Your Ultra-Training Bag of Tricks: The

Difficult Art of Peaking

September 4, 2012 by Ian Torrence · Comments (21) 

54

The final weeks before an event are the toughest to get right. The common notion that all
hard work must cease and inactivity must ensue is incorrect. It’s also foolhardy to continue
amassing mileage and tough workouts as race day nears in hopes of improving fitness.
Depending on your approach to this all-important time period, you may be left feeling
lethargic or simply exhausted. A runner with the proper peak will feel rejuvenated and
ready to go on race day.

Greg McMillan, my mentor, has devised a set of rules to live by as race day approaches. Greg
explains , “By studying peak performance research – both physiological as well as
psychological – as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly
peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come
race day.” By placing Greg’s simple and effective system into context, let’s get you prepared
for your next ultra.

1. Do not drop running volume drastically

Though there are some that prefer three weeks to peak, two weeks seems to be the most
popular choice. During the first week of a peak, drop the length of each run by 10 to 20
minutes. The week before your event, drop volume by 20 to 30 minutes per run. I recommend
that ultrarunners limit their last long run(s), done a week before the key event, to 90 easy
minutes (regardless of the distance of the event). This is enough to give you that long run
feeling, but short enough that muscle recovery and glycogen-storage continue. Light, non-
impact cross training can be done in lieu of runs, but only if you are used to those forms of
exercise.

2. Keep the routine

Run, eat, sleep, work, and socialize when you do normally. Your body and mind have
achieved stasis over the past few months of training. Keep them both happy and the keel
even. Now is not the time to experiment with new workouts, forms of exercise, foods, and
social events. Use the extra time not spent running for sleeping and sticking to “safe”
hobbies.

3. Keep the intensity and build confidence

Before the 2007 JFK 50 Mile , I had an exchange with fellow competitor Andy Mason. Nine
days before the race, he completed a round of very quick mile repeats on the track; his last
quality workout before the race. I knew he was fit and feeling confident. That year, Andy
finished in the top ten.
Though most ultrarunners do not need to perform a tough round of mile repeats before their
next race, they might consider doing some sort of confidence-building workout 10 days to
two weeks out from their event. This workout, however, should be in tune with recent
training. Running a 30-mile training run or time trialing up and down Hope Pass (like the
author) a few days before a race is neither smart nor beneficial. A moderate length workout
that you’re familiar with, that is aerobically challenging, allows for adequate recovery before
race day, and demonstrates your fitness should be the order of the day. If you don’t routinely
perform hard hill, stamina-building, fartlek, or fast finish workouts then this is not the time
to start. Maintain your current training and follow the guidelines for reduction in mileage as
mentioned above.

Now is also the time to reflect on all of the training you’ve done thus far. Remember that
you’ve done the work necessary to get you to the finish line.

4. Stick to the original race plan and have fun

No one starts a race without a goal. Whether it be to keep your Grand Slam hopes alive,
finish your first ultra, or win the event outright, don’t lose sight of why you’re out there. Be
deliberate in your actions and calculate each move you make on the race course. Run your
own race and enjoy the time you’re having on the trail or road. Greg McMillan sums this up
perfectly, “Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are
simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so
much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun!”

Peaking for Multiple Races

What if you’re gearing up for several important races that are separated by a few weeks or
less? The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, as well as others of that genre, and several race series
like the NorCal and SoCal Ultra Grand Prix are perfect examples. In essence, you are
recovering and peaking in unison between events. There are two ways to approach situations
like this:

1. Reverse taper

This is like returning from injury. Gradually and slowly increase the length of your post-race
easy runs and avoid fast and difficult workouts. You won’t reach your normal training level,
but you’ll satisfy the need for a few runs before your next event.

2. The Joe Kulak Method

When I asked Joe Kulak what he did between each of his four 2003 Grand Slam record-
setting 100-mile races, he quipped, “I sat on the couch and drank beer.” If beer is not your
drink of choice, water works just as well. The reality is that you can’t gain fitness in the two
or three weeks between long ultras. Recovery will be your best “workout” while preparing
for your next event.

