Does tapering before a long race exist in paddling? The experiance with my club is we bust balls the Thursday night before the Saturday 10 mile race with only Friday as a rest day. I've had experiance training for marathons where you taper for at least two weeks before the race. I'm a 55+ age paddler and I know it takes us older guys more recovery time. Just wondering if any clubs or coaches apply tapering to their training or find it not necessary. Mahalo!
Submitted by outriggerjack on Mon, 01/06/2014 - 3:59pm
Outriggerjack,
Yes, tapering does exist in paddling. When you use cycles or periodization in your training, tapering is essential for optimum performance. I know a lot of clubs/crews who use periodization and tapering when building up for a big race. During a racing season, it's tough to taper because your races are so frequent, but I don't believe in dropping the hammer on Thursday for a distance race on Saturday. Our club has a similar practice schedule and we use Thursday nights for blending and technique prior to a race. If you don't have it by Thursday, you won't have it on Saturday. I'm sure some pretty akamai peeps can expand on the periodization and tapering as I only brushed the surface.
#1 Wed, 01/08/2014 - 11:35am
outriggerjack, i don't really know what i'm talking about in this arena, but, from only my experience, i would say, it depends on the race. like 808.2.619 said, if you have a race every weekend, you can't really have periods that last only a week. you need to kind of pick and choose your important races. i've definitely gone very hard on thursdays for a race on saturday and did very well. but, you can't keep doing that. you need periods to avoid burn out. If your race is once a month, i think you would want to build up in intensity for that race, then a couple days before go easy. but never STOP for a couple days before a race. you need to keep the muscles going. just go easy. i think it's good to make a plan and try to stick with it. otherwise you tend to go 100% all the time and that can lead to injury.
just my pennies.
#2 Wed, 01/08/2014 - 11:56am