Tapering and Peaking for an Event or Major Competition

Kate L. Spilsbury

Highlights

• • This chapter focuses on how to modify training load before an event/competition to optimise performance.
• • The expected improvement in endurance running performance from implementing an optimal tapering strategy' is ~2—3%.
• • The components of training load - volume, frequency and intensity - should be considered separately when designing the taper to achieve the optimal balance between overcoming accumulated fatigue and maximising performance.
• • The scientific literature recommends reducing training volume by ~40-60%, whilst maintaining training frequency and perhaps increasing interval training intensity.
• • Prior training load and fatigue carried into the taper are important in individualising the strategy' and determining the taper duration.
• • Optimal tapers should be carefully programmed into the annual training plan to avoid compromising long-term fitness by tapering too often.

Introduction

Most runners train with a long-term goal in mind, such as completing a marathon, setting a personal best time in a specific event, or winning a medal at a major championship. Although a carefully designed and well-executed long-term training programme provides runners with the fitness potential to reach their goal, mistakes in training over the final weeks leading into an event/competition can jeopardise the chance of success. The training that is performed in the period immediately preceding a major event or competition is therefore undoubtedly one of the most important phases of training for runners and coaches to consider. An appropriately designed tapering phase enables a runner to realise the physiological and psychological adaptations that have been accumulated during months of preparatory training. The aims of this chapter are to discuss the science of tapering and peaking, and to articulate the key components of a tapering phase to ensure event/competition day performance is optimised.

Furthermore, the chapter finishes by discussing a number of pragmatic considerations for tapering and peaking, based upon the author’s experience of individualising strategies for many successful middle- and long-distance runners over the last decade.

The Science of Tapering What Is Tapering?

Optimal adaptation to training occurs when the training load is prescribed in an appropriate manner over time. The training programme must provide stimuli large enough to initiate the desired physiological responses, whilst integrating recovery periods sufficient to allow ‘supercompensation’ to occur and for the adaptations to be realised (Halson and Jeukendrup, 2004; Meeusen et al., 2013; Smith, 2003). During phases of heavy training, the body experiences high levels of physiological stress. This is often coupled with a reduction in between-session recovery time, as endurance athletes typically complete several high-intensity interval sessions per week and sometimes train multiple times in one day. As a result, temporary physiological disturbances can occur, including: muscle glycogen depletion, neuromuscular fatigue, decrements in red blood cell volume and haemoglobin, an imbalance in anabolic and catabolic tissue activities, which ultimately leads to a suppression of performance (Halson and Jeukendrup, 2004; Halson et ah, 2002; Hellard et ah, 2013; Mujika and Padilla, 2003). Consequently, the challenge for coaches is to programme a change in training load after a heavy period of training that is sufficient to alleviate accumulated fatigue, whilst maintaining or further enhancing physiological adaptation (i.e. supercompensation). This strategy' is commonly known as tapering and is used to facilitate the peaking of performance at the appropriate time for an event or major competition. Tapering has been defined as “a progressive, nonlinear reduction of the training load during a variable amount of time, that is intended to reduce physiological and psychological stress of daily training and optimize sport performance” (Mujika and Padilla, 2003).

Physiological Mechanisms

The physiological mechanisms fundamental to the process of tapering have not yet been well defined in endurance runners. This is perhaps due to the complex interaction of the physiological determinants of performance that are associated with endurance running. The available evidence suggests that the tapering period allows for the restoration of enhanced physiological capacities that have been previously suppressed or masked by intensified training, which may then lead to amplified physiological responses to the training completed during the taper (Mujika et al., 2004). Numerous positive physiological changes have been shown to occur during the taper, including metabolic, neuromuscular, hormonal and haematological responses, which may all contribute to enhancing performance (Table 9.1). Positive changes to an athlete’s physiological state during the taper are typically accompanied by a number of psychological changes (Table 9.1), which may also be beneficial to improving performance.

Tapering and Performance

Previous research has demonstrated improvements in endurance performance (using competition measures) of between 0.5% and 6.0% in response to tapering in running, swimming,

TABLE 9.1 Physiological and psychological changes during tapering

Source: Mujika et al. (2004).

cycling and triathlon (Mujika and Padilla, 2003). In endurance runners specifically, improvements in time trial or actual race performance after tapering have been reported in the range of 1.6-3.0% (Houmard et al., 1994; Munoz et al., 2015). The potential performance gain resulting from an optimal tapering strategy could therefore prove extremely valuable for an athlete competing at the elite level. For example, the mean taper-induced improvement in swimming performance was 2.2% at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, in events ranging from 50 m freestyle to 400 m medley (Mujika et al., 2002). This was in excess of the differences between the gold medallist and the 4th-placed swimmer (1.6%) and between the 3rd- and 8th-placed swimmers (2.0%) in these events. In athletics, in the men’s 1500 m at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the difference in finishing times between the winner and 4th position was 0.1% and between 3rd and 8th positions was 0.4%. Therefore, even very small improvements in performance could have a large impact on race outcomes and might be the difference between winning and finishing outside of the medals. It should be noted that tapering is not just reserved for elite athletes, however. Endurance runners of all performance levels can benefit from a taper to achieve their performance goals, whether that be for winning races or to achieve personal best times.

Given the large potential performance improvements from tapering, it is somewhat surprising that there is not an abundance of scientific research studies attempting to predict the optimal taper in endurance runners. This is perhaps due to the complexities of designing and controlling research studies on tapering, and in isolating the effects of the taper on performance. In elite sport, therefore, the design and implementation of tapering strategies has largely come down to the coach and athlete and is predominantly based on their own experiences and intuition (Mujika et al., 2002). However, an increasing number of research studies have investigated various manipulations to training as part of a structured taper, or by way of theoretical mathematical modelling. The findings of these studies will be discussed in more detail to provide general recommendations for optimising tapering strategies.

Components of a Taper

Designing a tapering strategy involves manipulating the training load variables of volume, frequency and intensity over a particular duration in the lead-up to important competition (Houmard, 1991). In endurance runners, the volume of training typically represents the distance covered (km). Training frequency refers to how regularly the training is undertaken and reflects the recovery period between training sessions. Intensity describes the physiological demand of the training and can be expressed in several different ways. Endurance athletes commonly train at relative intensities, running at speeds based on percentages of their own individual maximal aerobic capacity, maximal heart rate or race pace (Jones, 2006). The taper should be a ‘natural outgrowth’ of regular training, meaning that it should not involve anything drastically different to the athlete’s normal program. The only modification made should be to the load. It might be useful to separate training into continuous running (e.g. easy/steady running) and interval training (tempo/high-intensity sessions), when programming for the taper, as the load can be modified in these types of training slightly differently based on the information that follows.

Training Volume and Frequency

Reductions in training volume can be achieved through decreasing training distance (or time), reducing training frequency or a combination of both. Research suggests that dramatic reductions in volume during tapering do not compromise running performance in trained athletes for taper periods of 6 days to 3 weeks (Mujika et al., 2000; Wittig et al., 1989). However, insufficient reductions in training volume undermine the beneficial effects of a taper. A general recommendation involves a reduction in training volume of 41-60% over a 2-week taper to optimise performance (Bosquet et al., 2007b). This represents a fairly large range, so it is important to consider the athlete’s training volume in the prior mesocycle. In elite endurance athletes, regardless of event distance, higher weekly training volumes prior to the taper are associated with larger reductions in training volume during the taper (Spilsbury et al., 2015). Athletes undertaking a higher total running volume prior to the taper may require a greater reduction in volume to alleviate accumulated fatigue, compared to those completing lower training volumes prior.

It is not recommended to reduce training volume through reducing training frequency in trained endurance runners. To improve performance, training frequency should not be manipulated during the taper or should be maintained at > 80% of pre-taper levels (Bosquet et al., 2007b). This may help to maintain athletes’ daily routines and prevent any ‘loss of feel’ with regards to running form and technique (Mujika et al., 2000). Elite endurance athletes (800 m to marathon) typically maintain the frequency of high-intensity interval training during the taper (Spilsbury et al., 2015). The frequency of lower intensity continuous (e.g. easy/ steady) running is usually maintained at >80% of pre-taper levels, with the exception of elite marathon runners, who reduce training frequency slightly more (~30% reduction) (Spilsbury et al., 2015). This is perhaps due to a larger pre-taper training volume and frequency in marathon runners and therefore a more aggressive taper is required to alleviate fatigue.

