Attention: Please check in with your running friends, we are not ok!!!!
With tapers in full swing, we hit the time where after months and months of hard work runners have *gasp* free time. Instead of hours filled with miles upon miles you could sleep and not have to necessarily wake up at 4 am if you don’t want, you don’t have multiple hours long runs and chances are you are absolutely going bonkers figuring out what non-runners do all morning/night.
A lot of runners tend to think they can use the 2-3 weeks to really drive the training home and turn up the heat to gain a bit more fitness. We are here to tell you, friends, this will NOT lead to fitness. More than likely it will lead to stress, injury, and getting to the line entirely overtrained. Taper is a crucial part of training that if skipped or ignored can in essence waste the months of training you put in.
Don't be the runner that ignores taper.
Be the runner that LOVES taper
The biggest question coaches get asked is, “What do I do with all this free time?” Here are some ideas:
Learn a new language
Solve world peace
Recite the alphabet backward
Sit through a 5-year-old's story
Build a house
Ok, maybe you won’t have THAT much free time. But Coaches Christine and Shelby have 10 great suggestions as you head into your victory lap before race day. While we go into A LOT more detail on our Quick Bytes episode, here is a grab-and-go abbreviated version:
Review your training log from start to finish--visually see how far you've come in miles, weeks, and months
Practice your mindset. Using meditation and visualization, sit with your thoughts on how you see the race going, how you want it to go, what it's going to look like, feel like, smell like, etc.
Pick out some inspirational or just regular entertaining movies/books to relax with and actually be able to enjoy vs. looking at the clock for bedtime.
Don’t try new workouts, classes, go skydiving, or anything that could lead to injury
Take care of easy home projects, clean out closets, gather donations, etc.
Focus on healthy habits. The last thing any runner wants to do is get sick before race day. Have foods that are full of Vitamin C, wash your hands, avoid concerts or extra crowded areas, etc., to minimize exposure to even the common cold within reason.
Give yourself some extra TLC: Massage, self-care, massage gun, compression sleeves, etc. *Note try to book massages early in taper, not the few days before race time*
Try some new recipes and fuel yourself with some cooking or baking. Both Coaches love the cookbooks from Elyse Kopecky and Shalane Flanigan
Try to reduce outside stressors like checking weather apps, race recaps, etc.
When in doubt, lean into your coach/community. They understand the emotions and uncertainty that come from taper---Don't be afraid to ask for help!
Above all else, don’t forget the taper is still part of your training.
While you taper and enjoy some freedom, keep the following tidbits in mind:
SLEEP ALL THE GLORIOUS SLEEP YOU CAN GET
Continue to fuel your body, don’t deprive yourself because your miles are lower. DRINK WATER LIKE ITS YOUR JOB.
Stay lightly active, don't go too far into the relaxed mindset, and just sit on the couch. Shake-out runs, walks, and light yoga are all taper friendly and encouraged.
If you want even more Taper Town goodness, head over to our Pinterest where we have recipes, Taper Activities, and so much more already picked out for you!
To all the athletes currently tapering, we wish you a peaceful couple of weeks and a happy race day to come!
Come share your race day goals with our community, bounce ideas off of other like-minded runners, and pull up a chair because every day is bRUNch day around here 😉
Be sure to tag us on Instagram @timeforbrunchpodcast so we can see how you choose to taper.