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Taper vs. One Last Long Run
autumnblade75
Posts: 1,660 Member
in Debate Club
As a first time marathoner whose goal is just to finish the race, would you consider it more beneficial to back off the running for 2 weeks prior to the race, or making sure that you were absolutely confident that the distance isn't beyond your ability by running 26.2 the week before?
I'm a month out and haven't gotten beyond 22 miles, ever. Ideally, I'd like to hit 26.2 two weeks before the race and accept a slightly shorter taper. I'm just running out of time and worried about Everything.
I'm a month out and haven't gotten beyond 22 miles, ever. Ideally, I'd like to hit 26.2 two weeks before the race and accept a slightly shorter taper. I'm just running out of time and worried about Everything.
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Replies
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If you haven't done 26.2 in training (which is fine, I never ran 13.1 before my first half, and managed to complete it in a shorter time than I expected, and I'm sure people do the same for marathons) I wouldn't ramp it up and attempt it the week before the actual thing. Your body will gain more from being fully rested.
It's normal to have these worries. If you've done 22 miles in training I would imagine adrenaline and grit will take you over the finish line.2 -
autumnblade75 wrote: »I'm a month out and haven't gotten beyond 22 miles, ever.
Beginner plans generally top out at 20 miles. After that it's only another 10k. Your plan should have you running long on tired legs as well anyway.
There are two things to think about, the impact of running longer, and the value of the taper.
To address the first, the recovery needed from running the distance far outweighs any physiological benefit from running the distance.
And as for the second, your training will have left you in a stressed and depleted condition. You need two weeks taper to refuel, and rest enough to prepare for the race.
I'd also make the observation that most plans for experienced runners top out at 16 or 18 miles, and many ultra plans are sitting at the 20 mile point for the majority of the longs, albeit back to back 20s.
It's normal to be anxious, but trust your plan.5 -
Many marathon training programs don't have you going over 20 miles. Assuming decent mileage during your training program you will be fine and now is time to taper, not run the marathon a couple weeks before the event.
Best of luck.0 -
TAPER!! Your body will thank you for it and you will be on fresh legs race day.
Have a great race!!0 -
Taper. If you can run 22 miles, you can run 26.2 miles. All beginner plans have the longest long run as less than 26.2 miles. Do NOT run 26.2 the week before. One week enough not enough recovery time, especially if this is your first marathon, unless, you're ok with a injury or DNF.1
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Taper. You will not regret it. You will definitely regret NOT tapering. I promise. It feels wrong and always will but it's the right way to prepare. You can't cram for a marathon and if you've done 22 miles you are more than ready.1
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Taper! This one is not even close. If you have done 22 then you are ready. I have finished 10, and generally max out at 20 in my training.1
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Yeah, taper. Marathon programs for beginners don't have a 26 mile run, let alone the week before.1
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Ok. 2 full weeks of taper it is.
I don't suppose my lax adherence to the training plan changes anything, either. 22 miles was 2 months ago before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
Seriously - that last 10k is a full extra hour, on top of the other 4 I will already have run. I hear how that sounds like whining, but if it's this easy to talk myself out of finishing an 18 mile training run, I have no doubt that I can psyche myself out on race day.
The good news is that I still have 2 weeks to do whatever I can to feel ready before the 2 weeks that everyone insists that I must taper. There's no reason for anyone but me to feel invested in any bad news here. I will try to suck it up.
Thank you all for your advice. I suppose it's helpful that nobody even wanted to debate the side of psychological preparedness.0 -
autumnblade75 wrote: »Ok. 2 full weeks of taper it is.
I don't suppose my lax adherence to the training plan changes anything, either. 22 miles was 2 months ago before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
Seriously - that last 10k is a full extra hour, on top of the other 4 I will already have run. I hear how that sounds like whining, but if it's this easy to talk myself out of finishing an 18 mile training run, I have no doubt that I can psyche myself out on race day.
The good news is that I still have 2 weeks to do whatever I can to feel ready before the 2 weeks that everyone insists that I must taper. There's no reason for anyone but me to feel invested in any bad news here. I will try to suck it up.
