By Mike Tarrolly – Co-Host Crushing Iron Podcast
It never fails, the beginning of taper is laced with emotions. I am tired, uncertain, and frankly, unenthusiastic as I sit here 14 days from the race.
The Ironman taper is like painting your house the day before it rains. You want to throw in the towel, but know you can’t. The only option is to take a deep breath and keep painting.
In my last post I talked about Ironman as a spiritual quest, and as I think about how that can pertain to a “goal” for the race, I know I need to get right in my mind.
The questions about did I do enough, or too much or can I hold this pace or that, really need to be thrown out with the trash. The two weeks leading into Ironman are much more mental than physical.
The corn is in the silo and now we have to figure out what do do with it.
If I live in Iowa, my answer is lobby the government to get corn subsidies, then sit back and watch the Hawkeyes struggle to score 20 points a game at Kinnick Stadium. But that’s not us so we have a pressing question of, how will we deal with our stored energy?**
Doing an Ironman every year is kind of like going to the same diner every Sunday morning. It loses a little luster along the way and we tend to try ridiculous things to ignite the old flame.
My goal is to be excited about the race and it may take a few mind tricks to get me there.
I’m a regular at the Ironman Diner and these conversations tend to get a little old. I’ve doubled down on the strategy talks, argued with the locals about whether or not I should go by feel or power, I’ve even tried the latest and greatest rhubarb corn biscuits with no satisfaction. To me, the only actionable solution is to stop going for a while.
I have to create a hunger for mystery.
This is really simple to understand. You can be totally sick of something. Stop doing it for a while. And the palette is cleansed.
It’s easy to become obsessed with our race. There must be something NEW out there. The triathlon equivalent of rhubarb corn biscuits. Maybe it’s aero socks, or a new helmet or a consumer grade hyperbaric chamber that will flush our inflammation. Just one tip or trick that’s going to give me a PR.
And believe me . . . I fall for this shit like Manti te’o fell for a fake person.
But this time, I am driving my enthusiasm by omission.
Less is more.
And, of course that is the definition of taper, but it can’t be just physical. We have to unload our brain from the information seeking obsession as well.
I think the best way is to forget about ourselves for a while. Get interested in other people. Help them get through their issues. Release the silly burdens we put on Ironman results.
Get away from social media, especially triathlon groups. Use the energy to do projects around the house and balance your life.
Being a tri-calc scientist at 1:00 in the morning is not going to help your race.
There’s nothing better than going into race weekend with a genuine excitement to be on the course. It should be like a high end restaurant reward for the money you saved by taking a few weeks off at the diner.
**I’m just having fun with words. I’m sure some of my Wisconsin farmers do the same thing.