Monday: With the final 20-miler now history, the taper begins. The entire purpose of training over the next three weeks is to allow you to rest your body after the previous 15 weeks of progressively tougher training. This means gradually reducing the training load, thus the term "taper." My taper philosophy is that you cut mileage to 75% in Week 16, 50% in Week 17 and 25% (not including the marathon itself) in Week 18. The numbers don't work out exactly--going from 43 to 32 to 24 to 9--but they're close. Since today is a cross-training day, you should spend about 75% of the time you spent the week before. Skip training today in favor of total rest if you want. Easy swimming is always a good option the day after a long run, since it helps to loosen tightened muscles.

Tuesday: Five miles easy. While total miles for the week drop, some workouts remain about the same. That is true today. You've begun your taper, but the decline is shallow for these first few days. Maintain your usual pace for this distance. During the taper, quality (meaning how fast you run) should remain about the same. Quantity (how far you run) is the element that declines.

Wednesday: Six miles. You had reached a peak of 8 miles in four of the six previous weeks. The drop in mileage will be subtle at first, then more pronounced. The serious training is done. You now focus on getting to the starting line well rested. Running two miles fewer should allow you to finish this workout 15-20 minutes sooner, taking some of the pressure off fitting this (sorta) long run into into a busy business (or family) day.

Thursday: Five easy miles. In Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide, I quote David L. Costill, Ph.D. of Ball State University, who says that runners sometimes train too hard in the weeks immediately preceding a marathon: "They feel they need one last butt-busting workout and end up tearing themselves down." In research with swimmers, Dr. Costill noted that they often set PRs by tapering as much as three to six weeks before an event. Research with runners suggested a three-week taper might work best. The better your preparation (the 15 weeks just past), the more you can afford to take time off, and the more likely you will achieve success.

Friday: Rest day. Continuing the thread begun two days ago quoting Dr. Costill's research, he found the main problem with tapering runners was that, psychologically, they worried about losing conditioning by running less, so became anxious. Also, at least in early time trials following a taper, they were so well rested and felt so good they ran the first few laps of a 5,000-meter test run too fast and faded in the final laps. (They got the message the next time tested and did better.) Rest is essential. Believe me when I tell you, you won't lose conditioning when you taper. On race day, however, you're going to need to control any impulses to run the first few miles too fast.

Saturday: Four miles at marathon pace. Have you got it right yet? I hope so, because this is the last pace run I will ask you to do. Research suggests that you need to continue to train at, or near, race pace on the hard days. Duncan MacDougall, Ph.D. of McMaster University also studied tapering. "We still don't know what the optimal tapering plan is," he finally concluded, "but we do know that if you're going to be tapering for a week or so, it's important to keep the intensity of your workouts fairly high as you cut back drastically on your mileage." Dr. MacDougall was working with 10-K runners, who would necessarily taper a shorter time, but the message for marathoners remains the same. Reduce quantity, but maintain quality.

Sunday: Today's run is 12 miles, long by standards of three months ago, but hopefully an easy stroll in the park following all the training you've done. Maintain the same pace as your usual weekend runs. One of the reasons for these long runs is to get your body used to moving for a long period of time, as well as distance. If you cut the time length of your workouts short by running too fast, you spoil the effect of the taper and don't get full benefit. Marathon running is a psychological, as well as physical, game.

 

Tip of the Week: Research suggests that runners often catch a cold or the flu the final week before the marathon, or the week after the marathon. That's because in building to a mileage peak, they often overdo it and temporarily suppress their immune systems. Marathoners thus are more vulnerable to any viruses they might encounter. To avoid colds, try to avoid people who have them. And get plenty of rest.

How to Improve: Hal Higdon's Smart Running is a collection of questions and answers from his on-line Ask The Expert column. It covers everything you wanted to know about running, but were afraid to ask. To order an autographed copy of this and other books by Runner's World's best writer go to Books by Hal Higdon.

 

Copyright © 2000 by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved.