With racing season underway here in Minnesota (despite the less-than-ideal weather), and Grandma’s Marathon Weekend quickly approaching, I figured it is the perfect time to talk about tapering.
Tapering is something that I have finally (maybe?) figured out on a personal level. It took me years to dial in what works leading up to longer races.
Several things that have worked for me include: still getting a mid-distance run in early on during race week (usually on Monday), some sort of shorter repeats mid-week to refresh a bit (think 30 second repeats at about 5k effort), a focus on sleep, and taking the day prior to a marathon (or greater distance race) off.
These are ways I’ve revised my taper routine so I arrive at the start line feeling ready to go – this is not something that will work for everyone. However, I came across an article that does a great job of highlighting some key parts of an effective taper that can be incorporated into any runner’s tool belt.
How to Nail Your Marathon or Ultramarathon Taper by Doug Hay over at No Meat Athlete. In this article he talks about things that tapering IS NOT, along with six key aspects of a useful taper.
I’ll start with what he says tapering isn’t:
- An excuse to do nothing
- A reason to eat copious amounts of junk food
- A prescription for late nights and lots of beer
- A time to drastically switch up your routine or stop running entirely
All valid points! We still need to remain focused on our goals and not erase the hard work we’ve put in over the past weeks or months.
He then goes on to highlight his six rules of proper tapering, which starts the week prior to race week-
Rule 1: Drastically reduce mileage in the first 3 days by about 50%. Reduce the remaining mileage over the course of the remaining 7-10 days.
Rule 2: Maintain a similar running routine.
Rule 3: Continue with the same mix of intensity has you had before.
Rule 4: Eat more (of the good stuff).
Rule 5: Get more sleep.
Rule 6: Use the extra time to prepare mentally, decompress from the training session, and plan for the race.
While I don’t follow these six rules exactly, I do feel they are a great starting point for people looking to taper for the first time, or those attempting to increase the effectiveness of their own routine.
If you didn’t already, I encourage you to read the original article – there is a lot of useful knowledge packed into it!
Good luck to everyone gearing up (or tapering down??) for races!