Tapering for the big races….Barn, Hay, Race Fuel and Pit Viper…..
Ok! So you’ve done the base work, phase I with months of easy aerobic running and a few strides, hopefully on soft gentle forest trails like we have here in Fairhaven and Bellingham, WA….
And you’ve done Phase II and III with sub-threshold and tempo intervals and runs and some specific mile race pace 100’s, 200’s, and 300’s with plenty of rest. My world class age group sprinter tells me, “feed the cheetah” meaning rest between speed reps.
And you’ve had plenty of easy aerobic days and off days and run some very good races. Tapering a bit before each race and taking a day off for every 3000 meters of racing…
So now it’s 3 weeks of the championship racing. What do you do? Do you need to squeeze in another quality workout to make sure you’re fit or to get a test run to gauge how the race will go? Do you need to train more between these hard races?
NO… absolutely not!
We like to say “The Hay’s In The Barn”, meaning the work is done. As the great coach Jack Daniels says, you can’t do anything at this point to get more fit but you can do things that ruin your race.
It’s kinda like all the Phase I, II, II training is putting “hay in the barn”
And the championship races are the fire. If you take some hay out early, meaning do another quality workout and really test it… as they say, a gut buster, or seeing God type workout, you’re gonna be flatter on race day than the athlete that knows how to peak.
You’re putting hay on the fire early.
Instead here’s what we do.
In the last few weeks when the big races are here, we reduce overall training volume by 60% and decrease the number of reps of threshold and speed by 60% and increase the rest period between the reps. And we jog in between with some light strides on easy days and make sure to still take a day or two off each week.
We sleep well, eat well and keep occupied with school and keep things light.
And on race day….
We start taking the hay out and taking it out more and more and faster and faster. We race smart the first 1/3 of the race and get the emotion going as the race progresses. And on instinct like a pit viper we strike, and pour the race car fuel on the fire.
And after the race?
We rest and jog and strides and the light intervals until the next race.
And there we have a few weeks of races that hit it big.
Let me know what you think.
If you’re racing is flat, if you’re racing is not as good as your training predicts, it might be worth looking at the taper.
I hope this helps. It’s what we use with my son who is having a blast running and racing in trail town USA, Bellingham, WA
Reach out if you need any help and if you’re dealing with a chronic injury call me or email me and let’s get you in to fix you up and back to running and racing.
Ralph Havens PT IMTC
former 2:28 marathoner
now physical therapist at Beyond Limits Physical Therapy
1134-10th street
Bellingham, WA 98225
360.599.2217
https://www.ralphhavens.com/Blog/
Email at
ralphhavens.com/contact
Recent Comments