How to avoid Taper Tantrums
Love it or hate it, tapering for a race is a necessary part of the process which can often leave runners feeling unsettled and lost, not knowing what to do with the sudden influx of spare time. Cue the overthinking and irrational self doubt - ‘I should have done more!’, ‘I’ve ruined my chances of getting a good time just because I missed that one training run’, ‘Who am I kidding, I don’t belong on that start line’ etc.. we’ve all been there right?
What is tapering?
Firstly, let’s be clear on what ‘tapering’ is and more importantly, why is it beneficial?
Tapering is the practice of reducing load in the days or weeks leading to an event. The duration of a taper period depends on the nature of the event itself. For example, the taper for a marathon is typically 2-3 weeks, whereas for a half marathon it’s more like 10 days - 2 weeks.
In endurance sports, the taper period is regarded as crucial as the peak training weeks that come before it. This is because it enables the body to recuperate energy and allows muscles to repair. A review of fifty studies on tapering suggests that optimal levels of muscle glycogen, enzymes, antioxidants, and hormones, which intense endurance training significantly depletes, are restored during a taper.
How is it done?
Typically a taper should be introduced after your last long run and as a guide it should be a gradual 20-30% reduction of your previous weekly volume.
Example:
Peak training week = 50 miles
Taper week 1, 20% less = 40 miles
Taper week 2 , 25% less = 30 miles
Taper week 3, 30% less = 21 miles
Taper DOES NOT mean DO NOTHING! .. stopping training altogether can often have the effect of leaving you feeling lethergic and with ‘heavy muscles’ - movement is important to keep your body and mind engaged.
Remember this is just a guide and other factors should be taken into account such as your age, fatigue levels and any potential niggles which should be addressed before race day.
To be clear, there is nothing to gain from skipping a taper period and furthermore you are at high risk of injury, illness or burnout which will potentially take you out of your race before you’ve even got to the start line. Don’t be tempted to do any last minute cramming, it will do precisely zero to enhance your chances at this late stage.
Personally I enjoy tapering because the extra time I have which would ordinarily be spent training, now allows me to get my kit ready and focus on some good quality restorative sleep, nutrition and hydration. It also means that I can finally catch up on non running stuff which gets neglected otherwise. Boring.
So once you’ve got your taper plan in place, what else can you do with your free time?
Now is a good time to get all of your kit ready. Check if there is a mandatory kit list and ensure that you have everything in place. If you’re allowed drop bags during or after the race then organise those accordingly.
Make sure you’ve ordered in all of your race day nutrition and hydration.
Confirm travel, accommodation and logistics, if required.
Extra bodycare i.e. book a sports massage or at least make sure you are stretching, foam rollering and doing your strength work.
Review previous races - what went wrong, what worked well and adapt accordingly for your next race.
Mindset is every bit as crucial as the physical preparation, in my opinion. Journaling or blogging is a great way to remind yourself why you’re doing this race and to keep you focused on the lead up. Meditation and breathwork are also very helpful for keeping race nerves at bay.
Finally, allow plenty of time on race day to get to the event village early and enjoy the atmosphere. I like to get all of my race admin in check the day before so that I can sleep well and get up knowing that all I have to do is get to the start line.
With all of the above in place, taper will be over before you know it and hopefully not a tantrum in sight.