Monday, September 24, 2018

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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20 comments:

  1. I love the idea of destination excursions. I have no desire to be a 50-state marathoner, but your idea is very appealing! Enjoy the taper and good luck on your marathon.

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    1. I probably will not be a 50-state marathoner either LOL I'm currently at 4 (but will soon have #5 checked off). I do hope to at least be able to say I have run in every state, whether it's a run or an actual race.

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  2. Glad to hear you enjoy the taper. It's a good time to let all that training soak in!

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    1. Oh, indeed, I LOVE the taper! I know it's the best thing I can do for my body, and that puts my mind at ease.

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  3. Taper time is good, although I do spend a little bit of it trying not to freak out. This was especially true for Dopey Challenge this past January. What helped me during that time was traveling - the taper "crazies" don't hit me as much when I travel for an out of town race because my time is occupied with getting to my destination!

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    1. I did forget to mention the whole weather stalking thing, though...that does freak me out a bit if the weather is not looking favorable LOL

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  4. What a cute play on taper, Kim!

    Since my big races are always racecations, I am not exactly resting before the race. What can I say, it generally works for me. It's probably part of why I enjoy going out before my races when it's a longer racecation; most this year have been quickies.

    The good thing about being so busy is I don't have a lot of time to get nervous. :)

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    1. Well, I also have the attitude that I will just take whatever the day brings me...I'm not running any of these races to win them, not will I lose any endorsements with a less-than-stellar finish time ;-) I might as well try to relax as much as possible during the taper, right?

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  5. I am a fan of taper time as well. I balance the reduced physical activity with more work on my mental game. Other than IL, I believe NC is my most raced in state. Since the in laws used to live there (before they moved here, help me Jesus) I've raced there at least 10 times. Enjoy it!

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    1. Now, Marcia, did you do all those NC races to get out of the in-laws' house? ;-)

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  6. This was a brilliant post. My top taper tip is to SLEEP.

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    1. I am hoping to sleep more LOL...I'm usually up until midnight and up around 5:00 a.m. the next morning...

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  7. I like the taper, after the first half marathon. I've learned to ignore those phantom pains, otherwise I'd be tightly strung. It's so nice to know I've reached my peak for training and getting close to race day.

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    1. Exactly! By the time taper arrives, there really is not enough time to "improve" on our training anyways...might as well chill and relax ;-)

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  8. That's a great way to think of tapering - that you've done what you need to do, now it's time to coast!

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    1. Honestly, it's the reality. There's no point in dwelling on any missed (or horrific) training runs, so I just try to focus on the upcoming race ;-)

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  9. I'm one of the restless ones...I enjoy the less mileage and less stress, but I also tend to have weird pre race dreams and find that every little niggling pain I experience I imagine turning into a full blown injury! We'll see what happens during this marathon training cycle's taper!

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    1. I do notice a few oddball aches and pains, but I enjoy taper for the most part. It's nice to not have to plan out a large block of time for those long runs ;-)

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  10. Good luck with your taper! What strategy are you using? 2 weeks? 3 weeks?

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    1. I usually try to use a 3-week taper because that gives me some flexibility.

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