Thank you all for your advice. I suppose it's helpful that nobody even wanted to debate the side of psychological preparedness.
to be fair it sounds like you'e going to do whatever you like regardless of what people are telling you.
and yes, if you're talking yourself out of 18 mile training runs, you do have bigger problems. good luck!2 -
autumnblade75 wrote: »Ok. 2 full weeks of taper it is.
I don't suppose my lax adherence to the training plan changes anything, either. 22 miles was 2 months ago before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
Seriously - that last 10k is a full extra hour, on top of the other 4 I will already have run. I hear how that sounds like whining, but if it's this easy to talk myself out of finishing an 18 mile training run, I have no doubt that I can psyche myself out on race day.
The good news is that I still have 2 weeks to do whatever I can to feel ready before the 2 weeks that everyone insists that I must taper. There's no reason for anyone but me to feel invested in any bad news here. I will try to suck it up.
Thank you all for your advice. I suppose it's helpful that nobody even wanted to debate the side of psychological preparedness.
I dunno, if I wanted to be 100% psychologically prepared I wouldn't run 26 miles before the event.
I'd run 30. Maybe even 35 two weeks before and another 30 the week before. That way 26.2 would seem easy as heck and I'd be soooooooo psyched up to have such a comparatively easy day on actual race day. No reason to listen to all of these people years and years of running experience. They don't know what's inside our heads. No reason to trust the coaching program that we trusted for months while training for this event. We will show the world a brand new way to do this!is that enough debate for you? Can we just stick to the original plan now?3 -
autumnblade75 wrote: »... before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
So what was your reason for the DNF?
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »autumnblade75 wrote: »... before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
So what was your reason for the DNF?
I'd be more concerned about the reasons behind that than debating psychological preparedness.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »autumnblade75 wrote: »... before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
So what was your reason for the DNF?
I learned on race day exactly what they meant by technical trails. I decided I'd enjoy the rest of my vacation a lot more if I didn't break an ankle falling down the switchback into a pile of cactus.
I was having trouble following the poorly marked trail, I had no idea how many miles I had actually covered, there were no other runners in sight until I hit the aid station and I wasn't confident that my corpse would be spotted by any potential runners behind me if I did fall off the poorly marked trail that I wasn't even certain I was even on. It was a bad experience all around. Not solely because of the distance.
The race I signed up for immediately upon returning home is a nice flat road race, where the distance will be the primary challenge.
I dunno, if I wanted to be 100% psychologically prepared I wouldn't run 26 miles before the event.
I'd run 30. Maybe even 35 two weeks before and another 30 the week before. That way 26.2 would seem easy as heck and I'd be soooooooo psyched up to have such a comparatively easy day on actual race day. No reason to listen to all of these people years and years of running experience. They don't know what's inside our heads. No reason to trust the coaching program that we trusted for months while training for this event. We will show the world a brand new way to do this!is that enough debate for you? Can we just stick to the original plan now?
Indeed, it would be great to be that much more prepared before the race. I've only got the 5 years of experience. I said I heard you guys with all the agreement that I should do the taper. I even said Ok, *I'll* do the taper.
Thanks, again, for trying to tell me I'm stupid to want to be psychologically prepared by having completed the distance before the race. Do you feel so strongly about it that I shouldn't even try for that distance in the next 2 weeks before the scheduled taper? I'm not exactly down to the night before, here.
I've yet to follow a coaching plan exactly. I haven't exactly had good luck with listening to all the accumulated wisdom of the combined running experience of the internet. Nope, I'm not even sure what I was doing asking the question if all I was going to do is listen to what you've got to say and then do my own thing anyway. Sorry to have bothered you.
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autumnblade75 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »autumnblade75 wrote: »... before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
So what was your reason for the DNF?
I learned on race day exactly what they meant by technical trails. I decided I'd enjoy the rest of my vacation a lot more if I didn't break an ankle falling down the switchback into a pile of cactus.
