The majority of the hard work is done! The final four weeks includes one more “key” session delivered this weekend (3 weeks out). Otherwise, the majority of your training is done. Your fitness will be near it’s peak and you will need to recover, so you can activate those fitness gain you’ve been working hard on in the previous weeks and months.
The Three Points of Note
Less is more now. There is no need to “push through” because the risk of overdoing it is far greater than the reward of gaining 1-2% of fitness.
The training may start to taper off but you can’t lose focus. Over the next four weeks, you should feel like you have more time (and energy) available. You should use this extra to work on your physical wellbeing; self-massage, yoga, technique sessions, it can all help.
Diet, with less training, comes less energy output. After weeks and months of ultramarathon training, you would have developed a certain level of hunger to match your energy output. Now that you’re dialling back the training your hunger will remain elevated for a week or two as your body expects another onslaught. With this in mind, you’ll need to watch what you eat. Learn about how a low-carbohydrate may help you during this time.
I have been racing, studying and coaching endurance sports for my entire adult life. For me, endurance training isn't an afterthought or a chore, it's a way of life.
Early mornings, blisters, afternoon naps, getting excited about the latest Garmin release, that's who I am.