Taper Defined

A taper is a period of time in which you reduce your training load before a peak event. By reducing your load for a period of time you allow yourself to rest before you race. This allows you to store up physical, mental emotional energy over a period of few weeks, allowing you to unleash your maximum potential on the race day. If you were to skip the taper, you could carry with you, into you peak race, some residual training fatigue, and you would not be able to race your best.
To make tapering a distinct part of our athletes training, we devote an entire phase, called the taper phase, that's is generally sets up as a three week period of time leading into athlete's peak race.

A suggested taper approach

Give yourself 3 weeks. Three weeks allows you time to really rest and fosters a deep recovery from your recent months of training. This allows for a tremendous build up of physical, mental, and emotional energy you need to perform your best.

During the first and second week, set up your training base on your final week of training before you taper. Eliminate all anaerobic training, and cut your training volume into half. These weeks should feel very easy and light. In the early going, you may feel a slight sluggish as your body adjust to the increased rest. As your body adjusts, you will start to feel well-rested, very strong and really eager to some hard training or to race.

During these weeks your workout should be perform in your aerobic endurance training zone and should include speeds drills that you have performed during the year.
During the third and final week (race week), you should do one final workout, similar to the one you have in your first two weeks of tapering, in each discipline, a few rest days, and an easy loosening up workout before the day before you race. For example, take rest days on Monday and Friday. Run on Tuesday, ride on Wednesday and swim on Thursday. Do a very short swim or ride on Saturday to loosen up. Race on Sunday.

Finally have a great Race.