My legs are feeling tight today and I'm wishing I had legs that felt a bit more fresh.... However, this post below reminded me that this is just part of the whole experience.
Sometimes I think the best thing is to know that we are not alone and that our feelings and thoughts are completely normal... My prayer for you today Taylor is that you would know that you are not alone and that on your many colored days that this is all normal and part of this wild journey of life.
Taper Traps
Don't get caught making these common mistakes in the weeks
before your big race
SEP 5, 2006
Three-time marathoner Kris Kelley, 37, of Akron, Ohio, knows that the
toughest part of marathon training isn't the first few weeks out the door. Or
the slow grinding buildup of mileage. Or even the last sweat-soaked long run of
23 miles, three weeks before the race. No, Kelley knows that the toughest part
of marathon training is after all that, when she is walking across the parking
lot at Target, and suddenly a sharp pain strikes in her right knee. And there
she is, trying to hold back a panic attack. "Never does a pain like that
occur in the middle of intense training," she says. "But there is
something about those last couple of weeks before the marathon, when you are
cutting back your mileage, getting more rest, and preparing for the big race,
when everything, and I do mean everything, seems to bother you more."
Call them taper tantrums--the phantom
pains, panic attacks, and much more--that plague most marathoners during the
three-week period of decreased training just before the race. "Runners
develop not only a physical but also a psychological dependency on
running," says Troy Smurawa, M.D., a 2:46 marathoner and physician at
Akron Children's Hospital Sports Medicine Center. "So when runners take
time off, they go through withdrawal." Hence, the weird constellation of
mental and physical symptoms that crop up during the taper.
Thing is, if you know what to expect as you back off your training, you'll be
better equipped to survive your taper and arrive at the marathon starting line
feeling rested and ready to run. To that end, we've outlined the most common
mental and physical problems associated with the taper, when they're likely to
occur, and how to deal with them so that you can relax, and, dare we say, enjoy
your weeks of rest--not to mention race day.
THREE WEEKS TO GO
Trap: Craving Carbs
Symptoms: The urge to stuff yourself with high-carbohydrate foods
to ensure a vast supply of energy for the marathon.
Cause: "During those last three weeks, marathoners tend to
think only carbs, carbs, carbs," says Vince Rucci, head of the Vertical
Runner Marathon Training Group in Hudson, Ohio. But shoveling down the carbs, particularly
at the expense of other important nutrients like protein, will make you feel
bloated and will accelerate--and inflate--the normal water-weight gain
associated with a taper
Solution: During your taper, slightly modify the carbohydrate-based
diet you've maintained throughout your marathon training. "Simply
emphasize the carbs already in your diet," says Nancy Clark, R.D., a
sports nutritionist in Boston. "For example, instead of having chicken
with rice, have rice with chicken." Clark recommends taking in 55 to 65
percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 10 to 15 percent from protein, and
20 to 30 percent from fat. Ensure the proteins are low in fat, such as chicken,
fish, lean meats, beans, and legumes.
Trap: The Impulse to Cram
Symptoms: The sudden, irrational urge to "cram" in extra
miles and more long runs, speedwork, and other quality marathon training during
your taper, especially early on when your body is feeling primed for peak
performance.
Cause: "Runners tend to be focused and goal-driven," says
Kate Hays, Ph.D., the director of the Toronto Marathon Psyching Team, which
offers peak-performance strategies to marathoners. "When they enter a
stressful situation, such as the last weeks before a marathon, they rely on
actions that have been proven to get results--like the cramming we all did
before tests when we were in school." But while all that extra,
last-minute studying may have helped you ace a college exam, additional
training during your taper will only leave you feeling exhausted come race day.
Solution: "Rational thinking helps," says Hays. Realize
that extra mileage and harder training at this point will hurt your marathon,
not help it. Research has shown that those who taper properly perform better
than those who train right up until race day. To convince yourself that you've
done all the work necessary to run a good race, review your training log
thoroughly, noting all the weeks of high mileage, long runs, and tough
workouts. And no matter how short and easy your runs get during the taper, keep
recording your workouts in your log to reinforce the feeling that you are
studiously sticking to the plan.
Trap: Pressure to Perform
Symptoms: The overwhelming fear that the time goal you've set and
trained for diligently is now somehow much too ambitious (what were you
thinking?).
Cause: Once your peak training is over, it gets harder to feel
confident in your abilities to maintain your goal pace. Many marathoners obsess
on the five- or 10-minute gap between their goal time and the time they
"fear" they might actually run--for example, crossing the line in
4:10, not 4:00, which would somehow make the marathon a failure.
Solution: Insert a couple marathon-pace miles in the middle of some
runs during your taper (say two to three miles at marathon pace part-way
through a couple of eight-milers) to reinforce confidence in your ability to
hold that pace. You should also develop an alternative time goal that you can
live with that's five or 10 minutes slower than your ideal goal in case the
weather on race day--or your body--just doesn't cooperate.
