Peaking: How Do You Know?
Written by Jill // April 8, 2010 // Training // 5 Comments // 495 views
Peaking: to reach a maximum (as of capacity, value, or activity) —often used with outtransitive verb : to cause to come to a peak, point, or maximum.
Athletes use the term “peaking” to describe being in the absolute best condition (physical, emotional and mental) at a specific time for an event or race. Peaking is not easy to do, and it requires a lot of experience and planning, but there are things that can make peaking much more likely:
- simulate goal pace
- race tune ups
- drills and striders
- taper
I’m not going to talk about what it takes to reach your peak. Basically, that involves all of those runs and workouts over weeks and months which form the totality of your training. According to Matt Fitzgerald:
A true fitness peak is a delicate and ephemeral thing. Without question, the foundation of a successful peak is a lot of hard work; in fact, achieving a true fitness peak requires that you build your training to the point where you’re working absolutely as hard as you can (without harming yourself) in training. This period of peak-level training should be short enough so that your performances are still improving when you sharply reduce your training workload once more to taper for your peak race. If your peak-level training lasts long enough for your performances to level off, you’re in trouble.
The question that I always had before I learned how to recognize whether or not I was peaking was how do you know when you are peaking? What does it feel like? It isn’t always easy to find a straight answer to this question and maybe that’s because it’s different for everyone. Or is it?
I searched the term “peaking” in several different search engines and while information does pop up in the results, the explanations are always the same. Sources continually go into detail about the stages of training and tapering, but they never actually cover the answer I’m looking for which is what it feels like to peak. Over the past year I’ve learned to recognize the signs which tell me whether or not I am peaking and I thought I would share them with you.
The main feeling that I notice is an abundance of energy. I’ve often conveyed that when I am at peak fitness I feel like a race horse locked in the gate, ready to take off with unleashed abandon. I am a bundle of nerves ready to race that very instant. I almost feel like I am going to pop. I think about my upcoming race and my heart starts to race. When I head out for my daily run which is of course shortened in the taper period, I have a hard time keeping myself in control. I want to run fast and hard. I just want to go.
Some people do just that, they go. They have a hard time controlling themselves while tapering and end up running longer or harder than they should. I feel that tapering, and peaking, is an art. Practicing self-control is a talent that you are either very good at or you learn to be very good at. You must constantly remind yourself of your bigger goal (the race) and why you need to hold back the pace, or the distance, or both.
Last fall I was able to peak twice. My first peak was in September after training all summer for the Harrisburg Half Marathon. In the week leading into the race I had a hard time slowing down and really focused on short, easy runs. I finally ended up on the treadmill where it was much easier to control my pace with the push of a button. My second peak was in November right before the Philadelphia Marathon. This time I was on edge half the time and as cool as a cucumber the other half of the time in the weeks leading into the race. That race horse feeling would show up at the strangest times and I worked hard at keeping it under control. That “feeling” of nervousness or pent up energy is exactly what I’m hoping for as I taper and peak for my goal race this spring.
If you’ve never tapered for a race or are unsure about whether or not you’ve ever truly peaked, you should give tapering a try. You can read Tapering 101 for a discussion on tapering.
I welcome your comments with your own experiences with peaking and how it feels.
5 Comments on "Peaking: How Do You Know?"
Real quick comment on this before I get back to editing my thesis…
I do not necessarily believe in the whole “peaking” concept. I like to think of training as continuous microcycles that build on top of each other. These blocks of training continue to increase your fitness. After each successive block of training you should be fitter than before, and therefore able to race better than before. Instead of “peaking” I think of it as the preparation that goes into a key race…a few lighter workouts and possibly a few less miles. This will (most likely) make you feel free fresher, but definitely will make you mentally feel ready to compete. That’s just my 2cents on “peaking.”
This is an interesting post. I don’t think i have ever “peaked” before a race, at least not as you describe, though I am not saying people don’t. I definitely feel more fit before each race than I was before I started training for it, and I definitely have felt myself push through certain levels of ability. In other words, my baseline is at a higher level now than it was 4 years ago.
I have a few more minutes since I don’t have thesis to edit…
As an older runner, well, as a runner that’s been running for 25 years now, this topic has evolved for me. While I may once have believed that peaking was indeed, as Tyler put it, a building block where each run/training block builds upon one another, I have since changed my tune a bit. And it may only be applicable to me. Looking back at my successful races and weeks of training where life and running was just effortless, I find that I really did train to run well. I was smart, I rested, I tapered, I peaked. As I felt that more would be better, and rest days turned into easy days- I realized that I was not training to peak but rather to run faster. I found this to be counterproductive in my own running and changed my view of this topic. I do believe in periodization- bringing your body to a certain level two times per year. This would mean, a great XC season, and downtime for indoor season, and bring it back up for outdoor. Really going hard for all three seasons may work for a little while, but eventually the body will tire and say no!!
So, for those people that say “Running? where is the skill, all you have to do is run!” Not so simple. It is a calculation of when to do long repeats, when to do shorter and quicker intervals, when to do tempos and how long, and when to rest and recover. Now the real skill comes in trying to convince oneself about such workouts, one that I’m still trying to master after 25 yrs of running. Maybe one of these days I’ll get it right… maybe?
This is a great article and great topic. The concept of peaking is perceived in so many different ways to different athletes, coaches, and programs.
I’ve grown to not like the word ‘peak’ when my athletes use it. It’s such a fine line to walk and is never guaranteed. If training is going well, and you continually improve, why change what’s been working?
I do agree that volume should be reduced (not drastically) to freshen up the legs to get ready to race. You’ll find this works for most distance/mid-distance runners. But there are runner’s out there who thrive and race fast off of high mileage.
So Tyler, I’m kinda in the same boat as you with the end of microcycle periods ending. Peaking to me ultimately is more mental than anything. It’s amazing to see how an athlete performs when they know it’s their last chance to run fast, or qualify for nationals. I had a half miler go from 1:56 half mile to a 1:53.1 the following week at a last chance meet. Peaking may be how you perform when you back is against the wall and have no choice but to run fast?
I do agree with with training cycles and periodization and truly, peaking may not be a term or even a requirement for more competitive runners, especially at the level of David, Megan and Tyler. I definitely see how Tyler’s training is more focused on training blocks which he builds upon from season to season.
One thing to keep in mind is that not everyone runs at that level of competition. Some folks may only race once or twice a year. They may only run one half marathon or one marathon in their entire life. From their point of view they are training and attempting to bring their body (and mind) to a peak fitness level before giving it all they’ve got in the race. For these runners, peaking may be a more relevant term and reality.
Up until a year ago this is exactly how I trained. Since then I’ve been approaching my training much like Tyler in that I build upon the fitness I’ve gained from season to season, bearing in mind that a down cycle is just as necessary as a build cycle.
I’m definitely enjoying this conversation.