by Marilyn McDonald
 
This week we are talking about the oh so controversial taper. There are many different ideas and plans for tapering. I've heard as extreme as people saying they don't taper at all, to people who start tapering a month out from key events.
 
I have watched, listened and tried most different types of tapers over the years. My overall summary leans with my overall beliefs on training: we are all different creatures with different situations and levels of fitness and goals, so therefore many different protocols work or may not work in many different situations.

Scott Molina and I have a joke that we say to each other, usually before we do something silly... "we know more now". It goes like this...

"I live in Central Florida and have signed up for a mountainous Ironman next August."
"How you going to train for that?"
"We know more now!"

"I live in Upstate New Your and have signed up for my first Ironman next February."
"How you going to train for that?"
"We know more now!"

By the way, if you happen to fit the above, then I'm not teasing you. Scott and I are making fun of the fact that we all dream up insane ideas that seem good at the time (normally six to ten months out from the event date).

Triathlon is tough enough, even when you do it right.

++

With Ironman Hawaii gone for another year, many athletes will use the coming weeks to take stock of their seasons.

To take stock athletically, ask yourself how this past year went:
* How often was I sick/injured? What time of year did this happen?
* When did my motivation peak?
* When did my athletic performance peak?
* Did I manage to get my best athletic performance into my races?

When you think you have the answers, go back to your training log and make sure that you are remembering what really happened. Don't trust your memory -- it will be skewed by the recent past.

Nearly all of us will have patterns with the above questions that repeat year after year. In fact, with athletics, past performance is highly predictive of future results. It's going to take some thinking, and effort, to change direction.

Then consider your environment:
* When is the weather best for training in my area?
* What terrain do I have available in my area?
* What types of racing suit my personal profile?
* Do I deeply enjoy the training required to perform at my chosen races?

How does it work?
We will ask you a series of initial questions, from these questions we will produce a Basic Week for you to review, and adjust.

Once your Basic Week is set, we generate your training program in two week blocks. You have the chance to review, and adjust, each block, before you start.

Your year is split into three phases, each lasting 15 weeks. The phases are: Early Preparation; Base Preparation and Specific Preparation.

The program revolves around a core training load of 8-12 hours per week and builds towards a limited number of race simulation workouts, placed in the Specific Preparation period.

If you are not familiar with my book, Going Long, or endurance training, then you are going to need a starting point for training intensity.

Three things to remember:

1 - Make sure you can hit tomorrow's training. If you need to back off today, to train tomorrow then do it.

2 - Always leave yourself room to lift your effort in the second half (intervals, sets, workouts, weeks, months, seasons, races). Your best results will come from building a habit of always being strong at the end.

3 - Endurance training is about building our capacity to absorb WORK, not endure pain.

This article originated with discussions on why I am able to put together a decent Ironman race when everyone finishing around me can absolutely crush me over shorter distances. It’s also been heavily influenced by the philosophy of my coaches (Hellemans, Molina and Friel), my athlete buddies (mainly the Swedes Doodes) and articles/books that I’ve read.

Probably the best article that I have read on successful training is a simple piece that covered Mark Allen’s advice for lifetime fitness (Outside Magazine, February 1998, p 41-50). There is a lot of good advice in there and I recommend it for any athlete.

++

This article provides a good starting point for the basic physiological reasons behind the use of different levels of training intensity. For more specifics, refer to the Exercise Physiology section of the Library.

Over the last decade, I have been training pretty seriously for endurance sports. In this time, I’ve noticed that the many intensity guidelines for endurance training always seemed a little “too fast” for me. As a coach, I’ve often found that my athletes tended to simply dial-up a heart rate and then switch their minds off. Two of my coaching mentors (John Hellemans and Scott Molina) have worked with me explaining the concept of aerobic threshold (AeT).

I wrote this article for the USAT Coaching Manual. In so far as I have an "endurance training protocol" this provides a good summary.

You'll find the latest version of the eBook attached below.

If your browser is unable to "see" the attachment then the direct download link is here on Google Docs.

Let's start with a very quick recap on the Four Pillars of Endurance Training. They were: Nutrition, Strength, Economy and Aerobic Threshold Endurance. Hopefully, you found my previous tips on these important areas helpful. If you've been working on the Four Pillars then you should have seen some satisfying results.

So what comes next? Before I get into that, I want to discuss where people tend to go wrong when they add intensity into their programs.