TWO WEEKS TO GO
Trap: Recovery Rebound
Symptoms: A feeling of strength and complete fitness midway through
the taper. Your body is itching to race.
Cause: As your mileage starts to decline after your last heavy
training week, your body rebounds. The added rest and the four good months of
training you have behind you have strengthened your body and your
confidence.
Solution: No matter how good you feel, don't risk your months of
marathon training for a PR or an age-group award at a local 10-K. A strained
hamstring that plagues you throughout your marathon could be the subsequent
door prize. Instead, re-read your marathon application to get yourself psyched
for the big day. And meet with your training buddies for coffee to discuss
marathon-day strategies. Also, find something active and productive to do on
Saturday or Sunday mornings--say cutting the grass--to take your mind off of
racing. Or if you must be around runners, volunteer at a local race. The energy
there will give you your "race fix" without ruining your marathon
chances.
Trap: Phantom Pains
Symptoms: A totally new pain in the foot, knee, hip, back, or
insert-any-body-part here that strikes for no apparent reason.
Cause: Twinges and passing aches are all part of the body's
rejuvenation process. "During a taper, tissue repair on the microscopic
level causes muscle twitches and sometimes muscle cramps as the body
adapts," says Dr. Smurawa. Also, when we run less, and worry more about our
marathon, everyday aches and pains-which would normally be ignored--get exaggerated
to the point of lunacy.
Solution: Think of each phantom pain as a signal that the body is
healing itself and preparing you for the marathon. Since your workouts are now
shorter, spend some extra time on your favorite stretches to help relax your
body. And if you like whirlpools or long baths, indulge. Also, if you've had
massages during other parts of your training, get one this week. It will
further aid the healing process.
Trap: Panic Attacks
Symptoms: Every time you feel an ache or start to think about some
aspect of the race, you jump to a doomsday conclusion. (I have a stress
fracture! The hill at mile nine is going to be the end of me!)
Cause: Most panic attacks stem from a lack of confidence and a fear
of the unknown. "This is a particular problem for first-time
marathoners," says Hays. If you've never run a marathon before, or you've
never run a particular marathon course, you have no experience to draw from to
boost your confidence.
Solution: Collect all the information you can about the racecourse
from your registration materials, the race's Web site, and even personal
insight from those who have run it in previous years. If possible, run parts of
the course or ride the whole thing. Some races offer guided bus tours of their
marathon route the day or two before the event. Knowing everything you can
about that hill at mile nine will help you conquer it. You can also come up
with solutions to problems that might arise during the marathon, such as how
you'll handle a blister or a side stitch, so that you know you'll be prepared
to overcome any obstacle.
ONE WEEK TO GO
Trap: Heavy Legs
Symptoms: A tired, heavy feeling centered in the legs, but
affecting your whole body, that you get late in a taper.
Cause: "Tissue repair in the legs during recovery, coupled with the fact
that you are storing more carbohydrate and water late in the taper, will make
you feel like you do after eating a big meal," says Dr. Smurawa. In other
words, you feel like a slug.
Solution: Remember you're not the only one feeling this way.
"Just knowing that this is how tapering marathoners are supposed to feel
can help curb your anxiety," says Robert Udewitz, Ph.D., a sports
psychologist and the director of Behavior Therapy of New York. Also, try a few
strides (100-meter sprints) after some of your easy runs. Strides can help
knock off the rust, leaving you feeling fresh and ready without overdoing it.
Trap: That Sinking Feeling
Symptoms: A feeling of malaise, depression, and hopelessness, which
often accompanies the physical sluggishness that intensifies at the end of a
taper.
Cause: "Generally, running counters feelings of anxiety and
depression," says Hays. "So as you run less miles, bad feelings tend
to crop back up and increase."
Solution: Take a short-term approach. "You only have to get
through the rest of the taper," says Hays. Do a little low-impact and
low-intensity cross-training--like pool running--to generate the good feelings
you normally get from running. Also, use your downtime to focus on other things
that bring pleasure to your life, such as listening to music, cooking, and
being with family and friends. And rent some funny movies or read a few joke
books to lighten your mood.
Trap: Weight Gain
Symptoms: A couple of additional pounds that show up on the scale
at the end of a taper.
Cause: When we eat high-carbohydrate foods to stock our glycogen
(energy) reserves, water is stored along with the glycogen. "If you have
been chronically dehydrated, that extra water can cause some gain in weight
during a marathon taper, since you're running less and not sweating as
much," says Clark.
Solution: Realize that the extra "water weight" will be
beneficial during the marathon. It will actually help keep you better hydrated
on race day, when it will be released as the glycogen is burned. But you can
also do a few practical things to help you cope with this temporary weight
gain. Don't weigh yourself during the three-week taper period. And if the
feeling of tighter-than-normal clothes causes you anxiety, wear clothes with
more forgiving waistbands and drawstrings.
