Goddard -5 is going to be annoying to try to execute outside and so I’m considering replacing that with another easy ride, perhaps just doing Cajon two days in a row. I’m thinking that it is probably pretty hard to screw up the last week of riding provided I don’t go crazy and do a lot more volume than what the plan calls for. Does that sound right? I’ve tapered before for strength sports but never endurance.
That looks like a lot of interval rides before such a long A event. My tapers have been like one half-hour threshold & one or two very short endurance rides. Is Cajon there for the purpose of being an opener?
Conventional practice is to keep the intensity (intervals) up and reduce the volume during taper. What I like in the final week of taper is enough intervals to get the motor revving, but not pushing anywhere near the limit. Legs should feel like caged animals allowed out for brief runs on the leash, but wanting more. Those 30 minute workouts shouldn’t be creating any meaningful fatigue as long as they are a significant step back from typical volume.
The goal of a taper is to minimize the negative physiological and psychological stresses of daily training to optimize sports performance. Instead of trying to eke out further positive physiological responses from increased training, our aim is to enhance performance by reducing training stimulus in a way that reveals a layer of “freshness” in the athlete.
To properly taper for an event, we normally recommend 1-2 weeks of a progressive, nonlinear reduction in training volume while still maintaining a large portion of training intensity.
Now, as far as doing Cajon two days in a row because Goddard -5 outside can be more “annoying” then that’s OK!
You’ve done the work. Good luck in your century ride @bmarum!!!
