the marathon taper

A friend this morning shared with me her rule of thumb for a successful marathon taper.  It's very simple: 75% of your weekly mileage 3 weeks out, 50% 2 weeks out and 25% the week of.  Another rule of thumb is to never run (in one day) more miles than the number of days you have left before the race.  So if your race is on a Sunday, your long run the weekend before would not be more than 7 or 8, depending on the day you run.  I like simple and these rules of thumb work for me. 

What about you?  Do you have a rule of thumb that you live by when it comes to a taper before your race? 

the marathon taper

For me, it's that week. You know the one, the week our spouse loathes and we do everything we can to remain sane and normal. The last week before the "award" (aka race) for all those long miles logged, often in the dark this time of year. The week you are told to chilll out, relax, don't do anything strenuous, cut back on mileage... you know, the TAPER. I've increased my protein intake early this week and will soon switch over to increasing my carbohydrates. I've been in bed by 9:30pm and forcing myself to stay in bed until my kids wake up. I'm also drinking enough water to require a bathroom visit much more often than usual. I've been watching TV and looking for other mindless actitivies to do. My pulling-their-leashes-like-we're-in-an-Iditarod dogs are not getting walks by me. My last runs this week have been outlined so I know what I'll be doing between now and race day. I've made plans for a carbo-load dinner Saturday evening with friends and a meetup with those who will support me at points along the course Friday evening. I've arranged childcare for my kids and have determined when and where my husband will join me on the course. I've figured out what I will wear and have all the fuel supplies I need in order. This morning I treated my toes to a pedicure. I was unable to wear open-toed shoes after my last marathon for two months due to a massive blister and lost toenail. That's unacceptable here in Southern California. I need all my toes to be pretty before the race, just in case. The last thing on my To Do list is to update my playlist which I intend to do today. I know I'm as prepared as I can be, but I'm just not feeling ready, yet.

What do you do during the marathon taper? I'm really trying to stay calm, but I can't. Maybe you have a book or activity to suggest??

What's a taper?

For those of you who are running in Salt Lake on April 19, here is your friendly reminder: IT IS TIME TO TAPER! This means NO pushing it as hard as you can while out running. Today Kelly was chastised by her mentor about running too hard during the taper. We've decided that the only way to help her remember to not run too hard over the next 12 days is to make her wear this sign around her neck.

And just to be sure... I will wear it on my back while we are running and make her run right behind me so she doesn't forget: SLOW DOWN! Take it easy! Relax! It is time to let your body recover from all of the hard runs. You are in the best possible shape you can be in for this race. It is time to give your body a rest so it can give you 110% on race day. That goes for all of you crazy runners out there!

Ahhhh, I love to taper. This is the only time that we are told we HAVE to take it easy as runners. Enjoy your leisurely runs, ladies!