How to Peak for Ultimate Race Performance

Podcast

August 18, 2020

How to hold form, taper and peak for your big race, and why picking too many big races backfires. Get Fast Podcast, Ep 37.

Get Fast Podcast, Ep 37, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly

Pick one main race and use your other races to build towards it. Nobody holds their best form all year. You get as fit as you can while carrying fatigue, then shed the fatigue in time for race day.

Gerard's warning: "getting good form at the wrong time is as disastrous as having no form".

What does form mean?

Form is being at your best in a given period. Runners see it in their fastest times. Road cyclists see it in their results.

It also works as a sum: fitness minus fatigue. Jordan explains it with made-up TrainingPeaks numbers. With fitness of 100 and fatigue of 90, your form is positive 10 and you'll feel good. After a hard block, with fitness of 100 and fatigue of 110, your form is negative 10.

Why can't you hold your best form all year?

You can't keep training at a high level without recovery. Most athletes want to stay at the top the whole time, and Gerard says accepting that you can't is the first step to a better plan.

Everyday athletes also have work and the rest of life to fit around training.

How many big races can you peak for?

One, or sometimes two. If it's two, Jordan says they should sit either close together or far apart. Gerard adds the option of splitting the year in half, with one A race in each half and a recovery period between them.

His summary: "you can't have every piece of the pie".

Where do your other races fit?

They're stepping stones. A triathlete aiming at an Ironman might use a couple of Olympic distance races and maybe two half Ironmans to practise execution. You still want to do well, but you're carrying fatigue, so your expectations are different.

Cyclists can target a block in place of a single race. An Australian criterium season might be a period of 6 to 12 weeks, with general fitness maintained for the rest of the year.

How do you build fitness towards a peak?

In steps. Train hard for a block, ease off for a few days, then go again from a little higher. Close to your race, go slightly above your target fitness with fatigue high. Then reduce the intensity, so you land on your target with the fatigue gone.

You can follow this by feel. In a three-week block you feel fairly fresh in week one and more fatigue in week two. By week three you may still hit your numbers, but you feel worse after the session.

Block length depends on the person. Older athletes, and athletes with a lot going on outside training, may not sustain three or four weeks at high intensity.

Will a recovery break cost you fitness?

Yes, a little. Athletes tell Gerard "I'm going to lose some fitness", and he says that's accurate. He still builds the break in, because without recovery you can't do the intensity, and without both training and recovery your form never comes. Some motivated athletes hate it. Holding them back is part of his job.

How long should your taper be?

It varies. Gerard says the books suggest one or two weeks, which suits some of the population. Others need three weeks, and some race better on two or three days.

Find yours in your B races. When you race well, look back at how you recovered that week.

What should you do between peaks?

Rest properly, then keep your fitness simmering below your peak form. Drop to rock bottom and try to build for a race your mates suggest, and Gerard says "you'll end up three quarters of the way". Keep simmering and you only need a short race-ready period.

Small goals along the way keep you motivated.

Why can pros race so often?

Their weeks look different. Gerard says the pros he knows mostly roll around on easy rides between races. Their hard work is done beforehand, so racing supplies the intensity and fatigue stays low. Most of us aren't on that schedule.