The Joy and Stress of Tapering

On November 17 I'll be racing the Philadelphia Marathon. After a completing my triathlon season I have returned to my running roots and put in a short, but solid, block of running. While the mileage wasn't as large as past cycles, the mileage was focused. With a solid triathlon base, "junk" miles were not necessary. The only issue was a slight muscle strain that put a twist in the plan. Now, in the final two weeks, it is time to heal and get ready to physically race. It is time to taper.

There are some who enjoy the taper. I don't. I like to train. Let me rephrase that ... I really like to train. A lot. I think back to big Ironman focused weeks and I smile. Big weeks when you are fit make you feel strong; big weeks make you feel like you never need to stop.

Tapering is the exact opposite.After weeks of building fitness these final two weeks are about rest and recovery - getting the legs to feel awesome on race day. I totally get the theory. The problem I have with this process can be summed up in four words: It feels like shit. 

Here is the not exact analogy I always go back to: When I was in college, the end of the semester was always a time of high stress and focus, making sure that papers were done and the studying for finals was complete. A lot of time and energy expended with little sleep to ensure my final grades were up to the standards I expected of myself. During those weeks it was easy to be focused. During those weeks it was easy to be efficient. During those weeks it always felt good. This is the equivalent of the big work you do during the build phase of a training cycle. And then it happened ...

After weeks of focused work I would crash. Hard. All of a sudden I didn't feel good, slept a crazy amount, got lazy and unfocused. Some semesters I would get a bit sick (although, as usual, I would go into total denial). This is the taper of the analogy.

About two weeks later I would come out of the funk and could once again contribute to society. In my mind this is like race day.

Back to today. My legs ache. I'm tired. A little moody. And I really want to crank up the training. Hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure the "marathon flu"* will start sometime soon. Other than some riding while down in Florida last week (post to follow), I haven't done any serious riding for some time, while swims have been limited in duration and intensity. Now the run miles are dwindling. Ugh.

I know it has to be done in order to have a chance to reach my goal of running a Boston Qualifying time. It sucks. It feels like shit. It's annoying. It's necessary.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon


* The Marathon Flu is that feeling you get during the taper period where you constantly feel like you are getting sick. The fake sore throat or the sniffles are the main symptoms