Marathon Training - It's Taper Time!

April 18, 2015

Running

By Katie Ferguson

Marathon Training – It’s Taper Time!

Follow me on Twitter @thesegirlsdo

So….my last update was a bit of a ‘my Achilles is fairly rubbish’. My current update is ‘VLM is in 9 DAYS WAAAAAAH’

I took 3 full weeks off running (1 of these was errr….skiing) and it was gutting as those were the 3 weeks I wanted to hit some solid long runs. All seemed fine after that, jumped back in, banged out an 18, banged out another, tried to hit a 20….and did. But in pain. But it’s really hit and miss. So, two physio sessions last week, two this week, and two next week along with a massage. Plan is “do as much as we can before the marathon and then put the pieces back together afterwards.” Also been suffering from pain on the top of my foot and I feel like I’m cracking up. But hey, I think it’s normal?!

So let’s look at the taper. What are the typical signs of a tapering marathoner?

MARANOIA – worried about anything that vaguely tingles, worried about germs, worried about the weather, worried about Garmin batteries dying, worried about anything and everything. Dropping your jelly babies, not tying your laces properly….you will probably have marathon-related nightmares!
Grumpy – because you can’t run as much. Because you feel like you’re rubbish.
Exhausted – marathon training takes a lot out of you and it all seems to build up and come crashing down in one go.
Frustrated at not running – 3 miles seems totally boring. It’s done in like 25 minutes!
Bored. See above.
Lazy (I can easily go too far in the wrong direction…I’m not running therefore I will sit down and eat cake type thing)
Weird things ache for no reason – my quads and glutes are doing a ‘phantom pain’ type thing currently despite not having done anything
Loss of confidence – seriously, if you have put the training in, you’ll be fine. You won’t lose everything by cutting back in the final few weeks.
You are suddenly incapable of doing lots of things. Mine currently are walking down to the station, walking home from the station, walking up escalators, taking out the bins etc etc. USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.
Super worried about germs. I am anti-bac’ing like a mad woman and going through oranges like there’s no tomorrow.

I was planning a decent two week taper, but I’ve actually not run in 5 days and had 3 complete rest days. This is UNHEARD of, but I’ve been whacked out, work is busy and I’ve just moved home so a much longer commute and I’m purely EXHAUSTED. And that’s fine. I could beat myself up about this week but it’s not worth it. I’ve had so many niggles that I’d prefer to rest them more and there is really a very limited amount of performance improvement I can do in this late stage. My nutrition has been all over the place, but I have been rolling, icing and stretching on physio orders. I want to get to the start line (and hopefully the finish…) and anything I do extra in these few weeks is likely to decrease this chance rather than increase it. So I’m trying my hardest to let it be.

A few pointers from me on how to actually do the taper

Don’t taper too early. Most plans recommend a 2-3 week taper.
Don’t completely abandon all hope! Drop a few miles here and there, skip a day, switch an easy run for cross-training or some yoga.
But don’t do anything you’re not used to. Don’t suddenly decide to get all down and dirty in the squat rack or pick up an advanced Pilates class because your body will NOT thank you for it.
Don’t ignore the taper! Yes, you’ve been used to running on tired legs but that isn’t going to get you that PB.
Listen to your body. There will be some fake niggles, there might even be real niggles, but half the challenge of a marathon is getting to the start line – don’t wreck it at this point.
Be disciplined. Don’t be tempted to throw in junk miles because you feel OK. Your body has done a heck of a lot in the last 4 months and needs some time to recover, build back the muscle glycogen and generally make up for the wear and tear.
Check your diet. Think about adding in extra protein to aid muscle repair, and obviously, increasing your carbohydrates in the week leading up to the race. Carb-cycling (depleting and loading) is only advisable if you really know what you’re doing…
AVOID THE SCALES! Water retention, extra carbs…
It’s OK to run something light the day before the marathon. For me, it reminds me that my legs do actually know what they are doing and it helps me to sleep.
Avoid getting too boozy in the week before. Even if you don’t notice it, you’ll probably end up slightly dehydrated and I’ve learnt my lesson from hungover long runs!
Prep for race day. This means your kit (plan a couple of options and then keep an eye on the weather forecast), your nutrition, train times, parking spaces, when you’re picking up your number, where your supporters are going to stand….
Get your head in the game. Work out your goals that fit the place you are in now (I like to think ‘Gold, Silver, Bronze’) and commit to them. Tell people!
SLEEP. I’ve already managed to plan far too many evening events next week and I’m debating cancelling a couple. But don’t worry if you can’t sleep as well the night before because of too much excitement – it’s two nights before that is key.
Be positive. You’ll smash it.