Training Intensity

Whilst large reductions in training volume are necessary to alleviate accumulated fatigue from a heavy period of training, the preservation of training intensity during the taper is fundamental to maintaining physiological adaptations and preventing a decline in performance (Bosquet et al., 2007b). High-intensity training in particular must not be compromised during the tapering period and is necessary to achieve an improvement in performance when large reductions in volume and frequency are also implemented (McConell et al., 1993; Mujika, 2010). An increase in the intensity of interval training during the taper may have more profound positive effects on subsequent performance, although a greater overall reduction in training volume may be required to account for the additional physiological stress of this (Shepley et al., 1992; Spilsbury et al., 2019).

Considering the differing manipulations to the component parts of training load (frequency, volume and intensity) discussed earlier, the commonly used description of tapering in terms of a ‘reduction in training load’ is perhaps too simplistic. This description may lead to the assumption that all training load variables are reduced during the taper, when in fact there are intricacies around how each variable should be manipulated (if at all). It is important, therefore, to recognise the different interactions between training intensity, volume and frequency when designing the taper, to achieve a balance that is most favourable to enhancing performance. Adding further complexity to this balance is the pattern of the taper, which describes the manner in which the training load variables are systematically manipulated over time.

Pattern of the Taper

Several different tapering patterns have been researched in an attempt to establish the optimal strategy for performance (Figure 9.1).

Although the term ‘tapering’ implies that training load is reduced in a progressive manner, it can also be reduced in a non-progressive standardised approach, known as a step taper (Mujika, 1998). However, a sudden and marked decrease in training load is not as favourable as progressive tapering patterns for improving performance (Banister et al., 1999). A linear tapering pattern involves a progressive reduction in training load of equal proportion.

FIGURE 9.1 A schematic representation of different tapering patterns: linear taper, exponential taper with slow or fast time constants of decay of the training, and step taper

Source: Taken from Mujika and Padilla (2003).

However, exponential patterns appear to be the most beneficial of progressive tapers for enhancing performance. In an exponential pattern, training load is reduced dramatically initially before beginning to plateau nearer to competition. Exponential patterns can be implemented with a fast or slow decay of training load reduction. A fast exponential taper is a more effective pattern than a slow decay exponential taper, likely because it results in a lower overall training load than a slow decay over the same taper duration (Banister et al., 1999). A more rapid and aggressive reduction in training volume early in the taper may also help the athlete to overcome the accumulated fatigue from prior training more quickly and allow them to respond more positively to the training completed late in the taper. As an extension to this concept, a more complex ‘two-phase’ pattern has been investigated using mathematical modelling, whereby an increase in training load was implemented during the final 3 days of the tapering period, after an initial reduction over 5 weeks (Figure 9.2; Thomas et al., 2009).

Although the mathematical model predicted that the negative influence of fatigue was completely removed during both tapers, and the positive influence of adaptation to training was enhanced slightly further during a two-phase tapering strategy, performance was improved similarly after both strategies (~4.0%). It was suggested that the two-phase taper might further optimise performance if the second phase contained an increase in work that was specific to the requirements of the upcoming competition, rather than an increase in overall training load per se. Given the evidence for large reductions in training volume during tapering (Bosquet et al., 2007b; Houmard et al., 1990; Mujika et al., 2000; Neary et al., 1992; Wittig et al., 1989) and the inclusion of high-intensity training to improve performance (Houmard et al., 1994; Papoti et al., 2007; Shepley et al., 1992), it is possible that the two-phase taper might be more effective if volume remains reduced and only intensity is increased in the final days before competition (Spilsbury et al., 2019). This supports the anecdotal observation that performance often progressively improves from the first round of a major championship to the final, where volume remains low but intensity is high (Thomas et al., 2009).

Taper Duration

Identifying the optimal taper duration poses perhaps one of the greatest challenges for athletes and coaches, and anecdotally, many feel insecure at the prospect of reducing training prior to competition. This anxiety is based on the premise that a prolonged reduction in training

FIGURE 9.2 A schematic representation of linear and two-phase tapering patterns. Both protocols were characterised by a training overload at 120% of normal training for 28 days, followed by a linear taper for approximately 5 weeks. In a two-phase pattern, training load was abruptly increased in the final 3 days of the taper

Source: Taken from Thomas et al. (2009).

