Bring on taper

The last week has been the most difficult week of training thus far.  After a rather full week already, on Saturday I swam 2.4 miles at the lake.  This was a nice confidence booster to know I have swam that far.  I was happy my time was right at my target time.  That afternoon I had and hour and half run that I purposely did in the afternoon heat.  I felt decent but tired.  It was not too surprising though given the week's prologue.  It concluded on Sunday with a very long ride and brick run.     I rode for about 5 hours covering 90 miles, followed by another hour and a half run. Again, I did this all in the mid-to-late afternoon to help acclimate to some heat.  It was far from one of my best workouts. In fact it may be closer to one of my worst.  It truly seems that my body is wearing down. Partly by design? Partly to give that last push before it repairs?  My  ride time was very sub par for my usual speed averages and my run was pathetic.  I felt like garbage.  I was fatigued and I probably dehydrated as I did not take in as much fluid on the bike as I should have for a variety of reasons.  I felt as bad mentally as I did physically.  Like a broken record, the phrase "if you feel this bad now how can you do that and more on race day?" kept going on and on.  I called on some training friends.  How do you feel?  Lousy, tired, worried, not ready, irritable, burnt out......you?  The same.  I was not alone.

As of Monday, I have started the last phase of my training.  It is called taper.   Ironman training is extremely demanding physically.  In order to produce, the body needs rest.  A few weeks before the race the athlete will go through a training phase known as a taper. This means a reduction of work and an increase in the amount of rest. You only taper for your "A" event. The hard training conditions an athlete, but also produces fatigue. When the training load is reduced, fatigue subsides more rapidly than fitness, therefore, performance is enhanced.  It is for this reason that a taper is employed in the run up to a major competition.  As the taper progresses, the amount of high stress work is decreased and the quality of performance is gradually improved.  For optimum performance you try and curtail outside activities as much as possible.  Ideally, you try to store up as much energy as possible.  When the workload is reduced, there is a noticeable increase energy level but you must resist the urge to use this extra energy before the competition.  Resting is an important part of the taper, and expending the energy will only defeat the purpose of the taper.  Therefore my workouts are of a similar frequency but at much shorter intervals and with less intensity. 

Soooooo........ I am around home a lot more, a little more moody, more anxious day by day, constantly reviewing the logistics leading up to the race, and with more energy.  This may be the hardest part of the training for my family.  I do want to thank them for the support, patience, and love through this process.  They have been so much of my foundation through this process. 

With so little time left before the race I wanted to ask you for your support.  I will send this soon in an email as well but wanted to ask for your support and encouragement.  Later on, during the run you have an opportunity to pick up a bag.  It is called a special needs bag. In this bag you place things like aspirin, socks, maybe some food item.  It is those things that you may need to get you to the end of the race.  A great idea I saw was to collect quotes, verses, or brief notes from friends and family to place in this bag.  You then read these periodically or at those toughest times.  These will be part of that last inspiration to get you that finish.  If you would like to submit something please just shoot me an email markh.nigh@gmail.com