3 Tips For A Stress-Free Taper Meet

KNOXVILLE, TN - December 5, 2013 - Catherine Breed smiles with Tristin Baxter after the 500 Yard Freestyle during the USA Swimming AT&T Winter National Championships at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo Courtesy: Tia Patron/Tennessee Athletics

By Nicole Cassou, Swimming World College Intern

For some swimmers taper is what Christmas is to young children, something they anticipate eagerly all year, certain that they’ll get the presents they’ve been being good for all year; best times.

For these lucky individuals all that this training period means is getting out of practice early, feeling confident and powerful in the water, and above all, swimming fast.

For others taper brings not joy and excitement, but anxiety. It means overanalyzing your technique, second-guessing your coach, and dwelling on past failures, all in fear that your hard work won’t pay off.

My favorite teacher from high school used to always tell us, “prior proper planning prevents poor performance.” These simple tips are just the preparation you need to keep yourself from undermining your taper so that you get the results you’ve worked so hard for.

1. Strategize

Spiral bound blank lined notebook page with a plastic ballpoint pen with room for your text or message

Photo Courtesy: Stephen Gibson

It usually only takes a second or two to look up at the board to see your time. We agonize over this fleeting moment for hours, even days before the race. One of the easiest ways to keep yourself from stressing about which set of numbers you see is by focusing on things you can directly control.

Having a planned pre-race regimen and race strategy will help you do everything you can to best prepare for your race, while keeping your mind diverted from fearing what that end result might be.

In the weeks leading up to your taper meet develop a detailed timeline of what you’ll do before each of your races. Whether or not you already have a set routine, write it down, and if you don’t, consider the following:

Warm-Up

How long before your race do you want to head to the warm-down pool? Check the meet information to see if a timeline is provided. What amount of yardage, drills, and speed work do you need to feel fully prepped for your race? Write down a specific warm-up for each of your races.

What dynamic movements will get your body loosened up before both your warm-up and race? This could be anything from leg-swings, to jumping, or even dancing. Don’t worry about what you look like; it’s all in the name of fast swimming.

Atmosphere

Will you listen to music, talk with friends, or sit in silence by yourself to focus? If you choose to jam out, write down which set of songs will put you in your best mindset and listen to them in the weeks before your meet.

Consider which friends you want to surround yourself with. Who on your team has a positive attitude and is encouraging? Who makes you feel relaxed? This may not be the person you typically hang out with on your team, and that’s okay, it’s a good opportunity to interact with someone who is definitely worth getting to know.

If you choose to wait for your race solo, consider what breathing exercises or visualization you think would be most helpful. When you arrive to the pool pick a spot where you want to wait for your race. If being directly behind the blocks is too overwhelming, choose a corner somewhere quieter that will let you be alone with your thoughts.

Race Plan

This is something you should communicate with your coach well before you near your meet. For each race, write down what technical details you want to remember, what your stroke counts should be, and how many kicks you want to aim for off of each wall.

Being aware about these small details that you can control will make that goal time seem more attainable. Just remember, these are things to focus on in your taper practices and warm-up, once you head over to the starting block it is crucial that you clear your mind, and let your muscle memory take over.

2. Visualize

Photo Courtesy: A. Weisenfels

Confidence is the single most important catalyst for optimal performance, and seeing yourself succeed will help foster that confidence. Being prepared for your taper meet mentally is just as important as your training.

In the weeks leading up to your meet, every night before you go to sleep, take yourself through a relaxation and visualization regimen to help clear your mind and body for visualization.

Start your visualization as early as when you go to warm-up for your race. See yourself warming up, feeling great and ready to race, and then go through your pre-race regimen. Once it’s time to go up to the blocks, take yourself through your race with those stroke and kick counts propelling you past your competitors, and pushing through the pain as you near the wall on that last 50. Lastly, see yourself looking up at the board with a smile.

Also, if you’ve never been to the pool your meet is at, do a search for images to make your visualizations as realistic as possible.

3. Reflect On Past Practices

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Baughman

In reality, it isn’t really your taper that will lead you to fast swimming. It’s the hard training that precedes it.

In the full week of practices before your meet, keep a journal to write in after every practice. For every IM day, free day, best stroke day, etc. write down a good practice you had from your peak-intensity training period. Jot down everything you remember about the practice, what the specific set was, what times you went, how your technique felt, etc.

Reminding yourself of how you overcame that grueling practice will make doing a single race when your body is rested feel like a breeze. You’ve already done the hard work, so there is no reason why you can’t get the results you deserve.

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