load during the taper may start to undo all the hard work that has been put in, resulting in detraining. Detraining can occur during periods of training cessation or from a significant reduction in habitual training load (Mujika and Padilla, 2001a), and is characterised by losses in cardiorespiratory, metabolic and muscular adaptations to endurance training which are detrimental to performance (Mujika and Padilla, 2001a, 2001b). However, a taper period of~8-14 days appears to be optimal for achieving a balance between reducing fatigue and preventing detraining (Bosquet et al., 2007b). Although some endurance athletes may respond positively to a taper duration from within a much wider range, as little as 6 days up to 4 weeks (Bosquet et ah, 2007b). This variability may be due to differences in athletes’ physiological responses to reduced training and their individual rate of recovery, in addition to their prior training load (Kubukeli et ah, 2002; Smith, 2003) and the amount of fatigue carried into the taper (Bosquet et ah, 2007b). However, few experimental studies have attempted to investigate this, perhaps due to the difficulty in quantifying the multifaceted nature of fatigue. Despite this, work by Thomas et ah (2008) using mathematical modelling offers theoretical insight into prior training load and implications for the duration of the tapering strategy. Using computer simulations of training and performance data from elite 100 m and 200 m swimmers over two complete seasons, it was predicted that a 20% increase in training load for 28 days prior to the tapering period would require a longer taper duration (~6 extra days) to improve performance. In contrast, peak performance was achieved within 2 weeks of tapering in triathletes, regardless of whether prior training load was overloaded or whether they were diagnosed as functionally overreached or not prior to the taper (Aubry et ah, 2014).

Summary of Recommendations for Programming an 'Optimal' Taper

The first part of the taper should focus on reducing accumulated fatigue, via reducing volume in an exponential fast-decay pattern. This involves dropping the volume quite rapidly initially, before reaching a plateau closer to the race. The general recommendation suggests reducing overall volume by ~40-60% for approximately 2 weeks, but prior training load should be considered, in addition to how an athlete responds to reduced training. Some athletes need to back off more substantially and/or implement a longer taper duration to freshen up, whilst others prefer to back off less and/or complete a shorter taper to prevent feelings of sluggishness. This is likely dependent on the physiology of the individual athlete and may take some trial and error to understand, as currently, there are a lack of physiological tools capable of simply and accurately quantifying athlete fatigue and time course of recover)'. Frequency of training should be maintained during the taper where possible. Although slight reductions in the frequency of easy/steady runs of up to 20% may be warranted for athletes undertaking very high training loads in the training phase before the taper. Intensity should not be compromised during the taper and is the key to improving performance. Intensity should be at least maintained in all training runs and sessions, and perhaps even increased slightly towards the end of the taper in high-intensity sessions, when fatigue from prior training has been diminished.

Other Considerations

Whilst the general recommendations from scientific studies have been discussed earlier, a number of additional considerations are important to address when designing a taper. This section will discuss these considerations, which aim to ensure that tapering strategies are appropriately individualised to optimise performance.

Plan Ahead

The competition calendar is often very busy for endurance runners, and racing frequently is common practice for athletes of performance levels. However, chronic adaptation to training and long-term gains in fitness will be limited by implementing ‘optimal tapers’ too often. Significantly reducing training volume on a regular basis will ultimately compromise the performance level that can be achieved at the most important competition of the year. Therefore, it is important to plan ahead and identify which competitions the athlete will be targeting for the year or the season. Then prioritise them in order of importance, choosing only 1-3 races to implement an optimal taper, with at least 2 months in between them (Le Meur et al., 2012). This will provide enough time for recovery after the first event, whilst still allowing a block of further training and a tapering period before the next major event. For track athletes, the priority races could be an indoor championship early in the year and an outdoor championship in the summer. For marathon runners, it might be a cross-country championship or half-marathon in the winter and a marathon in the spring. Next, consider which of the remaining races may warrant a shorter-duration ‘mini taper’ (<7 days), where training load is reduced to a lesser extent than an optimal taper. This could be for races where the athlete needs to achieve a qualifying time or selection for a team, or for other important races that they wish to perform well in, but that may not be the major focus. The lowest- priority competitions left on their list are the races which a coach should instruct the athlete to ‘train through’ and only minimally adjust the training load beforehand, if at all. For these races, it is important to help the athlete manage their expectations and keep the bigger picture of peaking for their major target race in mind, as they may perform sub-optimally without implementing a taper. However, these races are still useful to practice race craft (e.g. pre-race routine and warm-up, tactics, hydration, nutrition, etc.) and can act as a good training stimulus within the overall programme.

Prepare to Be Flexible

The tapering strategy should be individualised and implemented relative to the training that was completed in the previous mesocycle. However, this can often be different to what was originally on the programme. This means practitioners, coaches and athletes might need to be flexible and adjust the modifications to training load that had been planned for the taper. For example, the athlete might have completed a higher load than expected in the previous mesocycle and the taper may need to be longer and/or more aggressive in terms of volume reduction. Alternatively, there may be circumstances where the planned training load could have been interrupted through injury, illness, travel, or other commitments. In this instance, the athlete is unlikely to be suffering from the level of fatigue that was originally anticipated, and performance may be optimised after a shorter and less aggressive taper than planned. The athlete should consistently keep a detailed diary of the actual training load completed (preferably using GPS and heart rate data) and their subjective responses to the training. There are now many online platforms (e.g. TrainingPeaks) to assist with the collection and sharing of this data between athlete and coach/practitioner. This information will help practitioners, coaches and athletes understand the level of fatigue the athlete needs to recover from and will inform the extent to which training load should be manipulated and the taper duration. The data can also be used to evaluate the success of the taper for future races. However, the training load undertaken during a taper should almost always be different leading into each competition. Many athletes tend to want to repeat what they did before their previous competition if it went well. However, it is not advisable to prescribe the same training programme for the upcoming taper as for the previous competition, as it is very likely that the load in the mesocycle prior to that competition was different. A further consideration when planning the taper for young or developing athletes is that their usual load may be restricted in order to protect their rate of development, and they may not yet be training at their full physiological capacity. These athletes are less likely to have the same level of accumulated fatigue to recover from as a more experienced athlete, who is pushing the limits of the training load that they can tolerate. Therefore, developing athletes may not be suffering from the level of fatigue that would cause an acute suppression in performance, and an optimal taper period may not always be warranted.

Since positive performance outcomes can be achieved from a range of taper durations (~1—4 weeks), it’s important for athletes and coaches to trial different options whilst taking prior training load and level of fatigue into account. It is worth noting that middle-distance runners typically reduce their training volume in the final phase of training before they begin their taper, as the focus shifts towards higher-quality, more race-specific track work. They may also be implementing a number of mini-tapers for other races in building up to their major competition and therefore may have a lower level of accumulated fatigue to recover from prior to their major event. As a result, this event group would likely respond well to a shorter taper (e.g. 1 week) for optimising performance. In contrast, marathon runners typically complete their highest volume of training in the weeks leading into the taper and therefore a longer taper (e.g. 2-3 weeks) is recommended to dissipate accumulated fatigue.

Specific Programming Considerations

During the taper, it might be useful to programme sessions that the athlete is familiar with. When feeling fresher, they should be able to run more quickly than usual and respond better to the session. Therefore, it might not be necessary to set intensity higher, and faster times should come naturally later in the taper and will give the athlete confidence. However, when the session is going well, the temptation can be to keep going and complete more volume than is necessary. Instructing the athlete to finish the session knowing that they could have done one or two more repetitions of the same quality can help to prevent this. The goal of the final high-intensity sessions in the taper is not to ‘empty the tank’ but to prime the physiological systems for the race. The athlete needs to be disciplined in adhering to their tapered training programme and be comfortable with completing fewer reps than they are used to for the session. In contrast, programming familiar sessions during the taper could also have the opposite effect on the athlete’s confidence and increase anxiety if they are not hitting the times they expect to. Whilst this may help to gauge whether training volume has been reduced enough and allow for adjustments to the taper in real time, it may create added pressure for the athlete. For some athletes, it could help to programme subtle differences in the composition of quality sessions for each taper or have a small selection of different taper sessions to prevent athlete anxiety from making direct comparisons.

