Marathon Taper – Intensity vs. Distance
As we are the midst of marathon season for runners, writing about intensity vs. distance during the marathon taper period should be something that I thought would interested everyone.
Marathon Tapering is a pretty standard concept. Most people understand that after months of training the body needs to recover to be ready for their big race day effort.
The true question becomes how much distance and how much intensity should be targeted during the taper. Too much of either or both will cause your race day to be something other than the effort that you want. Too little of either can leave you feeling sluggish and wondering if your feet are embedded in concrete.
Being that I am in the final week of my taper for OBX, I thought I would share what I have been doing.
My training plans typically drop the mileage by 10% off the peak week for the first week of a 3 week taper. 20% off the 2nd week of the taper and finish with 30% to 40% during week leading up to the marathon.
Where does the mileage come out of my schedule? Well, first I don't drop days or to say it another way, take very short, very easy days. After so many training days, the body usually gets into a rhythm. It expects certain workouts on certain days. In my opinion, this rhythm is something that needs to be continued.
My suggestion is to shave a few miles off of each workout. Just a few miles can make a world of difference. Dropping my miles from 16 to 12 or to 10 can leave my legs a lot fresher even for the very next day.
For long runs, I will do a 20 miler 2 weeks out and a 16 miler one week out. Some people prefer a shorter long run the week before the marathon. However, I have found that 16 usually will work well for me. Pacewise, these long run efforts will be at an easy pace. This is the time that I like to hook up with a few people and knock down the miles at conversational pace.
What about the other factor – Intensity? To me, the intensity aspect is the most difficult to get right. Tapering leaves the legs with an extra bounce. Therefore, body is more willing to push in harder. And, in its self this is a good think but it needs to be kept in perspective.
During the 1st week of my taper, I stay with a least 2 hard but consist efforts. The 2nd week, I will still have 2 hard efforts but I like to do them right around marathon pace or maybe just a little faster. The idea being that on race day the pace should feel easy to me. In the week leading up to the marathon, I will schedule my final speed session. Usually, I like to do this speed session at marathon pace for 2 to 3 miles of an overall workout. This workout should be at least 3 to (preferably) 4 days out from race day. This leaves me plenty of recovery time.
Now, for the word of caution, our tapers leave us with the desire to run harder. Sometime, this desire is very overwhelming. This can be especially during group workouts. Some one that you have been chasing is suddenly within reach so you decide to dig a little deeper and get them.
My advice to you is do not do it. Digging too far into your reserves could very well mean that you leave your best efforts on some unknown track, road, or trail rather than on the race course.
More than once, I have watched other runners put distance on me during workouts in my taper period. I wanted so badly to push on and stay with them. I wanted to test my limits, but I always had a plan and stuck to it. In nearly every case, this was the right decision because on race day I had the necessary mental and physical reserves needed to race well. And, I like to think my times show it.
Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner
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