Saturday, August 21, 2010

Art of Taper

The art of the proper taper is something in which few casual athletes are properly schooled.  How much is too much?  How long should it be?  At what intensity should I be working out?  I can't pretend to know the answer, instead, for my sprint tri tomorrow, I simply went the lazy woman's route:

Swim - about two weeks ago I did my last swim workout.  I DID go on an "open water ocean swim with a 32 pound weight and tow float" (aka- boogie boarding with B-ridge at OBX) on Friday morning, but I'm not sure where that falls on intensity level.

Bike - about three weeks ago I did my last bike workout.  I DID go on a 2 mile bike ride with the kids, again with a 32 pounds extra weight about a week ago, so that counts as something.  Biking required the most amount of taper, because it's the longest toughest part of the race.

Run- about 24 hours before the race I did an "easy" 6 miles.  "Easy" because my stomach revolted at mile 5.2 and I had to walk the rest of the last mile.  Running required the least amount of taper, because it's the shortest portion of the Tri... other than the swim.


Runner First.  Logical Thinker Second.

Happy racing this weekend to all!  As for me, I'm just trying to get through the Tri with the least amount of embarrassment, pain, and embarrassment.  I said embarrassment twice... because I surely expect the TRI to be twice as embarrassing as it is painful.

6 comments:

kat said...

You'll be fine, everyone else else will be having the same crazy thoughts, I have a half marathon tomorrow will have you and TMB in my thoughts as I run, and look forward to your race reports, good luck, your going to do great.

Pahla said...

Ha, ha, ha! I love tapering like that! Have a great race! :-)

Anne said...

You'll be fine...just have fun!! :)

Anne said...

I always wonder when it's best to taper. I do know people who wait until too late really pay for it race day. Of course, they don't realize it until it's too late.

Stay strong! Stay hydrated :-)!

Jen said...

Praying for you and T.

Anonymous said...

hahaha you will be fine! can't wait to read all about it!