We hope you have had a good summer of hard training and successful racing.  Since most of you are probably attempting to peak for a last BIG ONE of the season sometime in the fall, its time to talk about the taper.  No, not the one they sell at Home Depot for $8.95, the one you've earned by working hard and training properly all season.
 
The reason for tapering is to prevent overtraining, staleness and injury before the designated race.  The natural tendency of highly motivated athletes is to drive hard right up till game time.  We also know that many of you are old enough to know better.
 
Two points to remember about tapering that apply to everyone are: (1) there is not ONE tapering equation that will work for everybody, and (2) do less but realize that in order to "taper" you first need to have something to "taper" from. Let us explain these profound statements and put them in context.
 
Tapers can sometimes be tricky and are as much experience as they are an art and as they are a science. What gets you ready for a great performance might see another athlete show up on the line stale and out sorts from too much rest, or too fatigued from overdoing it. What will help you in perfecting your taper is the ability to know your body, how it is feeling, and how it responds to certain workouts.
 
If you keep a training log you will have a distinct advantage in this department. Being able to look back on the 1-4 weeks leading up to your best races and worst races can be very helpful in tailoring the final weeks and bringing you to a peak for the next big event.
 
Do you feel the best early in the week or when coming off a day or two of complete rest or do you feel the best toward the end of a bigger training week or after a few days of solid training? This can tell you a lot about what method of tapering will work best for you. Either way, at some point during the 2-4 weeks before the race you need to back off and completely recover (this may be 2-3 days or it may be up to 2 weeks depending on the athlete and the volume/intensity of his or her training). 
 
Additionally, it is helpful to note that "sprint" triathletes or those heavily muscled, "fast twitch" athletes respond best to more rest in their taper, while the more sinewy, "slow twitcher" needs to keep moving a little more. For some, too much rest can leave them flat come race day, but if you don't know yourself well enough then definitely err on the side of caution.
 
If you have been training for your event for 12-24 weeks (or more) and been consistent with your training load over the past 6-8 weeks, there is not much you can do over the last 2 weeks to get in "better" shape or fitness. However, there is a lot you can do to make yourself tired or too fatigued to give 110% on race day. You need to be fully recovered and fresh on the day of your big race, but at the same time you don't want to be stale or flat from too much inactivity leading up to the race.
 
If you are training for an Ironman, then 4-6 weeks before your race should be your go-for-the-gold training week.  Long and hard-go get'em!  Some athletes do well by gradually decreasing the volume over the next 4- 5 weeks.  Other athletes take a recovery week 2-4 weeks out, with less volume and intensity, and then build back up for the next 1-2.5 weeks up to 4-6 days before the race.  Many athletes train long and hard right up to the Wednesday or Thursday of race week, and then wonder why their performance on race day is sub-par.   This is what the coach calls a "within training" or 2 day taper and has it's time and place and can often be very effective if you are not overtraining - but is not recommended for "A" races. In particular, the second to last week before race day is often a heavy one. This may be the most often made mistake when tapering for a big event. Too much in this week doesn't leave enough time for most athletes to recover and be 100% ready by race day. If you don't do well with a long gradual taper it's a good idea to lighten the load at least from 14 to 10 days before race day. This should enable you to be fresh for some quality training (though at a reduced volume) for the weekend before the race.  Then, of course, to make matters even more confusing, there is the "TV" or "Drop" taper.  Some athletes will just take 2-3 really easy weeks and pop a good race, whereas others would feel sluggish, lethargic, and out of shape if they try that strategy.
 
Whether sprint or Ironman, many of your taper workouts should be specific to your "ideal race" pace.  You sprinters need long recovery after these high intensity bouts.  For Ironman competitors this is the time to shoot for your high "aerobic" zone up to the low-end "threshold " zone.  Do these as often as you can while still feeling recovered for you next workout.  There is no magic formula, while some monsters can do this every day, there are just as many individuals that can only tolerate every 3-4 days during the tapering period.  Again, ample recovery FOR YOU is the key.  Being in the monster group does not necessarily assure race success.  During this period most of you are maintaining "fitness", while a few of you are still building fitness.  This is the time to remember that 10% under-trained is better than 1% over trained.  You have worked hard to get to this point, it is NOT worth it to overdo it now and twist an ankle or break a collar bone during the final days and weeks before your key race. 
 
This takes you up to the final 2 weeks.  Now SLEEP, NUTRITION and HYDRATION should steal much of your focus.  While sleep is always critical to recovering and training properly - if you have neglected it now and then during the past few weeks (we all have) - now is the time to really make it top priority over training.  Yes, you read it right!  Sleep in some mornings and/or go to bed earlier!  You will need it.  Regarding food...the last thing you want to do the week before a big race is alter your normal diet significantly...but...you should steer toward more "nutrient-rich" foods and less "empty calories" and make sure you are staying well hydrated at all times.  Remember that you are now spending a lot fewer training calories than usual so you may not feel the need to eat as much.  AVOID SIMPLE SUGARS AND HEAVILY REFINED FOODS.  As you get closer to your race, 3-5 days before, increase your percentage of carbohydrates, while cutting back on the fats to maintain a consistent caloric intake.  The goal is to avoid gaining weight while you train less, with the knowledge that as you store carbohydrates you will retain water and watch your weight go up a couple of pounds.  There are also foods that you should avoid during the week before a race if possible.
During the 1 or 2 days before the big day you should avoid shell fish (which are very toxic), raw foods (difficult to digest) and eating meals too late at night. Your digestive system is not very efficient during sleep or during mild states of stress and we all need our beauty sleep and get a bit nervous before a race.
 
So, in the end, think back and try to figure out what worked or did not work in the past.  Or, just pick a strategy that intuitively might fit you, and try the grand experiment for this year.  And just to illustrate the individuality and trial-and-error nature of it all, it turns out that both of us used about the same amount of taper while we were competing...the only difference is that Dan's four day taper was for a mile track race, while Jeff's was for the Ironman World Championship...says it gave him less time to stress out about the race and be better mentally prepared.  Go figure?  A few of Jeff's triathletes suggest that if Jeff is writing your training plan, you might want to consider that purchase at Home Depot.  This way, when all your friends are talking about their nice long tapers, you'll have one to talk about too.
 
 
Dr. Dan Moser, Ph D, is the director of research and clinical services at ELITE Health & Wellness (http://www.elitewellness.com).  Coming from a background in track and field, he has  more than 10 years of experience testing professional and recreational athletes, including triathletes, runners, cyclists, in-line skaters, and hockey players.
 
Jeff Devlin is an endurance coach and former professional triathlete, who offers practical insights into the application of the latest science. Jeff holds five national championship titles and two 3rd place finishes at the Hawaii Ironman. He runs his own international coaching business, Human Performance Engineering (http://www.jeffdevlin.com).