The Art of TAPERING for Endurance sports

Taper
ˈteɪpə/
1. Diminish or reduce in thickness towards one end.
​2. Gradually lessen.
3. A gradual or incremental reduction.

What is Tapering?

For endurance athletes, "tapering" refers to a decrease in training volume  leading up to competitions. It might last anywhere between 3 days and 2-3 weeks depending on the athlete's goals, event and training load. The aim of tapering is to maintain fitness and endurance while removing fatigue and finding some 'form'... simple right?!

​What decides how we taper?

• Volume of Training (Higher volume = more taper)
• Type of Event (Longer events = more taper)
• Age (Older athletes can sometimes require more recovery before an event)
• Previous Experience (What worked well in the past)
• Life (Busy lifestyle may need more recovery)
• Injury (Main goal is to get to the start in one piece - so we might taper early)

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Common Tapering Mistakes

1. Reducing volume too early...
Example: If you are on a marathon training plan that has a 3 week taper, but you haven't been completing all the training sessions... you don't need as much taper! Also if you have been over doing your training, you might consider tapering even more to ensure you aren't fatigued on race day. I would advise to reduce volume in this case rather that extending the taper.

2. Reducing too much volume...
Example: Your last long training session is 3 weeks out before your race but you reduce volume so much you start lose your endurance.  This is completely unique to each athlete and is best experimented with. An experienced racer will need to reduce volume much less to find form, but someone in their first season might need to reduce more.

3. Reducing Volume AND intensity...
Example: You remove all your long runs and all intensity. This will lead to losing fitness, endurance and feeling sluggish on race day. Remember our goal is to maintain fitness but lose fatigue! 

4. Spending your taper on a training session...
Example: You go out for one final long training session during your taper (maybe 1 week before) and feel great. You smash all your Strava segments, set a 10k PB mid run, beat your friend you usually fall behind and feel amazing. Well done... you probably just used your taper for this training session and won't be fresh for your race. Try to keep long sessions at your usual speed/intensity especially when you feel amazing.

5. Removing key skills to early...
Example: You are a triathlete who isn't the strongest swimmer and you don't swim for 3-4 days leading up to your event. While you might feel fresh for the race you are going to lose your 'feel for the water' and technique you have been working on. Keeping some short sharp efforts and easy technique work would allow you to still taper but maintain form.
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​measuring fatigue and form

Graph of Training

The above chart is pulled from an athlete's Training Peaks account (they are training for an Ironman Triathlon).
Here is a simplified explanation of what it shows...
Red Dots = Training Sessions (measured by time and intensity) 
Blue Line = Accumulative Training Load  (Think of this as 'fitness')
Pink Line = Fatigue (Note how after hard sessions fatigue goes up, and it also accumulates over time) 
​Yellow Line = Form (A measure of how much training vs how much rest the athlete has had, note how its mostly below zero!)

Graph of Training including Taper

In the graph above we can see what happens to the same athlete's variables during the final 3 weeks of training...
Red Dots = Sessions reduce in volume (but maintained some intensity)
Blue Line = Accumulative Training Load  comes down slightly - but not much!
Pink Line = Fatigue - this starts to drop. So we have maintained fitness but lost all accumulative fatigue. 
​Yellow Line = Form - suddenly we hit +25 on race day meaning the athlete is well trained, but well rested, but also feeling sharp due to maintaining some intensity in training!
The final Red Dot on the top right is their race! (Which they performed exceptionally well at)

While using something like Training Peaks is great for viewing how this works, it is also key to understand that every athlete will respond different to tapering and sometimes listening to your body (or athlete) during those final few weeks can be the smartest way to adjust and fine tune your tapering.  But its also worth mentioning here.. it can be quite normal to feel sluggish during a taper! So learn through experience.
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​Learning From Experience

Always keep a log of what you do in the final few weeks before your main events, looking back on this and figuring out what worked well and what didn't can be priceless when it comes to planning your next big race! As a coach, if an athlete has an exceptional race I'll quite often use the same taper plan over and over with that athlete. If it didn't work we will try to look at what we could change (volume, length, order of sessions or intensity) until we find the perfect race lead up.
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What should I do with my spare time?!

Some athletes struggle reducing volume during a taper. Here a few things you could focus on to pass the time...

• Eat Well (Its common to pick up illnesses during taper - help fight that with nutrition!)
• Sleep well (Stock up on this as you'll struggle to sleep the night before a race)
• Visualize (Mentally go through your pre-race plans, your race, and how you will feel after when you hit your goal) 

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Summary

• There is no 'one size fits all'
• Adjust your taper based on your own training volume and intensity
• Experiment
• Find out what works for you and keep a record of this
• Keep skills tuned up
• Don't be afraid to adjust plans based on how you feel
  
• Consider using a Coach that understands training and tapering!