Tapering: 6 Tricks to Master the Art of the Marathon Taper
Tapering is arguably the hardest part of marathon training, amiright?
The marathon taper follows weeks of hard work. Weeks of intense running and workouts, where you felt immense satisfaction moving forward in your training.
Then…it stops. A couple weeks before the race.
And you’re left feeling “lazy”. Like your fitness is vanishing. Like a big carb-loaded blob.
Yet – it’s all just a mind trick!
You’re actually doing your body a huge favor.
So if you’ve ever wondered how to “master” the art of tapering without losing your mind, you’re in the right place.
In this post, I’ll go over why the marathon taper is a hugely important phase of training, how to do it properly, and tips and tricks to NOT lose your mind while doing it!
What Is Tapering?
Tapering is the act of reducing exercise intensity and mileage in the period leading up to an intense race, like a marathon.
Most runners taper for 1-3 weeks prior to race day.
Tapering still includes exercise and running, just a reduced volume (especially in the 2-3 days leading up to the race).
There’s usually a gradual approach to tapering (runners don’t simply drop mileage by 50% in one day).
As you can see in the chart, the timing of your training taper happens immediately before your peak performance.
So, Why Do a Marathon Taper?
Runners put a lot of effort into marathon training.
They physically and mentally push themselves during their 12-20 week training cycle.
So tapering is designed to force the athlete to rest their body in preparation for a big race.
Regarding the importance of the marathon taper, HSS.edu (ranked #1 nationally in orthopedics) writes:
During this time period your muscle glycogen, hormones, antioxidants and enzymes all return to normal levels allowing the muscle damage from a long training season to repair. It has been shown that a taper period can improve marathon performance by increasing red blood cell count and VO2 max, which allows the body to take in and carry more oxygen to the working muscles during your 26.2 mile race.
https://www.hss.edu/playbook/the-importance-of-tapering-before-a-marathon/
A properly-executed marathon taper:
- Promotes recovery so your muscles (and mind) are in tip-top condition for race day
- Maintains fitness
- Stores Extra Glycogen for Race Day while carb-loading, which may mean you gain a couple of pounds during the taper. Don’t stress about this, it’s normal, and will likely go away after race day
- Drives your a little crazy 🙂 I had to add this in, because, it’s true. It takes mental drive and discipline to taper and fears and worries will inevitably creep into your head. But you can help prevent that, or at least ease it (more on that later)
Why Do Runners Hate Tapering?
Great question. Runners are a special breed. We are driven. We work hard. We want to achieve our running goals. And we do NOT like resting. We do not like having to “let up” on that effort right before race day. Rest? What is “rest”? Right?! We perceive it (incorrectly) as not working hard enough, or “losing our fitness” before the big day. We also worry about: The marathon taper plays tricks on our nervous-runner-minds. It’s wreaks havoc during a time of intentional rest. But tapering, ultimately, HELPS us race better, helps us perform better. So if you want to escape those tapering fears and anxieties to have a restful, yet productive, marathon taper – keep reading for X tips! Hopefully you chose a marathon training plan with tapering, or have an awesome running coach to tailor the taper to your schedule. Either way, ensure that you reduce mileage week over week, like this sample: Now, not every marathoner does 3 weeks. I’ve heard many experienced marathoners opt for 10-14 days instead. Moral of the story: do what’s right for your body. But the important part is to ensure your schedule allows a strategic ramp down in mileage so your body can adjust and rest as needed. All that work you did in the weeks leading up to the taper? You don’t want to lose it, right? Well, the quickest way to sabotage your efforts is to eat unhealthy, empty foods, or forget about hydration. Your body is in an important phase of marathon training. While it may seem like you’re on “easy street” during the taper, it doesn’t mean you can eat donuts every day. Sorry 🙂 Quite the contrary. Fuel up on the proper nutrition for runners to properly prepare your body for race day. And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Continue eating the right combo of carbs, protein