I was having trouble following the poorly marked trail, I had no idea how many miles I had actually covered, there were no other runners in sight until I hit the aid station and I wasn't confident that my corpse would be spotted by any potential runners behind me if I did fall off the poorly marked trail that I wasn't even certain I was even on. It was a bad experience all around. Not solely because of the distance.
The race I signed up for immediately upon returning home is a nice flat road race, where the distance will be the primary challenge.
I dunno, if I wanted to be 100% psychologically prepared I wouldn't run 26 miles before the event.
I'd run 30. Maybe even 35 two weeks before and another 30 the week before. That way 26.2 would seem easy as heck and I'd be soooooooo psyched up to have such a comparatively easy day on actual race day. No reason to listen to all of these people years and years of running experience. They don't know what's inside our heads. No reason to trust the coaching program that we trusted for months while training for this event. We will show the world a brand new way to do this!is that enough debate for you? Can we just stick to the original plan now?
Indeed, it would be great to be that much more prepared before the race. I've only got the 5 years of experience. I said I heard you guys with all the agreement that I should do the taper. I even said Ok, *I'll* do the taper.
Thanks, again, for trying to tell me I'm stupid to want to be psychologically prepared by having completed the distance before the race. Do you feel so strongly about it that I shouldn't even try for that distance in the next 2 weeks before the scheduled taper? I'm not exactly down to the night before, here.
I've yet to follow a coaching plan exactly. I haven't exactly had good luck with listening to all the accumulated wisdom of the combined running experience of the internet. Nope, I'm not even sure what I was doing asking the question if all I was going to do is listen to what you've got to say and then do my own thing anyway. Sorry to have bothered you.
Well, all the accumulated wisdom is not going to be coming from the necessarily wise and experienced, is it? This is the internet after all. You need to be selective in the advice you take, but surely you've identified a few reliable sources of information by now?
On the other hand, when EVERY beginner coaching plan directs you to do something, there is very likely a good reason. Glad you plan on following that advice. You'll be glad you did.1 -
autumnblade75 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »autumnblade75 wrote: »... before I failed to complete what was supposed to be my first marathon.
So what was your reason for the DNF?
I learned on race day exactly what they meant by technical trails. I decided I'd enjoy the rest of my vacation a lot more if I didn't break an ankle falling down the switchback into a pile of cactus.
I was having trouble following the poorly marked trail, I had no idea how many miles I had actually covered, there were no other runners in sight until I hit the aid station and I wasn't confident that my corpse would be spotted by any potential runners behind me if I did fall off the poorly marked trail that I wasn't even certain I was even on. It was a bad experience all around. Not solely because of the distance.
The race I signed up for immediately upon returning home is a nice flat road race, where the distance will be the primary challenge.
OK, so I can see why the anxiety, but flogging your mileage beforehand isn't the answer. You've already done a 22, so you've got the capacity to complete a 26.2.
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Although it's already been beaten into the ground, because I feel so passionately in favor of the answer, I am going to add one more vote for good measure. Taper! Taper! Taper! I know exactly one person that felt it would be necessary to run a full 26.2 prior to his first marathon. He can run a sub 1:45 half and finished his first full just under 5 hours. Do not underestimate the value of running on fresh legs! And don't underestimate how long it will take to recover from 26.2 either.
I understand your anxiety given you first marathon experience. But a road race and a trail race are two different things. I can assure you that during a road marathon, you will be able to gain the extra momentum and psychological boost that you need from the crowd support and the other runners. This experience will not be anything like your last.0 -
I'll just reassure everyone that I'm planning on trying to follow the good advice and that if I fail at that, too - you all told me so.
All other things being equal, assuming I start training even earlier (although, I really can't figure out how an extra 2 months still wasn't enough time to get it done) wouldn't it be the slightest bit beneficial to cover race distance in training before the taper?0 -
Not really
Your back to back longs should be giving you enough.
In my current plan my 18 is the day after a 10 miler, and both my 20s are the day after 13 milers. Between those sessions you condition yourself to run on fatigued legs.1
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