"Tapering is a special training period immediately preceding the major competition during which the training stimulus is reduced in a systematic non-linear fashion to achieve a peak in performance. Optimal physiology, technique and psychology are all outcomes of tapering. " (Thanks to the Australian Sports Commission for this definition- I don't know. It was one of the first Google results!).
It is the final stage of training. The culmination of 5 months of training. You would think that a runner would love the opportunity that tapering affords them. Reduced weekly mileage which means more downtime and a chance to rest. What's not to love about that?
I've always looked at tapering as a love hate relationship. On the one hand, you reduce the miles that you run after plateauing at the 21 mile long run. This gives you a bit more free time and a little less pressure of trying to fit all the training into an already hectic daily schedule.
It gives your body time to repair and prepare (oh, I like that one! It even rhymes!) itself for the big day. Kind of like a car front end alignment. Much needed after hitting all those potholes this spring. It is also a time to reflect and prepare mentally. All good things you would think right?
I liken tapering to the theme song of that 80's classic "The Facts of Life":
You take the good, you take the bad,
you take them both and there you have
The facts of life, the facts of life.
We've talked about the good. Now we talk about the bad. It is a challenge to train for so long with the goal to steadily increase mileage week after week and then all of a sudden wind it down to what seems like almost nothing over a couple of weeks. It goes against everything that you have been doing. Your body and mind wants to run more to keep up with the regime that it was used to.
There are those great mind games that kick in during taper. What else would your brain and body do with the extra time that it has now? You know that you have done everything possible to train and be ready for the big day. However, there is that certain moment when you start second guessing everything. I mean everything. Did I train enough? Did I do enough hill workouts? Should I have done a few more tempo runs? Is my refueling plan solid? It takes mental toughness to put that all aside and not listen to your head. I look at it and say that everything that I have done and my plan is what it is. I'm not going to change it now even though part of me wants to. Why? Because I did it all when I wasn't worrying about things and had a more clear head.
How about even more head game action? "Please sir, may I have another?" Why not! It is crazy the things that my mind comes up with during taper. The paranoia sets in and takes a death grip on all logical thinking. Did that person two offices down from me just sneeze? Did you just seriously cough in the same room that I am? Now I have to hold my breath for as long as I can hoping that the contaminated air sinks to the floor before it makes its way over to me. What was that twitch I just felt? Why do I have that pain in my knee all of a sudden (both of these are things we runners like to refer to as "phantom pains")? The desire to want to wipe everything down with Purell. Then spray it with Lysol just for old times sake. Why is it that there are so many people on crutches a couple of weeks leading up to Patriot's Day? Stay away! Heaven forbid if somebody with them walks in front of me. Sorry everyone, I'm not in my right mind right now so please forgive me for how I may treat you. It is as if every person on the face of the earth has the plague. Is it normal to take a paper towel with you after washing your hands in a public bathroom and then use it to open the door when leaving to protect your pristine hand from the germ laden handle? No? Oh...
I guess that I should probably just go wrap myself in bubble wrap and then climb into an inflatable bubble for the rest of this week. That sounds pretty logical and a very sane option to me right now! Go Taper Town!
Until next time, keep on runnin'!
You take the good, you take the bad,
you take them both and there you have
The facts of life, the facts of life.
We've talked about the good. Now we talk about the bad. It is a challenge to train for so long with the goal to steadily increase mileage week after week and then all of a sudden wind it down to what seems like almost nothing over a couple of weeks. It goes against everything that you have been doing. Your body and mind wants to run more to keep up with the regime that it was used to.
There are those great mind games that kick in during taper. What else would your brain and body do with the extra time that it has now? You know that you have done everything possible to train and be ready for the big day. However, there is that certain moment when you start second guessing everything. I mean everything. Did I train enough? Did I do enough hill workouts? Should I have done a few more tempo runs? Is my refueling plan solid? It takes mental toughness to put that all aside and not listen to your head. I look at it and say that everything that I have done and my plan is what it is. I'm not going to change it now even though part of me wants to. Why? Because I did it all when I wasn't worrying about things and had a more clear head.
How about even more head game action? "Please sir, may I have another?" Why not! It is crazy the things that my mind comes up with during taper. The paranoia sets in and takes a death grip on all logical thinking. Did that person two offices down from me just sneeze? Did you just seriously cough in the same room that I am? Now I have to hold my breath for as long as I can hoping that the contaminated air sinks to the floor before it makes its way over to me. What was that twitch I just felt? Why do I have that pain in my knee all of a sudden (both of these are things we runners like to refer to as "phantom pains")? The desire to want to wipe everything down with Purell. Then spray it with Lysol just for old times sake. Why is it that there are so many people on crutches a couple of weeks leading up to Patriot's Day? Stay away! Heaven forbid if somebody with them walks in front of me. Sorry everyone, I'm not in my right mind right now so please forgive me for how I may treat you. It is as if every person on the face of the earth has the plague. Is it normal to take a paper towel with you after washing your hands in a public bathroom and then use it to open the door when leaving to protect your pristine hand from the germ laden handle? No? Oh...
I guess that I should probably just go wrap myself in bubble wrap and then climb into an inflatable bubble for the rest of this week. That sounds pretty logical and a very sane option to me right now! Go Taper Town!
Until next time, keep on runnin'!
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