The Taper Cry?

The first I heard of the ‘taper cry’ was at the end of our season last year. Coach Wass mentioned it at the send-off for IMC. I believe he said, “don’t be surprised if you experience the taper-cry.” At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about…until about 2 weeks later when I experienced it myself! It’s hard to put into words, but you’ll know when/if it happens to you!

Well, here I am again, in taper…and yeah, just had my first taper cry. Who knew that one misplaced (not lost) bike shoe could cause so many tears! On Sunday morning as we were packing up the car before the run, I could not find one of my Sidi bike shoes. Out of sheer frustration, I completely shut-down…I didn’t even have the mental capacity to do the run. Add an unplanned trip to Connecticut the week before we leave for IronMan, an out of town trip for Father’s Day weekend, and all the work and packing I need to do, and well, you have a perfect recipe for a good taper cry! Needless to say, after the water works ceased, I was able to gather myself and get a good laugh at the whole thing. If you’re like me and you’ve never heard of the taper cry, I hope this little tale helps to shed some light on the experience for you. You’re not going crazy, you just don’t know what to do with all the pent-up emotions you going through before IronMan.

Congratulations on accomplishing one of the major milestones of the IronTeam journey at Lake Berryessa! I don’t know if you realize this, but what you accomplished this weekend more than readies you for the bike portion of your IronMan. Whether you’re doing IMC or IMLP you will not experience a bike course as difficult as what you crushed this weekend. Sure your IM ride will be longer, but the level of difficulty does not compare. With each week of the ‘sexy’ phase, you’re getting closer and closer to your goal. You are all ROCK STARS!