3) Triathletes training for a series of sprint or Olympic races over the course of five to six months may place races at the end of a recovery week as the majority of intensity for that week.
4) Triathletes tapering their volume for key events will typically have one, and no more than three, such events within a six to 10 month period where training is tapered for more than seven to 10 days.
5) Both full and half-distance Ironman triathletes generally need more taper days than those doing sprint or Olympic-distance events. Often, I will often use a 21-day triathlon taper and it can take two shapes. The first taper is a large training week followed by a rest week (the first seven days). Then there is a moderate volume training week (the second seven days) followed by a very low volume training block (usually five or six days) with the race at the end of the last week.
The second shape is a large training week followed by a week that is roughly 80 percent of the volume (the first seven days) of the biggest week. The second seven days is roughly 50 percent of the volume of the biggest week and the final five or six days is around 20 to 30 percent of the biggest week with the race at the end of that week. Intensity during those periods is maintained at around 20 percent. Intensity levels are is the same as prior training.
More: 21-Day Tapering Plan From Dave Scott
6) Depending on the athlete profile, I may begin the run taper before the bike and swim taper. This is usually more true for long-distance triathletes, than for Olympic and sprint racers.
Summary
Often when triathletes "rest" for a period of time, they reduce training volume and eliminate intensity making all training aerobic. We know this is not the optimal way to prepare for an important race.
When triathletes "taper" training for the purpose of optimizing performance, then some race-level intensity is kept in training while overall training volume is decreased. I typically taper triathletes' training volume for some seven to 21 days, depending on the athlete profile. Race-specific intensity is kept in the plan, beginning at around 20-percent of overall training volume and then adjusted for specific athlete profiles.
More: The Fourth Season: A 12-Step Program for Ramping Down
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