The Taper whirlies

I send this post marathon (spoiler alert: it went well 😁), although it was written in the days leading into my race at Indianapolis with every intent to post and share beforehand (I opted for zero distractions the day before and have zero regrets about that since I believe it helped me stay fully focused on race day) and also serves as a reminder to not just think about time on feet the days before a marathon but also tasks on the mind (what things can wait a few more days).

The Taper. So far I’ve broken my foot 2 times, torn my meniscus, dislocated my ankle, and I’m at the beginning stages of one of the worst colds this household has ever witnessed. I’m being dramatic of course, but these thoughts have all entered my mind at some point in the past 2 weeks. There’s was the random knee pain during the warm up for a workout that lasted 15seconds but consumed my mind the rest of the morning. What on Earth was that? I’ve stepped on 2 pieces of Lego and dropped a water filter on my toe. The next 10 steps were the slowest and most stressful of my life, but we are all good. Illness did strike our house 2 weeks out, that part is true. With 2 young kiddos, that is inevitable, but thankfully any contamination to me has been very mild and we’ll take that given the time of year. Still, every snotty nose that was lovingly wiped on me or every cough in the face as I go in for a good night kiss was met with a complete whole body disinfection process and extra dose of Vitamin C just to be sure it stayed that way.

When my wife casually asks, 3 days out from race day, to return the boxes of Halloween to the attic and retrieve the Christmas decorations (yes, we are early starters), I responded with the luck of a mad man. That activity simply carries too much risk so close to race day that this will not be happening (wish me luck doing this 2 days post marathon though 😂). It’s fair to say my family much preferred non-taper me.

The taper is a wild time. As a coach, it’s a time when I am at my most interactive with athletes because we know it’s a challenging period for athletes both physically and mentally. We spend weeks looking forward to that taper when training will be “easier”, but once we get there, it doesn’t feel easy at all. We are creatures of routine and the taper disrupts that routine. The mind and body struggles with that. As the mileage begins to decrease we find ourselves with a bit more time on our hands. What should we do with that time? Should I sleep in an extra 15min? Well, the body doesn’t like that, I’m still waking up at my usual time. With mileage typically cut down to 60% and then 40% of your average peak weeks mileage it’s disorientating. Going for a 4mile run instead of 9miles just seems wrong. My body gets antsy, it’s harder to focus on other tasks during the day, and all I want to do is go out and run. I resist though and settle for a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood.

My training block has been great and I’ve felt strong throughout, especially in those peak weeks, but now I begin to question myself. Did I do enough? I really wish that owl hadn’t attacked me and disrupted that tempo run, will that make a difference? I should have done more strength work. Maybe I should have done a longer tempo workout? Can I really hold that pace for 26.2miles? Seeds of doubt creep in until the coach in me steps in. I flip the narrative to focus on all the things that went well and the ways in which I’ve grown. Not just in this training cycle, but over the years. I enjoy looking back at my previous training logs to recognize this and it gives me confidence. I remind myself that more isn’t always better. Taking away or replacing with something different is equally as useful. I am heading to the race line healthy, strong, and knowing I gave it everything in this training block and that’s all the answers I need going into race day.

As race day creeps nearer, the race becomes consuming. Weather checking becomes a daily chore. I’ve planned out and revised my carbo load and prepared my shopping list like a 6 year old carefully planning out their wish list to Santa.  I review the course over and over again. I read blogs and race reports, re-listen to podcasts and re-watch YouTube clips about the race as a sort of security blanket that knowing more about the race will somehow protect me. I’ve negotiated with my family to have 2 low key weeks with no travel in the buildup. They are sacrificing more than me because they are doing this for me. Everyone continues to ask “How are you feeling?” “Ready to go”? Honestly, I don’t know. Shouldn’t my legs feel fresher or bouncier right now. Gosh, that Marathon pace workout felt harder than I thought it would. My HRV plummets and my Wingle-Wangle device (I just made this but reflects how I feel about most health metric trackers) states that I’m being unproductive and ridicules  the idea that a PR might be on the cards (but seriously, please don’t check or read into your fitness metrics at this time, nothing good comes from it). Again, I remind myself, I’m not meant to be feeling good right now, I’m in the process of getting to ‘feel good and fresh’ for race day, not right now. That change in routine continues to throw me off, but keeping the frequency of my running the same is helping.

The taper can derail your good work if you let it. It can be tempting to add more, do a little extra, push the intensity a little higher, and/or throw in something new you saw your friend or an influencer push out on socials. Now is not the time. The taper is a time we need to execute the greatest amount of discipline and apply your strongest focus. Hopefully your training has prepared you for this. That progression run your coach gave you was not just about training physiology. It was about building that mental discipline to stay controlled early on when the urge is to jump right in. That time your coach nitpicked at your run because you went too fast or had splits all over the place. That was them refining your focus. The taper whirlies will come, but show that discipline. Stay level headed. Remind yourself of the positives and the growth you have shown (don’t just put it all on the outcome of a single race). Most importantly, as Des puts it, “believe it is all within you” and this is just an opportunity to grow.