So Begins the Taper

Swim Day
1 x 150- Warm-up
5 x 100- 1, 2, 3, Swim
3 x 50- Sideline kick
3 x 200- 100- 5, 7, 9/100- Stroke count
1 x 100- Cool down
total- 1500 yds

Bike Day
time- 1:24
distance- 24.5

The taper has begun. I've done some reading up on the proper ways to taper and the general consensus is volume should drop, intensity should drop slightly except for certain workouts at race pace for the first week. The second week, the week of the race, volume drops more and intensity drops except for short bursts at race pace to maintain feel. The goal is to conserve and store as much energy as possible. The challenge is finding the happy medium between high-zone workouts and being lazy during them. Also, I can't miss workouts, that's not tapering.
So my plan is to have one high intensity workout in each discipline this week, with the other two at 70-85%, and closely follow the training plan I laid out in the beginning. Which is why the swim this morning was so short. The plan called for 1500 yards and that's what I did. Nothing too heavy duty, just stroke work. At this point I'm not going to get any stronger for the race but I might be able to fix my stroke finish a little more. Fine fine tuning.
The other thing to keep an eye on, according to most articles and books, is diet. I've been hungry a lot because I'm burning so many calories during workouts. But as volume drops I need to be sure my calorie intake does too.
Bike was pretty good today. I've decided my higher intensity days will go Tuesday-Run, Wednesday- Ride, Thursday- Swim. Which meant that while I did some pushing today, I didn't do a lot. Narrowly avoided the rain though, which is nice.
And on a I'm Kinda a Dumbass Sometimes Note- the ride during my upcoming race is 25 miles, not 20 like I've been thinking. It's 40k and dumbass American did a lazy conversion once and that figure stuck in my head. So the ride is five miles further than I had be thinking. This isn't that far, but will add some time. Adjust your predictions for the 50/50 Contest accordingly.