Last week marked the peak in my training--20 hours of running. I’ve slashed a full 50% off my training volume this week. The idea of cutting back this close to a race can appear counter-intuitive but in the endurance world, it’s a well-known strategy called tapering. I turned to Active Expert, Gale Bernhardt for guidance in outlining my remaining schedule to ensure I fully benefit from all my hard work done to date.
Gale: “There are lots of ways to structure the workouts in your taper weeks. One way is to apply the percentages above to your long runs and fill the remaining hours during the week with whatever is left. I'd keep the Friday, Sat., Sunday structure that has gotten you to this point and just scale those runs back. Run commuting may become a problem just due to distance and time. Fill in with the bike to keep your legs from too much pounding.”
Week 5/12: 8 hours preferable, no more than 10 for sure.
Week 5/19: 14.8 hrs (80% of max)
Week 5/26: 9.25 (50% of max)
Week 6/2: 1.8 hrs (10% of max: Run 30-40 minutes Monday, Bike 45-60 Minutes Tuesday, Run 20-30 minutes on Wednesday with Thursday and Friday off. The run, bike, run days are mostly aerobic and can include a few 20 second accelerations (not all-out fast) with lots of rest.)
I’m following Gale’s advice and structured this week around a SD100 group training run on the second loop of the race course Saturday. Plus, it’s supposed to be a scorcher this weekend so I can get more exposure to heat training.
This week is National Bike to Work Week and it’s been good getting back on the bike and the short break from the run comes as a relief after last week's volume. Here’s the week breakdown:
Week 5/12: 8 hours preferable, no more than 10 for sure
Mon: OFF
Tues: Bike, 1hr15
Wed: Bike, 45m
Thursday: Yoga, 1hr
Fri: Bike, 1hr15
Sat: Run, 6hr (Cuyamaca State Park)
Sun: Swim, 1hr (La Jolla Shores)
Month-to-date:
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