Team,

Great accomplishment all around this week.  The East Bay century was a great success. 80 - 100 miles, and (a reported) 8,000 feet of climbing, beautiful views, and lots of all-team bonding. Saturday’s 1.7 mile swim and long run brought you closer to your goal. Congratulations to the LiveStrong riders also - 100 miles with Metcalf coming at mile 70 - but lots of smiles and Ironbutts at the end.

This week brings a major change to the schedule for Vineman athletes. It’s here.. what you’ve all been waiting for. TAPER. You’ve spent ten months building your strength, power, and endurance. Now, for the next three weeks you’ll pull back and allow your body to rest, recover, and replenish. Throughout the race phase, you’ve been training tired. We’ve never allowed your body to fully recovery from one workout before the next began

For the next three weeks, your training volume will be reduced dramatically. Expect that the first week of taper won’t really feel like a taper at all. We’re still going fairly long, but the workouts will shorten soon. Try to follow the schedule as it is written - and not mix the workouts up too much. The workouts get shorter throughout the week, so ideally they should be done on the day they’re scheduled. Also, when in doubt, err on the side of REST. If you’re feeling sick or injured, rest is more important than any single workout. Keep in mind that there is not any additional workout that will improve your fitness. Resist the urge to add in that one more long run or bike.

But wait!! Canada/Louisville folks have one more pyramid cycle before they can taper. And Nikki gets one additional mini-pyramid for IM Moo. Each year the argument rages: Who is luckier?  Those tapering now?  Or those who have an extra month to get ready!  The truth is… you’re ready.  The next month is just fine-tuning.

One more assignment for your week. Vineman athletes - write a RACE PLAN, and send it to the coaches.  Hopefully you’ve nailed your nutrition at this point.  It helps to write it down to cement it in your mind.  So please take a few minutes to make your plan.  Think back at where you were 10 months ago when you joined Ironteam.  You should be proud of all you’ve accomplished.  We are extremely proud of each of you.

Sunday July 26 brings two events - Catfish Open Water swim at Stevens Creek Reservoir and the annual run to Louie. North Bay will be joining us. Vineman racers should opt for the 1.2 mile swim, IMC/IML/IMW go for the 2.4 mile swim. Afterwards we’ll head over to Montclaire Elementary school for a run to the gravesite of Ironteam’s patron saint - Louie Bonpua. This will be a time to honor the memory of Louie and all of our honorees. It will also be a time to reflect on the season and what it has meant to all of us. Afterwards we’ll return to the school for Vineman send off. And to check on the status of our IMLP racer - Jenn.

More info will follow next week - sign up now for the Catfish Open Water Swim.
Stay strong, go long, and get ready for the roller coaster of taper.
Your coaches,
Chris, Ann, Steve and Dan

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 11:54 pm and is filed under IT2009 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.