Peaking
 One of the most important but least understood times in the season is the Peak
period which usually starts two to three weeks before an A-priority race. If training
goes well in this period you can come into great shape on race day. If it goes poorly
much of the work of building up to the A race could be wasted. It's a critical time.

There are two mistakes often made in the Peak period. The first is training too hard.
What's needed now is some mixture of rest and hard training — with an emphasis on
rest. Self-coached athletes tend to do too much hard work in the last few weeks
since they don't trust that what they've done so far is enough . On the other hand, a
few rest too much and don't train hard enough because they've heard that rest
produces greater fitness. They're not exactly right. Rest actually produces greater
"form" (race “restedness”), but causes a loss of fitness.

There are three elements of physical preparation that you are trying to balance in the
last three weeks before your A race – fatigue, fitness and form. Fatigue is a measure
of how great your workload is in the last few days. If intensity and/or duration have
been higher than normal for the last few days then fatigue is elevated. In this
situation, fitness will also be high . High-workload training produces both fatigue and
fitness simultaneously. But fitness rises slowly relative to fatigue. Three hard
workouts in three days will produce a lot of fatigue but only a very small increase in
fitness. Fitness occurs over long periods of time whereas fatigue occurs in short
periods of time. During the Peak period we're not trying to gain fitness but rather
reduce fatigue.

Form is also one of the key elements during the Peak period. This has to do with
how well your rest is progressing. The more rested you are, the greater your form.
You want to have high form (well rested with fatigue low), but must be careful that
fitness is not lost rapidly due to too much rest. The trick is to gradually lower fatigue,
maintain fitness at a relatively high level and steadily increase form. Then you are
peaked and ready to race. So how do you do that?

Starting two to three weeks before the A-priority race do a race-intensity workout
which simulates the conditions of the race every third or fourth day. For most
athletes doing these every third day is better. These workouts gradually get shorter
as you progress through the first week or two of the Peak period. With the workouts
getting shorter the weekly volume is also dropping. That's good. It should drop rather
rapidly. Something such as a 30% to 50% drop each week is about right. The
intensity for these intense workouts should be at least heart rate zone 3 or tempo
power or "moderately hard." Such intensity is the key to maintaining fitness. The two
or three days between these race simulations are the key to reducing fatigue and
elevating form. They should be low intensity, low duration workouts that also get
shorter as the Peak period progresses. So what you are doing is mixing the two key
elements – intensity and rest – to produce race readiness at the right time.

For the single-sport athlete, such as a runner or cyclist, this is pretty simple. For the
triathlete the peaking process described above may be modified by sport. For
example, running requires a longer taper than does cycling which is usually longer
than for swimming. There are other elements to also consider such as the length of
the race (long races mean long tapers), how fit you are (high fitness means long
tapers), how easily injured you are (injury prone athletes should taper longer), and
how old you are (older often athletes need longer tapers).

The week of the race I handle a little differently. Now you want to emphasize rest
even more but still need to do just a bit of intensity to maintain fitness (note that
longer duration is not necessary to maintain race fitness at this point). I like to have
the athlete do three or four workouts this week in which he or she completes several
90-second intervals at race intensity (for short races) or at least zone 3 (for long
races such as Ironman), with three-minute recoveries. Five days before the race do
five of these 90-second efforts. Four days before do four times 90 seconds. The
pattern continues throughout the week. I believe the easiest day of this week should
be two days before the race. This is usually a day off or at the most a very short and
low-intensity session. The day before should also have some racelike intensity within
a very brief session.

I've been using this method of peaking with the athletes I coach for many years and
generally have good results. But you must realize that there are many factors that
influence your readiness on race day, such as diet, sleep and lifestyle stress. We're
biological organisms, not machines. Regardless of how well we manage things,
sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. That's simply the way the real world is
for humans. What you want to do is keep good records of what you did to prepare
before an important race. If things go well try to repeat this process the next time. If
things don't go well study what you did and make appropriate adjustments the next
time.

You can find more on my peaking protocol on my website.