Mallory Barry-Loken has the right idea!
With Martian Marathon a mere 3 weeks off, the time has come to ease into a time of rest, the pre-marathon taper. The taper is just as critical a component of your marathon preparation as your training runs….and no doubt it can take just as much discipline to force yourself to rest as it does to complete a 20 mile training run!!! Training provides the long term improvements necessary to successfully complete a marathon. As you have discovered by now it also tends to leave you a bit sore and tired. The 3 week cycles built into the training schedule provide some reduction in fatigue, but not enough to completely eliminate it and allow your body full recovery. The goal of tapering is to balance continued training with rest to allow for the best possible marathon experience!
Just how much can tapering improve your marathon performance? The International Journal of Sports Medicine examined over 50 scientific studies on tapering and concluded that there is no doubt tapering works! Studies have found improvements in performance of up to 16% with most studies showing 3 – 5% improvement. At a 5% improvement, that means a 3:30 marathon can become a 3:19 marathon through proper tapering. A single workout, on the other hand will give you less than a 1% improvement in performance! For some, a well-executive taper could mean the difference between qualifying for Boston, setting a PR, or just being able to finish the marathon with a greater degree of comfort!
Studies show for the marathon one should taper for a minimum of 2-weeks with 3 weeks being optimal. Too short a taper will leave one tired on race day while too long will lead to a loss in fitness. It is wise to err on the side of tapering too long rather than too short of a period. With the Martian Marathon falling four weeks out from the our last 20-miler, the most frequently asked training question recently has been if the Martian bound should try to get in another 20-miler. My answer is no, as long as they already have one or two 20-milers under their belt, a third 20-miler would actually be more detrimental to performance in the short term than helpful. Although slightly past peak performance level, I have actually run a strong marathon 6 weeks out from my last 20+ miler with less than a 1% decrease in performance. NEVER try to make up for lost time due to injury, etc during the taper weeks. By this time any gains in fitness that will impact marathon performance have already been realized and attempting to make up for lost miles or workouts will just leave you fatigued at the starting line.
How should you reduce training to improve marathon performance? Evidence indicates that the key to effective tapering is to substantially reduce mileage while maintaining intensity. Reducing mileage reduces the accumulated fatigue High intensity effort maintains fitness level. Exactly how much to reduce training mileage depends on your current training mileage, age and health. Older runners tend to need a longer taper than younger runners. Studies have shown as a general rule of thumb you should taper your mileage according to the following schedule:
3rd Week Pre-marathon: Taper 20 – 25%
2nd Week Pre-marathon: Taper 40%
Marathon Week (6 days before): Taper 60%
These decreases in mileage as well as the maintenance of intensity have been built into the marathon training schedules. Three weeks before is the most important time for a successful taper. Marathoners often do too much this week because the marathon still seems a long way off. It is much better physiologically and psychologically to allow your body to start to rebound this week, or you will find yourself feeling flat the last two weeks.
Often marathoners also decrease training efforts. This can result in a small loss in fitness as well as a lack of psychological reinforcement. It is more effective to intersperse harder efforts within the recovery trend. For example, the Comet schedule has 3 x 1-mile intervals the 2nd week pre-marathon. Marathon week itself is all easy recovery, with the exception of Tuesday or Wednesday where it is recommended you do a 6 – 7 mile run with 2 miles at marathon pace. This is a dress rehearsal; even wear the same shoes and clothes you will wear for the marathon! By this time, if you have tapered properly starting with the 3rd week, you should feel light on your feet, like you can fly…this will provide a great psychological boost!
Proper hydration and carbo-loading are also critical during the taper. It is vitally important that your muscles and liver be stocked with glycogen at the starting line. Marathoners used to deplete glycogen stores for 3 days (sometimes even completing a long run up to 20-miles the week before), then carbo-load the 3 days prior to the marathon. This is no longer recommended since carbohydrate depletion can suppress the immune system (this is why many marathoners get a cold the week after a marathon – glycogen stores have been depleted) and the long run will leave you sore and tired.
What works just as well is to eat a normal diet until the last 3 days and taper your training program. Then the last 3 days, eat a high carbohydrate diet and do a short, slow run these days. Your body will store glycogen to almost the same level as if you did the whole depletion and loading program. Also, make sure you are well-hydrated in the days leading up to the marathon so that you don’t arrive at the starting line suffering from accumulated effects of dehydration.
The taper can often be a challenge psychologically and even physiologically. Your mind and body are mentally and physically accustomed to the hard training. Take advantage of the extra free time…spend some extra time with family, take care of household projects that have been laid aside in favor of long runs (although not too strenuous!), read a good book……RELAX! Tell yourself this is part of your training….it IS! During the taper, it is also not uncommon for aches and pains to appear as the body heals itself from the months of training. Most of the time, (If you do suspect an injury make sure you have it checked out!) these will disappear. My body goes through this withdrawal cycle during every taper. My most recent marathon, a couple of joints, including on old injury, ached right up until the evening before the marathon. Once the legs got moving, however, the aches disappeared as my body remembered a familiar routine…conditioned by months of training!
