Monday: With the final 20-miler now history, the taper begins. Run 5 miles today, the same as the last two weeks, but you'll do less on other days this week. 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 about 52 to 36 to 28 to 11--but they're close. Skip training today in favor of total rest if you want. Easy swimming is also a good option the day after a long run, since it helps to loosen tightened muscles.

Tuesday: Run 6 X Hill, short of of the 7 X Hill workout you did three weeks ago--but that's part of the plan. You've begun your taper, but the decline is shallow for these first few days. Maintain your usual pace for this and other workouts these last three weeks. 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: Five miles, still the same as last week. 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.

Thursday: Thirty minutes for the tempo run. That's the same as the first week of your training. A good pattern might be 10-15 minutes at the start, then 10-15 fast in the middle with 5 minutes cooling down. But listen to what your body tells you to do. You've done this workout enough in the last three months to know how it works. 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. (Members of my V-Team refer to this as "Taper Madness.") 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: With the 20-milers past, the focus shifts to maintaining your endurance peak. Run 12 miles today, and resist the urge to pick up the pace in this "easy" run. It's okay to run the last miles somewhat faster, but not the entire workout. 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 © 2001 by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved.