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Picnic Training - Week 17

May 5, 2019 to May 11, 2019

Sunday - 1 hour bouldering at NE Circuit

Monday - Rest Day

Tuesday - 1.5 hour bike ride (20 mi, 1667 ft)

Wednesday - 40 minute swim (2000 yds) with 5 miles of bike commuting

Thursday - 10 laps on Tabor (1293 ft) with 7.5 miles of bike commuting + 2 hours of bouldering at NE Circuit

Friday - Easy day with 3 miles of bike commuting

Saturday - 4 laps across Willamette River near Sellwood Bridge (1.3 miles) and 2 hours of bouldering at NE Circuit


After our three-sport day last Saturday, we decided to sleep in on Sunday morning and then went out to a leisurely breakfast. None of our normal group was bouldering so we did a short session in the afternoon instead.

Since we are about 2.5 weeks away from our planned Mt. Hood Picnic date, this is the week where we start tapering to help absorb all of the training that we have done these past four months. We also decided we wanted at least one or two more open water swims under our belt before the Picnic too.

So, there are plenty of articles out there about tapering. To say there is a lack of agreement on the best approach would be an understatement. Too many factors come into play for there to be a definitive strategy: activity/event, training strategy, nutrition, the athlete's physical characteristics, other stressors in the athlete's life, and even the season of year. The whole point though is to recover and rebuild. Get your body as healthy and functional as possible. Regain your energy.

My tapering strategy for this week was to reduce the amount of time exercising (less laps in pool, less time on bike, less stair repeats) while still going out and training at a level that feels like, for lack of a better phrase, a solid effort. Keep the intensity strong but less of it. Also, if my body feels a bit drained, I am taking that extra day off. It is no longer the time to push myself harder.