The most important training session of the week isn't always the hardest one. Sometimes it's the controlled effort that sets you up for peak performance when it matters most.
Six days out from the S.O.S. Triathlon1—a brutal multi-sport challenge in the Shawangunks that combines biking, running, swimming, and more running across mountain terrain—I completed my final significant training session: a 10-mile trail run at controlled intensity.
Zone Management During Taper
The goal wasn't to prove fitness or squeeze in one last hard effort. I mainly held Zone 2 with occasional Zone 3 spillovers, finishing with consistent 5K splits: low 39s, high 38s, low 38s. This controlled progression demonstrates maintained aerobic capacity without the recovery cost of higher-intensity work.
Many athletes make the mistake of testing themselves right before key events—a mistake I've made myself. The training adaptations are already locked in—what you need now is to arrive fresh and confident, not depleted from unnecessary intensity.
Learning From Past Mistakes
Experience teaches better than theory. Earlier this season, I arrived at a 50-mile event already fatigued from poor execution of my taper. The lesson was clear: how you feel at the start line matters more than squeezing in extra fitness that won't manifest anyway.
This shapes my approach to the final week: mostly easy work with strategic maintenance sessions. A couple of short runs, one easy bike ride, maybe two swims. Just enough to keep systems active without accumulating fatigue.
The Systematic Approach to Peak Preparation
The S.O.S. Triathlon represents everything I love about multi-sport challenges—30 miles of road biking, multiple swim-run transitions, and a mountain finish that tests your ability to perform across disciplines. But enthusiasm for the event doesn't override systematic preparation.
Here's the framework I use for the final week before key events:
Maintain Movement Quality: Short, easy sessions that preserve neuromuscular patterns without stress accumulation. Your body remembers how to perform—it just needs reminders, not lessons.
Prioritize Recovery Systems: Sleep, nutrition, and stress management become more important than any training session. These are the variables that determine how you feel at the start line.
Trust the Process: The fitness adaptations from months of training are already banked. The final week is about accessing that fitness, not building more of it.
Strategic Session Timing: Place any moderate efforts early in the taper week, then progressively reduce load as event day approaches.
The Multi-Sport Consideration
Training for events like S.O.S. requires balancing multiple movement patterns—such as swimming efficiency, cycling power, and running durability—while managing cumulative fatigue. The taper becomes even more critical because you're asking your body to perform across different energy systems and movement demands.
Rather than trying to maintain peak fitness in all disciplines simultaneously, I focus on keeping each system active while prioritizing overall freshness. The bike legs will come back quickly. The swimming rhythm returns with minimal volume. Running fitness maintains well with reduced mileage.
The Real Test
The hardest part of tapering isn't the physical reduction—it's the mental discipline to trust that less can deliver more. Every athlete battles the urge to squeeze in "just one more" quality session or test their fitness before the event.
However, performance on race day comes from accumulated training stress that has been properly recovered from, not from last-minute additions. The systematic approach recognizes that peak performance requires strategic reduction, not continuous building.
As I finished today's 10 miles in just over two hours, the goal was accomplished: maintain movement quality, preserve aerobic capacity, and set up the week for optimal preparation. The real work is done. Now it's about showing up fresh and ready to execute.
How do you approach your final week before key events—with systematic reduction or last-minute additions?
Survival of the Shawangunks (S.O.S.) Triathlon | https://www.sostriathlon.com