and healthy fats for the best chance of marathon success! This one makes many runners sad. But it’s necessary. Some runners completely avoid alcohol while tapering, while some still imbibe – just sparingly. There are majorly differing opinions on this (just ask any group of marathoners and you’ll see). Opinions range from “I won’t touch a drop of alcohol for the 2 weeks leading up to my marathon” to “I have a light beer the night before the race to calm my nerves”. Neither choice is wrong, per say…it just depends on how your body reacts to alcohol. So why do some runners stay away from it? Especially during the marathon taper? Well, alcohol negatively affects sleep, hydration levels, hormones, and more. These are all things you want to protect while tapering. So the choice is yours. But, truth be told, we recommend avoiding alcohol to stay on the safe side (especially if you’re tapering for your very first marathon). Important note: Do not attempt to replace your reduced miles with intense cross training activities. The entire point of tapering is to allow your body to rest & recover! But what you can do, and in fact, what you should do, is engage in recovery-encouraging exercise like yoga and stretching. RELATED: Yoga for Runners: 12 Essential Poses for Beginners Stay away from intense power yoga classes though. Stick with regular ole’ yoga, as it will be gentler on your body during marathon tapering. Keep those muscles limber! Keep the blood flowing to them, it improves recovery, which exactly what you want to do! And now we get to the best part of tapering – the food! Because runners love food. It’s a proven fact. We run, we eat. We run, we eat. It’s a lovely cycle. The mentality on race week carb-loading has changed a little over the years. But first, what is carb-loading? Dictionary.com defines it as: the practice of eating high amounts of carbohydrates, sometimes after a period of low carbohydrate intake, for several days immediately before competing in an athletic event,especially a marathon, in order to store glycogen in the body, thereby providing greater reserves of energy. So loading your body up on carbs days before a marathon adds to your glycogen stores, which are your body’s most accessible form of energy. So by storing them up, it offers your body extra stores of energy to draw upon on race day (think: avoiding the wall). But runners no longer turn to simple carbs the night before the race. We now know to load up on carbs for 2-3 days before race day (not just the night before) and we eat carbs like whole grains and potatoes, vegetables (and not sugary desserts). Additionally, Amanda from RuntotheFinish.com points out (in 7 Carbo Loading Mistakes), that in order to carb-load properly during the marathon taper, runners must also do a carb-depletion phase about 7 days prior to race day. She suggests: 1.) Seven days prior to the event do a long or strenuous workout which will deplete your body of glucose. So in summary: I know, I know, this is easier said than done. But seriously. Stop overthinking everything. Put your mind in a calm state. Re-iterate you mantra. Confirm to yourself that you WILL achieve your running goal. Instead of worrying over every ache & pain, find something to focus your anxious energy on. For me, that’s this website 🙂 I love writing, and helping runners achieve their goals, so any time I feel nervous or anxious in life, I turn to HowtoRunGuide.com and focus my energy there instead. Whatever your outlet is, find it, and focus there. Remove your race and training worries from your mind. These 6 tips will help you master the art of the marathon taper, while preparing your mind and body to achieve your running goals on race day. Just remember, above all – have fun! Tapering nerves be darned – remember, you’re amongst the elite <1% of the population who runs a marathon, and that in and of itself is a HUGE accomplishment! Ask me in the comments, I’d love to help!6 Tips to Rock Your Next Marathon Taper
1.) Reduce Mileage Strategically
2.) Eat Nutritiously & Hydrate
3.) Avoid Alcohol
4.) Focus on Recovery Activities
5.) Carb-Load Smartly
2.) For the next 3 days maintain a lower carb diet of 35-50% of total calories
3.) For the final 2 days prior to the race switch to 75% of calories from carbohydrates, while dramatically decreasing overall work volume (the other 25% is largely protein) 6.) Stop Over-Thinking (Distract Yourself)
Now You’re Ready for Tapering!
Have Any Other Tapering Questions?
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