Two Weeks to Go: Starting the Taper
In the two weeks leading up to the triathlon, you will face another challenge: the taper. You have to pull back enough to assure that you are fresh on race day without losing your edge. The ten weeks of training have given you confidence that you can succeed in your race, and now it's time to back off a bit. Without the taper, you will do no better in the triathlon than in your workouts. If you start your taper two weeks out, your swim, bike, and run times will be improvements from your training.
Bear in mind that the taper period doesn't mean a total lack of activity. You simply start pulling back gradually as you get closer to race day.
With two weeks to go, you should have sorted out your nutritional needs and preferences. All experimentation should be behind you. You should know by this point what fuel is going to work best for you before and during the competition. If you are entered in a sprint triathlon, you probably won't need a lot of fuel during the race, perhaps a gel during the ride, so your major concern will be the prerace meal. If your triathlon will be of longer duration, your fuel needs will be different. In either case, you will not be trying something new on race day.
Being in taper mode doesn't mean all workouts are at a slow pace. In fact, you should include some short, hard workouts to keep your edge and to make sure your muscles are ready for the intensity of the competition.
Semantics
At some point, you may hear an athlete comment about “racing” or “not racing” a certain event. That may sound odd to you. Isn't everyone in the race racing?
In the vernacular of sports, some people are racing and some are just training or participating. The racers are the ones who are dead serious about the whole thing and are pushing hard from the starting gun.
Experienced athletes have a method of rating their competitions: A, B, and C. An A race occurs only once or twice a year. Preparation is very intense and is designed so that the athlete peaks during the race in question. An A race is one that is truly raced. A race with a B rating is also important, but preparation is less rigorous. The taper is usually two to three days. The C category is for races that can be considered part of training for a more important competition.
The point of this discussion is that if you are entering your first triathlon, look upon it as a C race at best. Plan on a good effort, but don't give the outcome undeserved weight. After all, part of your motivation in undertaking this adventure is to see if you like it. If you turn it into a life or death struggle your first time out, the added stress will eliminate the fun. Relax and enjoy it.
You might be wondering how you will make it through the final two weeks if you are scaling back. You fear that you will be climbing the walls, and two weeks will seem like forever without the daily training to keep you occupied.
This is where your discipline comes into play. All that work you have done will go for nothing if you don't follow the program and you aren't totally shutting it down. Enjoy what workouts you can do, and hang out with fellow trainees if you need to do something to pass the time. They, too, are probably feeling restless.
If the idea of shopping for all your triathlon gear is daunting, you should look into purchasing a package that includes everything you need except for your shoes and socks. From one source, you get can it all: bicycle, aerobars, water bottle and cage to hold it, wetsuit, tri shorts, tri top, helmet, goggles, swim cap, and a duffle bag to hold it all.
