Coopah How To: Nail Your Marathon Taper!
In this series of ‘HOW TO’ blogs, we are going to share our tips for the most common questions we get asked by our community of runners, and this blog is all about How To Nail Your Marathon Taper.
The hard work has been done; the early mornings, training in all weathers, being hungry 24/7 and maybe even losing a few toenails… but finally the big day is only a few weeks away!
It can be really tempting over these next few weeks to cram in extra sessions, or tag a few more miles onto you run but we hope that after you read our Top 5 Tips for Tapering you will realise how important this period is and that by nailing your taper it can make a huge difference on race day!
What is a Taper?
The taper leading up to the big race is actually one of the most important part of your training plan, but it can be very easy to overdo it and get it wrong! A taper typically starts around 2-3 weeks before race day, and the aim is to gradually decrease the volume & intensity leading up to race day. We do this so that you can recover from the hard training over the last few months and that you get to the start line feeling fresh!
Training Reflection
As you head into your taper, now is the perfect time to look back over your training and pick our your training highlights! As we head towards race day, now is not the time to focus on the negatives, so instead focus on the runs that went really well, the runs you felt strong and the ones you enjoyed the most! If for some reason your training did not go exactly to plan, now would also be a good time to think about your goals and adjust as necessary.
Don’t Panic!
It can be really tempting to use your taper as a time to cram in any long runs or sessions you may have missed during your training, but please don’t! There will be no benefit to doing this, and in fact it could have the opposite affect and leave you feeling tired and overcooked for race day. It is fine to keep some intensity in during your taper, but you shouldn’t be pushing yourself to the maximum… save that for the big day!
Plan to do nothing
It can be really tempting to use all this extra free time to cram in lots of activities and keep yourself busy, but you don’t want to overdo it! So if you usually get up at the crack of dawn to fit in your long run, use that time to have a lie in instead or just relax for a few hours with your favourite TV show or book. Trust us, your body will thank you for the extra rest come race day!
Keep yourself fuelled!
Another common misconception is that because your training has reduced you don’t need to worry about your nutrition as much, but this couldn’t be further from the truth! During your taper you still need to think about fuelling your body well, and it is important to remember that our body cannot repair and build with no calories! You don’t need to worry about carb loading until the week of the race, but it is still worth being mindful that you are still preparing your body to run a marathon. You may also find that you are actually hungrier at this point too, so make sure you listen to and honour your body and what it needs.
Goal Setting
A really good thing to do during this time is also think about your goals for the marathon. This actually goes hand in hand with the training reflection and its now time to be really honest about what you want to, and what you think you can achieve.
We recommend setting yourself an A, B, C goal for race day, as this can really help to take the pressure off becoming fixated on one set goal, and they don’t even need to all be time related.
Here is an example;
A Goal - Sub 4 Marathon.
B Goal - Get a PB (current PB 4.10)
C Coal - Just finish! And cross the line with a smile on my face.
If you are already thinking about your next goal, and need some more guidance for your next marathon, we are here to help!
A fully personalised training plan built around your availability and goals
Unlimited coaching support 24/7
Streaks and incentives to keep you motivated
Access to our community of other runners, physios and mental health experts to give you support and advice up to the day.
Track your progress and your weekly/monthly mileage