If you’re coming towards the end of your marathon training, it’s important that you
get your taper spot-on, and put yourself in the best physical condition, rested but ready,
come race day!
So you’ve done the hard work over the last few months. You’ve dragged yourself out
of the door on those days where you just didn’t feel like running, and nailed those key sessions.
In these last few weeks before your marathon, the quality of your taper will make a huge
difference to your marathon performance on the big day.
Unless this is your first marathon, you’ll already know that the taper period can be
a nerve wracking few weeks! All sorts of questions and worries go through your head. I can’t
emphasise strongly enough; trust in your training, and don’t fall into any one of the traps
I see runners falling for all the time...
Stick around to the end of the episode, as I’ll be sharing 5 of my favourite marathon
taper tips to help you give yourself the best chance of arriving on the startling in the
best shape possible to run a personal best time.
Before I share these marathon taper tips, I want to just quickly answer a handful of
questions I’m often asked, about this part of your marathon training.
Marathon training is hard on your body. Particularly during those big weeks, and long runs you
put your body under a considerable amount of stress, both in terms of impact on the
joints, and energy systems. If training has gone to plan, by the time you hit your taper,
you’re just the right side of the fine line between training hard, and physical burn-out.
That’s what it takes!
It takes longer than you may think to recover fully from long runs and big training weeks.
After the longest long run of your marathon training block, your legs should feel good-to-go
again within a day or so, but don’t be fooled.
In truth, your body can take 7-12 days to fully recover from a big training week, or
exceptionally hard or long effort.
So, it’s important that you’re properly rested ahead of Marathon day. Putting yourself
in a position where you’re going to be best perform.
That said, too much rest can be a good thing! The trick to getting the taper period right
is giving your body just the right stimulus to maintain your speed and spark in the legs,
while also allowing proper recovery from the big training weeks just past.
No, it’s not as if you’re not running during the taper. In fact, done properly the
taper should give you a break from running the volume you’ve been running in recent
weeks, but maintain the intensity of your running. Think of the taper less as a threat
to your running fitness, more an opportunity for your body to recover, adapt, and put you
in a position to make the most of all the hard work done to this point.
As with so many things in terms of training, people respond differently to varied lengths
of taper. Usually I’ll get a marathon runner tapering for three weeks before race day,
with the taper obviously beginning immediately after the last long run.
Some runners however, respond better to a shorter two week taper period. In all honesty,
it’s largely a case of trial and error.
Ok, so this might seem like common sense, but people get it wrong all too often.
Don’t book your first ever deep sports massage during your taper. You have no idea how your
body will react!
The same can be said for footwear and nutrition. At this point, your best bet is to stick with
what your body knows. You’ve got this far in your training, don’t sabotage your marathon
drams by adding a new unknown into the mix.
In the same vein, don’t add intense sessions where you’re stressing energy systems you
haven’t trained during the marathon training block. Sometimes I see runners performing
shorter, faster intervals as a way of reconciling their concerns about the lack of running volume
in these taper weeks. Don’t do it!
On the other side of that some coin, while your taper is all about allowing your body
to recover from an intense training period, coming out of the taper ready to go, it’s
important to keep your body stimulated by running regularly, and with a little intensity
thrown in to keep you sharp.
If you’re doing a three week taper, the first week can still be 80-90% of your biggest
week’s run volume. The long run at around about 12-14 miles should be about right. Week
two can be roughly 70% of your peak running volume, with the long run at 10 miles. In
the week ahead of the marathon I usually get people doing two or three easy 4-6 mile sessions,
and a 2-3 mile tempo or fartlek session of the same distance, to keep the speed in the
legs.
Pacing it the biggest skill to master, when it comes to all kinds of running. Use this
taper period to practice running at your target marathon race pace. Your long runs during
the programme have hopefully been done at a slower pace, this taper period is a good
chance to dial-in what marathon pace should feel like.
This isn’t just specific to taper, but marathon training in general. If the worst happens
and you’re struck by injury or illness, you’ll have to re-organise your programme
most likely, but don’t cut corners and play catch-up by trying to add a confidence building
16+ mile run during your taper period. You’ll be doing more harm than good in many cases.
There’s no two ways about it, even the most perfectly executed marathon programme will
require you to dig deep on the big day if you’re going to run to your potential,
You know what they say; it doesn’t get easier, you just get faster!
Use this taper period to practice visualisation techniques, and get comfortable with the idea
that you’re going to have to work hard to get that personal best. Come up with contingency
plans to deal with all the ‘what if’s’ going on in your head. It’s important to
have a plan!
Best of luck with your marathon taper, and of course go smash it on the big day.
Speak to you soon,