I used to hate taper week. I'd get to this point a week before the race, stop training hard and then worry that my "resting" was going to somehow ruin my training, and that I wouldn't be able to finish the race...or that something would go wrong in the days between finishing the hard training and getting to the race...or any number of other irrational thoughts. Then, sometime shortly after my appendix ruptured 12 days before a 1/2 marathon, and I still managed to finish the race, I started to embraced the taper for what it was, a well deserved break to stockpile energy for the main event! Even science and this nifty line graph says it's a good idea!
You must keep your mileage above your accumulated fatigue. No taper?...prepare to crash! So...taper it is!
Of course before the taper comes the final long run, which in my case was last Saturday morning. When you run in the summer in the upper midwest, you generally expect to cope with some heat and humidity, and last Saturday was the epitome of an August day...85 degrees...85% humidity...let's go for a run!
There are some tricks and tips for running in the heat. The best advice has always been to slow down. Some people say add up to a minute/mile when the temperature is high. Other people will recommend taking your normal pace down by 10%. All people agree to run slower (So I had no business running my first three miles as fast as I did on Saturday.)
The second best piece of advice is to stay hydrated. I carry water with me on a running "utility belt" of sorts. I also carry nutrition with me. For a half marathon, I've been training with clementine oranges and grapes on long runs (one or the other, not both). Some people swear by gels. Some people eat nothing. It's personal preference. However, when it's hot, we all need hydration, so whether it's a bottle you carry with you, or a route that passes a couple public water options, or a route that loops you back to your own kitchen a time or two to take a couple quick sips, water is a must.
Of course, the nice thing about tapering in the summer is that it gets you out of the heat for the most part the week before the race. That should give the body a chance to recoup and fully rehydrate before running the race.
Yes the taper is a good thing...and runner's should embrace it, especially in the heat!
But doesn't it just stand to reason that after running in the heat all summer, the week that would be time to taper, the temperature would just tank!?! I woke up to rain this morning, the threat of thunderstorms this afternoon, and 65 degrees? 65 degrees is great, and I don't even mind running in the rain! But it's taper week...better keep it light and easy! Tomorrow it's only supposed to hit 60. 60! But it's taper week...better keep it light and easy!
It's supposed to be up in the eighties again by race day on Saturday because, well, it's the upper midwest in the summer.
But as I ran in longsleeves this morning...and I'm sitting in sweatpants and a pullover now....I don't just feel like I'm tapering on this race, I feel like I'm tapering on the summer. Didn't I just write about the chilly crispness of fall? Well for the next few days anyways, we've got it!
Happy Trails,
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