Many athletes take a rest day from running every 7-10 days during regular training. It is important to consider where a rest day should be programmed in relation to the competition day. Some athletes prefer to take a rest day 2-3 days before the competition, whilst others prefer to take the day off immediately before the competition. Trial and error will be required to find out which rest-day strategy helps them to feel the most fresh and ready to perform on the day of the race. For most athletes, the final training session before race day involves some easy running with either surges at race pace within the run or a series of 4-6 strides at race pace afterwards. This is to keep the body primed for what to expect in competition, without inducing too much fatigue to recover from. If the race takes place in the evening, you could also consider programming a short walk or an easy ‘shakeout’ run (10-20 min) in the morning to increase blood flow to the muscles and prevent feelings of sluggishness later in the day. A further consideration when planning the rest day is whether long travel to the event is required. It might not be possible for the athlete to train on the day of travel, and therefore they may be forced to take this as a rest day. It is worth noting that even if the athlete is not training that day, there may still be an element of travel fatigue, and therefore a travel day is not a true rest day. For example, air travel often involves a considerable amount of ‘time on feet’ in queues and dragging heavy luggage. This is interspersed with long periods of sitting uncomfortably and can involve an earlier wake-up time or later bedtime than the athlete is used to. This should be factored into the taper, with a lighter training day beforehand and a short walk or shakeout run on arrival, if time permits. Travel to a race can be an extra source of stress for the athlete, but this can be minimised by ensuring that travel plans are organised and communicated well in advance.

Another consideration is when the taper should begin if there are multiple rounds of competition over several days. This is particularly relevant for middle-distance runners. If the performance standard of the athlete is high enough that they are able to progress through early rounds with ease, the taper should be planned so they peak for the semi-finals or finals. If not, you should plan to start the taper on countback from the heats/early rounds. If the athlete is success- fill at qualifying in these rounds, the races themselves will be a large enough stimulus to maintain fitness and sharpness for the duration of the championship, despite the volume being very low.

The discussion in this chapter has focused on tapering the running aspect of training. However, it is common practice among competitive endurance runners to include strength and conditioning activities in their training programme (Blagrove et al., 2020b) and this aspect of training load should be factored into the taper. As with running training, no new strength and conditioning exercises should be introduced during the taper, as unfamiliar exercises can induce muscle soreness and additional fatigue (Connolly et ah, 2003). There is limited research on tapering strength and conditioning training for endurance performance, but since training adaptations relating to muscle fibre type distribution, muscle size and strength are typically lost at a slower rate than aerobic adaptations with training cessation (Mujika and Padilla, 2001a, 2001b), athletes should not fear backing off this type of training during the taper. If athletes have been completing two strength and conditioning sessions per week for several months previously, it seems that frequency can be reduced to one session per week during a prolonged competition season without compromising maximal or reactive strength (Beattie et ah, 2017). Athletes should avoid completing sets to repetition failure during the taper, as this may delay recovery, and greater improvements in power are apparent when training to non-failure during this period (Izquierdo et ah, 2006). If strength and conditioning is not part of the athlete’s current training programme, it should not be introduced during the taper.

Nutrition

Most athletes will be aiming to reach their optimal body composition for their major competition. This may require restricting energy intake to create a caloric deficit over a defined period beforehand, as it is not advisable to try to sustain peak body composition all year round (Stellingwerff, 2018). However, it is important to ensure that target body composition is reached before the taper begins, as recovery' will not be optimal if energy availability is low during this time. On the other hand, careful attention should be paid to energy intake during the taper, as this will need to be adjusted to account for a reduction in energy expenditure due to a lower training volume (especially during longer tapers). Failure to achieve energy' balance during the taper may result in undesirable changes in body composition, which can negatively impact performance (see Chapter 18).

It has been widely acknowledged since the 1960s that muscle glycogen is an important metabolic substrate to produce energy for endurance exercise. Increased muscle glycogen has been identified as one of the physiological mechanisms of tapering which may contribute to improved performance (Neary et al., 1992; Shepley et al., 1992). Traditionally', it was thought that a pre-race carbohydrate loading strategy needed to involve a muscle glycogen depleting exercise bout, followed by 2-3 days of low carbohydrate intake (depletion phase), before 2-3 days of high carbohydrate intake (supercompensation phase) (Bergstrom et al., 1967). However, this strategy is no longer recommended, as the depletion phase may compromise training intensity, which is important to protect during the taper. It could also be a risk to the athletes’ health so close to competition, as restricting carbohydrate after exhaustive exercise may result in increased susceptibility to illness (Gleeson et al., 2004). More recently, it has been shown that it is possible to achieve muscle glycogen supercompensation in trained athletes by merely reducing training load and consuming a high-carbohydrate diet (> 50% total energy' from carbohydrate) (Walker et al., 2000). The depletion phase is therefore not necessary to increase muscle glycogen during the taper. Chapter 11 explores this strategy in further detail. For further information on matching energy intake to energy expenditure and for advice on nutritional strategies for optimising performance, it may be useful to seek support from a sports nutritionist or dietitian.

