The Art of Peaking
Every endurance athlete faces the same challenge: arriving at the start line fit, fresh, and confident. Race preparation is not just about the final week. It is the culmination of months of structured training, refined during the last 3 to 4 weeks into a finely tuned peak. Getting this period right can mean the difference between a personal best and a disappointing result.
The Final Build Block
Three to four weeks before your event, you should complete your last hard training block. This is where your final race-specific sessions live, the long runs at goal pace, the sustained threshold efforts, the race-simulation workouts. After this block, the priority shifts from building fitness to shedding fatigue.
Structuring Your Taper
The taper is a planned reduction in training load that allows your body to absorb weeks of accumulated training stress. Research shows that reducing volume by 40 to 60 percent while maintaining some intensity produces optimal results. The key principle is to cut volume, not intensity. Your body needs to remember what hard effort feels like, but it does not need the cumulative fatigue of high-volume training.
For most events, a 10 to 14 day taper works well. Longer events like marathons and Ironman races may warrant a 3-week taper, while shorter races might need only 7 to 10 days.
Race Week Logistics
Preparation extends beyond training. In the days before your event, finalize the practical details. Lay out your race kit, check your equipment, plan your transportation to the venue, and review the course profile. Familiarize yourself with aid station locations, elevation changes, and any technical sections.
Nutrition Loading
For events lasting longer than 90 minutes, carbohydrate loading in the 48 to 72 hours before the race tops off glycogen stores. This does not mean overeating. Simply shift your macronutrient ratio to favor carbohydrates, aiming for 8 to 12 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. Stick with familiar foods to avoid gastrointestinal issues.
Mental Preparation
Visualize the race from start to finish. Rehearse your pacing strategy for different sections. Identify the moments where you expect to struggle and plan how you will respond. Having a mental script reduces anxiety and improves decision-making during the event.
Race Morning Protocol
Eat your pre-race meal 2 to 3 hours before the start, choosing foods you have tested in training. Arrive early enough to warm up without rushing. A 10 to 15 minute easy warmup followed by a few short accelerations primes your cardiovascular system for the effort ahead.
Pacing Strategy
Starting too fast is the most common race mistake. Set a realistic goal pace based on your training data, not your aspirations. Aim for even or slightly negative splits, saving your strongest effort for the final quarter of the race.
Plan Your Peak With Strilab
Strilab helps you time your peak by monitoring your CTL, ATL, and TSB throughout your training cycle. The AI coaching engine guides your taper, ensuring you arrive at race day with optimal freshness and fitness. Let the data take the guesswork out of your most important preparation period.