Discipline yourself….to rest!
Source
Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 2001. Advanced Marathoning. Champaign, IL:Human Kinetics.
Just how much can tapering improve your marathon performance? The International Journal of Sports Medicine examined over 50 scientific studies on tapering and concluded that there is no doubt tapering works! Studies have found improvements in performance of up to 16% with most studies showing 3 – 5% improvement. At a 5% improvement, that means a 3:30 marathon can become a 3:19 marathon through proper tapering. A single workout, on the other hand will give you less than a 1% improvement in performance! For some, a well-executive taper could mean the difference between qualifying for Boston, setting a PR, or just being able to finish the marathon with a greater degree of comfort!
Studies show for the marathon one should taper for a minimum of 2-weeks with 3 weeks being optimal. Too short a taper will leave one tired on race day while too long will lead to a loss in fitness. It is wise to err on the side of tapering too long rather than too short of a period. With the Martian Marathon falling four weeks out from the our last 20-miler, the most frequently asked training question recently has been if the Martian bound should try to get in another 20-miler. My answer is no, as long as they already have one or two 20-milers under their belt, a third 20-miler would actually be more detrimental to performance in the short term than helpful. Although slightly past peak performance level, I have actually run a strong marathon 6 weeks out from my last 20+ miler with less than a 1% decrease in performance. NEVER try to make up for lost time due to injury, etc during the taper weeks. By this time any gains in fitness that will impact marathon performance have already been realized and attempting to make up for lost miles or workouts will just leave you fatigued at the starting line.
How should you reduce training to improve marathon performance? Evidence indicates that the key to effective tapering is to substantially reduce mileage while maintaining intensity. Reducing mileage reduces the accumulated fatigue High intensity effort maintains fitness level. Exactly how much to reduce training mileage depends on your current training mileage, age and health. Older runners tend to need a longer taper than younger runners. Studies have shown as a general rule of thumb you should taper your mileage according to the following schedule:
3rd Week Pre-marathon: Taper 20 – 25%
2nd Week Pre-marathon: Taper 40%
Marathon Week (6 days before): Taper 60%
These decreases in mileage as well as the maintenance of intensity have been built into the marathon training schedules. Three weeks before is the most important time for a successful taper. Marathoners often do too much this week because the marathon still seems a long way off. It is much better physiologically and psychologically to allow your body to start to rebound this week, or you will find yourself feeling flat the last two weeks.
Often marathoners also decrease training efforts. This can result in a small loss in fitness as well as a lack of psychological reinforcement. It is more effective to intersperse harder efforts within the recovery trend. For example, the Comet schedule has 3 x 1-mile intervals the 2nd week pre-marathon. Marathon week itself is all easy recovery, with the exception of Tuesday or Wednesday where it is recommended you do a 6 – 7 mile run with 2 miles at marathon pace. This is a dress rehearsal; even wear the same shoes and clothes you will wear for the marathon! By this time, if you have tapered properly starting with the 3rd week, you should feel light on your feet, like you can fly…this will provide a great psychological boost!
Proper hydration and carbo-loading are also critical during the taper. It is vitally important that your muscles and liver be stocked with glycogen at the starting line. Marathoners used to deplete glycogen stores for 3 days (sometimes even completing a long run up to 20-miles the week before), then carbo-load the 3 days prior to the marathon. This is no longer recommended since carbohydrate depletion can suppress the immune system (this is why many marathoners get a cold the week after a marathon – glycogen stores have been depleted) and the long run will leave you sore and tired.
What works just as well is to eat a normal diet until the last 3 days and taper your training program. Then the last 3 days, eat a high carbohydrate diet and do a short, slow run these days. Your body will store glycogen to almost the same level as if you did the whole depletion and loading program. Also, make sure you are well-hydrated in the days leading up to the marathon so that you don’t arrive at the starting line suffering from accumulated effects of dehydration.
The taper can often be a challenge psychologically and even physiologically. Your mind and body are mentally and physically accustomed to the hard training. Take advantage of the extra free time…spend some extra time with family, take care of household projects that have been laid aside in favor of long runs (although not too strenuous!), read a good book……RELAX! Tell yourself this is part of your training….it IS! During the taper, it is also not uncommon for aches and pains to appear as the body heals itself from the months of training. Most of the time, (If you do suspect an injury make sure you have it checked out!) these will disappear. My body goes through this withdrawal cycle during every taper. My most recent marathon, a couple of joints, including on old injury, ached right up until the evening before the marathon. Once the legs got moving, however, the aches disappeared as my body remembered a familiar routine…conditioned by months of training!
Discipline yourself….to rest!
Source
Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 2001. Advanced Marathoning. Champaign, IL:Human Kinetics.
