2018 ETU European Championships - adapting to changes and the art of tapering
Following the ITU long course World Championships in July, Dave and I made a last minute change to our plans and decided to extend my season just a couple of months to race the ETU middle distance European Championships in October. It was my first time to extend the racing season outside the initial plans and go through another mini-training cycle, which meant: rest, build and peak again within two and a half months. It actually went pretty well. The tapering weeks were a touch more dramatic in terms of the intensity build-up and volume reduction but, to my surprise, my body reacted well. I never like my tapering weeks. I have no idea why everybody gets so excited about it. I personally, really start feeling better only 1-2 days before the race. The remaining of the time, I feel out of whack, usually sleepy, flat and not with much speed. Our tapering typically lasts 1-3 weeks before the race day. The timing depends on the race distance and the amount of training I have done in