As we get closer to fall races, more athletes are getting ready to run their fall races. As we get closer to these races, it is good to talk about one of the most important parts of your training plan: the taper! What exactly is the taper? It’s not exactly a time to kick back and relax/do nothing. The taper is going to give you a chance to peak for your race at the right time. If you do too short of a taper, you run the risk of feeling heavy legs on race day. If you do too long or extreme of a taper, you might feel out of the swing of things when the gun goes off on race day. We will be tapering by reducing the volume but keeping in some intensity so that your legs still have the bounce in them. During the taper, you may feel worse because your body is in recovery mode. This might cause athletes to freak out mentally, but don’t worry! This is all apart of the process. How long should the taper be for a marathon or half marathon? Marathon 2 weeks vs 3-4 weeks Half Marathon 2 weeks Should you taper for all races or just A races? What are your goals? B races are most of your races Tapering & recovery is a bit of a waste of time What % of weekly mileage should you be running during the taper First week 70-80% of peak miles Second week 70-80% of previous week Third Week 70-80% of that prior week but it’s race week so it might be more What should you eat? What should your sleep look like? Is it okay to go faster on your easy days? What if you feel like crap? Phantom pains What if you feel really good and want to test your fitness?