Recovery Strategies

Whilst there is some contention in the scientific literature about the regular use of certain recovery strategies during phases of hard training (Kellmann et al., 2018), the taper is the time to maximise physiological and psychological recovery'. A wide range of recovery strategies can be utilised, and athletes should use trial and error to determine which combination works best for them. During the taper, athletes should aim to maximise rest and sleep, whilst maintaining good nutrition and hydration. When athletes are completing slightly less training during the taper, it’s important to ensure they are not filling their extra time with other fatiguing activities and increasing their ‘time on feet’. They may also find it more difficult to sleep when training has been reduced or in anticipation of their competition, so sticking to a good bedtime routine can help. Examples of this include keeping bedtime and waking time regular, avoiding screen time before bedtime, taking a warm shower before going to bed and making sure the sleep environment is dark, cool and comfortable (Rolling et al., 2019). Other recovery strategies that can be considered during the taper include massage, stretching, compression garments and devices, cold water immersion (e.g. ice baths) and whole-body cryotherapy (Kellmann et al., 2018). Chapter 17 discusses the use of these recovery strategies in further detail.

Environmental Influences

Many athletes travel to different countries across the world to compete in their major competition of the year. Some locations can pose environmental challenges, such as high temperatures and humidity or altitude, which may negatively impact on performance if athletes are not appropriately acclimatised (particularly for longer-distance events). For competitions in hot and humid environments, some athletes may to travel to the location in the weeks preceding the event to undergo an acclimatisation process, whilst other athletes might acclimate in artificial environmental conditions before travel (Racinais et al., 2015). The added physiological stress of training in such conditions in the lead-up to competition may require further adjustments to tapering strategies. However, the extent to which training load variables should be modified to ensure optimal recovery is not yet clear (Casadio et al., 2017) and trial and error may be required to determine individual athlete responses.

Altitude training is now commonly incorporated into the training programmes of many endurance athletes, particularly prior to competition. Whilst the body of literature concerning the optimal time to compete after an altitude training block is expanding, little is known about the influence of altitude on the tapering strategy and how further modifications to training might be required to optimise subsequent performance. However, since training sessions at altitude elicit a higher physiological stimulus for the same absolute intensity than at sea level (Friedmann-Bette, 2008), it’s likely that athletes may experience greater accumulated fatigue from a training block at altitude. A larger reduction in training volume and/or a longer taper duration may therefore be required after training at altitude to maximise performance on return to sea level (Sharma et al., 2018). Where possible, athletes should experiment with altitude training, tapering and competition prior to utilising altitude before their major competition.

Pacing Strategies

Whilst the taper is crucial to ensure athletes are ready to produce a peak performance, optimal pace selection during the race is critical to the delivery of a peak performance. In non-tactical endurance running races, where athletes aim to complete a fixed distance in the shortest possible time, they must regulate their rate of work output to optimise overall race performance (Tucker and Noakes, 2009). A positive pacing strategy (i.e. faster than even pace start) is typically implemented in events lasting <4 min, whilst pace becomes more evenly distributed in longer events (Tucker and Noakes, 2009). If athletes are unfamiliar with racing in an optimally tapered state, a reduced perception of effort, coupled with high motivation to run fast in a competitive environment, may result in heightened or unrealistic expectations about the level of performance they can achieve. This can lead to poor judgement when it comes to pacing early in the race, and athletes may start too fast and suffer towards the end. It is therefore recommended that athletes take the opportunity to practice pacing strategies in less important competition when mini-tapers are implemented and that athletes should pay attention to split times early in the race, when in an optimally tapered state. However, this may be less relevant for tactical, championship-style races where pace is often very slow initially. Pacing and race strategies are elaborated on in Chapter 12.

Summary

Tapering is a short-term strategy used over approximately the last 2 weeks prior to a major competition. Training volume is usually reduced 40-60%, with frequency and intensity maintained, with a possible increase in interval training intensity. An improvement of approximately 2-3% can be expected in endurance runners following such a taper. When designing a taper training, volume, frequency and intensity should be considered separately to achieve the optimal balance between overcoming accumulated fatigue and maximising performance. Prior training load and fatigue carried into the taper are important in individualising the strategy and determining the taper duration. An optimal taper must be carefully programmed into the annual training plan, as tapering too often can compromise long-term fitness.

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