Tri Training Tips

USA Triathlon has launched Tri Training Tips – a weekly web feature by certified coaches to help USAT members take their training to the next level. A new training tip will be posted every Thursday, so check back weekly for great advice from USAT's top coaches. Visit the Tri Training Tips archive page for more great tips. 

August 28, 2008

What Can the ‘Mere Mortal’ Learn from the 2008 Olympic Trials?
By Amelia Kirkland, USAT Level II Coach

Lesson No. 4
Observe the power of the taper. It’s a given that most triathletes are Type-A people. Who else would willingly subject themselves to hours of swimming, biking and running just to get a T-shirt? Most Type-A people believe that more is better. The more training I do, the better I’ll get.

I constantly have to remind my athletes to adhere to their training plan during their rest weeks. This is doubly true of taper. Many triathletes feel slow and sluggish during the taper and are tempted to work out harder.

Help your athletes understand that this is normal and they will sabotage their race if they don’t taper appropriately. Julie Ertel is quoted as saying that she took a sizable taper going into the Olympic Trials and look what it got her!