Training during taper weeks - Physical or Mental benefits?
Hi all,
Thanks for checking in on my latest post on my running adventures!
With 4 days to go until my next marathon it is important to find a balance between training and resting. Popular training schedules advice a 2 to 3 week taper in which you gradually focus more and more on resting and recovery and less on training. The idea is that the months of training are done, the additional training will add hardly any benefit as it takes time to rebuild - but it does put your body on some extra stress and you risk injuries. When fully rested your body should be able to maintain a faster pace while using less energy.
The benefit of light training during taper is both mentally aswell as physically:
Mentally: any additional km you trained can give you more confidence that you got this (while physically you already had, it is about you believing that you in fact do).
Structured training schedules can be hard and sometimes a bit much. Taper week runs can be used for fun runs. Find a comfortable pace - and get back to the WHY. Why are you running, why are you going for the marathon - knowing that can help you big time when you are struggling during the race.
Physically: by starting the run not 100% rested - you can reduce the risk of going out too strong. Which happened in my first marathon in 2015 - where I ran the first 10k at a pace of 4:15/km only to hit the wall at 32km and finishing (eventually around 3:50:00).
I find that light training during taper helps to set negative splits and thus get you a better race day experience.
The key word is balance, no need to race or set a new pr during taper, but do keep moving and have fun!
Today’s run
In spirit of the text above, today’s run was a recovery run. Slow and steady at a low heatrate.
It is called a recovery run as due to the low heartrate it hardly costs any energy, but it does stimulate bloodflow and thus helps you recover faster. For me recovery runs are runs on a heartbeat of 128-140bpm.
The weather was beautiful, and with all the layers of clothing I was wearing it was even a bit hot. But it was a nice lunchbreak!
Resting
Physically, resting is most important now. I will try to incorporate 2h power naps to support my recovery and for next few days mindlessly watching tv will be replaced with mindfullness and meditation!
Happy running!
