Gordo's Guide To Going Long - Part Six

Peak Like A Pro

Last time, I walked you through race week and laid out suggested workouts. Have you ever noticed some of the speedy elites do far more than what I recommended for you?

I have noticed and started asking around in my peer group for alternative approaches to the traditional taper. That’s our subject today.

This peaking approach is for competitive and top amateur athletes. Make sure to test it in your lower priority races, ideally a Half Ironman, before you apply to your Ironman event.

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Peak Period & Race Week

I’m going to borrow Joe Friel’s descriptions that we used in our book, Going Long.

We will name the three weeks ending in your A-Race as:

• Peak Week One

• Peak Week Two

• Race Week

Last time, we put our Ironman on Sunday. This time, we will place it on a Saturday.

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The Basic Week with Dynamic Loading

My section on Dynamic Loading in Chapter 10 explains how I like to load the week for a competitive amateur.

1. Green Zone

2. Velocity Focus (Quickness, Red Zone or Core Pace)

3. Easy

4. Strength Focus (In-Sport, Tempo and/or Traditional)

5. Green Zone

6. Easy

7. Easy

We will be sticking with this pattern in the Peak Period but you will need to pay special attention to your recovery and ensure your readiness is high for your key sessions.

Remember Joe’s advice to me from many years ago…

If in doubt then leave it out.

We want you feeling fit, fresh and focused on race day.

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Preparing To Race, Rather Than Rest

In a traditional taper our load drops exponentially and the drops vary by sport.

• Peak Week One. Is a normal swim and bike week. Running load is the first to drop.

• Peak Week Two. Is a normal swim week. Cycling load starts to drop and running load drops further.

• Race Week. All load drops with workout frequency maintained.

In this modified taper, we are going to unload during Peak Week Two, then get the body back on the upswing as we head into our event. The idea being to ensure we are ready to “race” rather than having our bodies think it is time to “rest.”

This is going to be easiest to see with a picture…

Let’s run through each week.