Tapering for a major event

Less than 28 hours for the start of the Sunshine Coast Tour. That is when I, in the past, started to get a bit doubtful on what I should be doing. It is like, everything has been done, what can I do to now? Not much, I guess!

I admit that I get to think of the missed days on the bike, the sessions when I should have gone just a little harder, the supposedly easy rides when I pushed to the limit to stay with the Elite boys, and else.

The literature says I should be tapering, doing some easy rides, some short sprints, some "not much at all", etc... As I am following a program, it is a little easier this time. My schedule says:

Easy, Sprint Accelerations, Easy, VO2 Max, Easy and Race, Race, Race and Race.

I have started those, mainly on the trainer as the weather hasn't been very inviting. I've chosen to look after my health and my weight. Obviously, I don't want to get sick but I would like to start the event a little lighter than last year. I am aiming for the 65.5 kg mark for the 7 km long Hill Climb . That is 1.5 kg lighter.

Back onto the training side of things, here is a concise version of my last 19 (28/1 to 4/6/08) weeks before this event:

Kms Planned: 6345
Kms Ridden: 5902

Hours Planned: 237
Hours Ridden: 216.5

Calories burnt: 75,000

Races: 14
Hours Raced: 9

It is going to be a fun and slightly(maybe very...) painful weekend and I am looking forward to racing, spending time with friends and catching up with people that we only see during this type of events.

The Tour program:

Friday (6:30 pm) - Prologue (2.5 km)

Saturday(10:30 am) - Road Race (64 km)

Sunday (7:00 am) - Hill Climb (8 km)

Sunday (3:45 pm) - Road Race (30 km)

Monday (10:05 am) - Road Race (80 km)

I found this photograph of Sandra taken during the Montville Climb last year:

Photo by Kevin Copallotti