Time to Taper
For our Soleful athletes who will be racing either the Marine Corps Marathon next Sunday or the New York City Marathon the following Sunday, they are officially in the taper phase of their training.
At Soleful, we strongly believe in the importance of sharing the what AND the why with our athletes. Soleful athletes rely on us for coaching expertise, running experience and certified guidance as they pursue their goals and we think that should always include a bit of background on why we are recommending a particular training method. If an athlete understands and believes in the reason behind the method, they are more likely to follow it and find success in the results.
The taper has been defined as a decrease in work level that an athlete undergoes during practice or training runs in order to rest and prepare for a good performance in the key event of a season or year. Tapering is a specialized exercise technique designed to reverse training-induced fatigue without a loss of the training adaptations.
The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains. Reductions in training volume as high as 50%-60% appear to induce positive responses in highly trained athletes.
Worth emphasizing this is a reduction in VOLUME. When we think of training, there are three key variables: volume (distance), intensity (speed or effort) and frequency (number of days a week). During the taper, the maintenance of training intensity (“quality training”) is necessary to avoid detraining, provided that reductions in other training variables allow for sufficient recovery to optimize performance. Training frequency should be maintained at > 80% to avoid detraining and/or “loss of feel” in the highly trained athlete.
With all of this said, it is important to stress that quality training is not about going hard every day. Although we need to continue to stimulate over less volume, we do not need to be aggressive in our workouts.
For our athletes running one of these marathons in the next two weeks we remind them this is a marathon not a sprint and when we say maintain intensity that means the intensity needed to run a marathon, that does not mean adding in speed or hill or tough, intense new workouts at this point in training. That means the intensity with which these athletes have already been approaching their training workouts, it does not mean additional intensity.
This is probably a good point to say that in our opinion a taper and all training can benefit from the guidance of a certified running coach who can support your unique goals every step of the way. While there can be some generalities to the taper, training plans should be as customized as the runner is unique. The athletes referenced in this post are following very specific training plans designed, customized and, at times, modified specifically for them. The athletes referenced in this post, for example, are all following training plans designed specifically for them. These training plans are not the same, even though each athlete mentioned here is running a marathon. While we lean on fundamental running principles, each training plan is specific to the individual and evolves with them throughout training. We think the safest and most effective way to train is with a certified running coach. Everyone is unique and different and even an individual changes over time. A coach is there to support and guide you towards your goals with knowledge and experience that is then tailored specifically to you.
Let's take a look at some of the benefits of tapering:
Maximize fuel and enzyme stores
Rest muscles and allow muscle recovery
Mentally prepare for major effort
Typically, a marathon taper is between 14-20 days and the last demanding effort or "speed" workout is 5-10 days before the race.
So, to summarize all of this with regard to the specific training of our athletes who are in the final weeks leading up to the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October or the New York City Marathon the first weekend in November:
Reduce workload
Maintain race-specific efforts
Last demanding effort 5-10 days before the race (this does not mean you stop training 5-10 days before the race, it just means the demand lessens)
In terms of weekly volume, you're looking at approximately 60% of average weekly volume in the two weeks prior and 30% of average volume the week of the race
Some athletes, understandably, find the taper to be incredibly challenging. They have grown accustomed to a certain level of training, they are at or near peak fitness and they mentally and physically may not WANT to reduce workload. This is another area where a coach is a very important and effective training partner, and also why it is important for the athlete to understand the why behind the taper.
A taper can also be psychologically demanding. When we look at the marathon distance referenced in this post, for instance, an athlete has been training for months to achieve this amazing and monumental goal. They may worry the reduced workload will leave them less prepared or unpreprared for race day. At Soleful, we pride ourselves on helping to manage all aspects of the athlete, including these mental hurdles runners understandably need to navigate and overcome on the road to race day.
We hope this article has been helpful. Please feel free to reach out to us anytime if we can help you achieve your running goals whether it’s a mile, a marathon or the very first step.
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We hold a number of coaching certifications here at Soleful and this continuing education has helped to inform some of the information we shared in this post. We would like to credit and thank RRCA and USATF.