Shall We Taper?

Ahhhhh, the sweet sound of Taper.

How do you feel about the Taper before a big race? Do you get nervous? Scared? Antsy?

Myself, I embrace the Taper, with open arms and a huge smile on my face. After all, I worked especially hard to get there, why not relish the experience?


Here's what to look forward to as one basks in TAPER mode:

T - Time, and lots of it!
Training is not only hard on your body, but it's time-consuming on your schedule. There are early morning runs and workouts. As the mileage increases, so do the number of days spent training. And let's not forget that peak month, when every weekend involves a long run. If it's a full marathon you're training for, then those long runs are all double digits...encompassing 2-3 hours at a time (if not longer). With all that time spent training, your body needs even more sleep....so your waking hours are at a prime.

A - All the TLC
As much as we try to take care of ourselves, most of us fall short when it comes to devoted warm-ups, cool-downs, stretching, foam rolling and general TLC of  our over-worked muscles. The taper is the perfect time to shift our focus from training to repair and maintenance.

P - Pride at what you have accomplished

Making it through 12-16 weeks (or more) of consistent training runs is not an easy feat. This particular cycle, I added weekly HIIT workouts and focused more on speedwork as well. Although I probably could have stretched and foam-rolled more, I still made a concerted effort to do it consistently, especially in recent months as the mileage increased with the longer distance runs on weekends.

E - Excitement for race day

I still have not made up a race day plan, but I am eager to get to the start line. The Cannonball Marathon is in Greensboro, North Carolina. I have been through North Carolina many times, but have never run there. Not only will I have a new city (and state) to add to my Destination Excursions page, but it's exciting to be embarking on my 8th marathon (says the gal who never had the desire to run 26.2 miles).

R - Rest, rest, and more rest

At long last, Taper allows one to ease up on the mileage. I'll still be rising and shining in the early morning hours, but I'll also be heading to bed earlier than what's been the norm in recent months. As much as I have grown to love weekly HIIT workouts, those are also going to be modified to focus more on upper body strength (to give my legs and glutes a little time off). With the 20-miler done, there will be no more "long" long runs until race day. I have the Kickoff to Kinnick 5K happening on Saturday, and that will be my final of "speedwork" before the marathon. The following weekend, there's a 10-miler on tap, and a couple of short runs (3-5 miles) during race week....and that'll be it. 

One thing I have learned is that the Taper is a crucial part of the plan. It enables the body to rest, recover and recharge for race day. There's no benefit to "making up" lost or skipped training runs at this point. All of the mileage and sweat and endurance are in the proverbial bank...and any extra efforts for excessive last-minute miles puts you at risk for injury. Some people find that stressful, but I find it reassuring. I know I have done all that I can up to this point...now it's time to coast into the start line. 

So that's my Taper plan of action. What's not to love?

How do you feel about the Taper? Do you feel restless with the scaled back mileage, or enjoy the extra rest? Any Taper tips to share?

**I'm linking up with Marcia and Patty and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

**I'm also linking this with Debbie and Rachel and Marc and Lora for the Running Coaches' Corner

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