Tapering is hard for me. It might be the hardest part of distance training because it goes against everything I’ve ever been taught about preparation for competition. It's like taking a test...cram as much and for as long as possible, and you are nearly guaranteed success. When I started running about three years ago, and was informed that the final 3 or 2 weeks leading up to my race I'd need to back off on my training, I was confused.
It was one of those genuinely huuuuuuuuuuh? moments.
And being the great genius that I am, I didn't quite listen to taper madness. Or I flat-out ignored it. Take you pick! And as a result, ended up with a tiny injury that made my first half-marathon in Miami a difficult one. Lesson learned, a I was so much the better for it.
Going into my next half-marathon, I followed the advice for a week and a half prior to the Flying Pig, and beat my Miami time by 23 minutes.
So, I suppose the point is...actually taper. I read somewhere something that really clicked with me, and it was that during those last two to three weeks, you can't get any faster and any stronger, but you can injure yourself and screw your chances at even running your race, let alone beating any time goals you may have had.
I think we all think that we're tougher than we really are, which is why tapering seems like absolute madness to us. We go into it with this mindset that "oh yeah...I'll be fine, I've been pushing so hard for the past couple of weeks, a few more won't kill me". And it probably won't, but having had the experience of running a race and feeling completely beaten down, I wouldn't want to do it again. Ever.
I would, however, like to run my race feeling strong, knowing that I've done all I can to prepare myself. I haven't found that looking over my log book provides any relief, but I have found that shopping does. Not for anything specific to a particular race, but usually for the next race. For instances, once we start tapering for the Chicago Marathon, I will hopefully have enough funds to buy new tights for the fall/winter training session! I've also found tapering to be a good time to try out new recipes. This is because I'm reluctant to try new foods, etc., the night before a long run because I don't want to completely screw my long run! When I'm tapering, I've already "done" those distances, so I'm not afraid to try something new that might potentially slow down or cut my long run off early due to...digestive concerns.
So, here's to Taper Madness...because it's not really that crazy of an idea after all!
3 comments:
How did you like that Flying Pig? that's tops on my list for next spring consideration.
As for taper, it never really bothers me much. I've come to enjoy the calm before the storm.
Taper madness ahhhhh gotta love it!
This is really interesting to me. Do you slow down your speeds or do you run less miles? How does it work?
I really like the word Taper. I want to have some Taper Madness too!
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