Taper taper taper! Marathon runners

pzarnosky

How did you feel during the taper phase of training? Just looking for general input from everyone. 7 days and a wake up from my first marathon! Beyond excited for it! The taper is throwing me a bit though. Honestly I feel stiffer and more achy than I do when I was running higher miles. Just curious what others' experiences are.

SchweddyGirl

You will get phantom aches and pains during taper. Nearly every marathoner does. I always hate taper weeks...I get grumpy, have too much time on my hands, and my body still wants me to shove food in my belly as if I am running a 20 mile run every day. Trust your training. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate this week. To fill in the gaps during taper week, I usually toss in extra stretching and it helps to ease the aches I get.

MeanderingMammal

Aviation and achiness are no surprise. Your body is recovering from the stress of training.

This last week is your opportunity to replenish your fuel, hydrate and relax.

SKME2013

The taper is really important, so take it seriously. Eat a lot of carbs the last week and drink a lot of water. I just finished my fifth marathon (Berlin) and for the first time I took the carb loading seriously. I qualified for Boston. Best of luck with your marathon!

ejyennie

Tapering is the hardest part of training! You get all sorts of weird pains, have all this extra time....be careful not to overdo the eating: hydrate wisely and put your feet up. Stretching, massages: all good.

MobyCarp

Taper: Physically easy, mentally very difficult.

spiriteagle99

Odd aches and pains are normal. Watch out you don't catch a cold. I ended up sick right after two of my marathons. Rest as much as you can, but don't worry too much if you're too excited to sleep. Just rest your body. Visualize yourself enjoying the race, crossing the finish line with a big smile on your face. Don't replace running with other exercise. The goal is healing and rest. You'll be amazed at how easy marathon pace feels in the first few miles of your race.

pzarnosky

MobyCarp wrote: »

Taper: Physically easy, mentally very difficult.

Lol love it! Thank you everyone for the input! I'm really excited for this! Not loving the weather outlook so far but it will get done either way.
I'm definitely feeling restless and my routine is thrown off but rested legs will be wonderful come Sunday!

janejellyroll

Tapering is the worst! I just did a marathon, so the experience is very vivid in my mind. My body ached, I felt irritated all the time, I was jittery, and I felt like I was on the verge of a cold (which never materialized).

All I wanted to do was run. Fortunately, I was prepared and knew what to expect (because it happened last year too) and I was able to get through it.