 2006]

I saw a pix on your web site of you in an ice bath. How often do you use them, and for how long? Are some times more appropriate to take one than other times?

Thanks, Benjamin

HI Benjamin, I should be taking more ice baths than I do because they are an excellent way to a speedy recovery. I always try to do one after a hard race…usually filling up the tub from the ice machine in the hotel. My problem is that I feel so cold! I remedy this by wearing a hat and warm sweatshirt while in the bath. 20 minutes is a good amount of time to get your muscles nice and iced down. Ideally if you have the facilty for a contrast bath, that is even better. Hot water for 10 minutes, cold for 10 and repeat the cycle several times. If you have access to them, the more often the better, especially immediately after hard workouts and races.