By Taper gets a bad rap. From unexplained muscle soreness to nerves and uncontrollable hunger, it can get weird. But for runners who want to PR, BQ and have a really solid race, it’s one of the most important parts of training. Even with the weirdness, I love taper! And, with my taper in full swing for the Chevron Houston Marathon this weekend, here’s what I love most about taper.
- More sleep. Taper means less running which allows time for more sleep! During marathon week I definitely give myself some extra time to catch up on some Zzzz’s.
- Carb loading. Surprise…I run to eat. One of the best parts of taper week is carb loading on delicious Italian food with my running crew.
Carbo loading at its finest! - Fun runs. Forget the times or the miles, the last few pre-race runs are all about f-u-n!
Taper run with my crew! - Outfit planning. The week of the marathon my eyes are glued to my weather app so I can plan a functional race outfit that looks cute, too!
- Foam rolling. During taper week, one of my favorite rituals is foam rolling while watching TV or one of my favorite movies.
- Playlist planning. I get super hyped up for racing by updating my playlist with my new favorite jams. Over the last six years I’ve adapted the same playlist for each major marathon I run and it’s turned into one of my favorite rituals!
My CIM playlist - Yoga. Yoga is always part of my routine, but during taper it feels even better! I always do extra restorative poses like legs up the wall and supta baddha konasana in the days pre-race.
- All the social media. There are so many great things about social media during taper. Some Facebooking adds easy distraction from the nerves while making it easy to wish friends good luck and stay in the loop about all the fun race happenings!
What do you love about taper? Let me know in the comments below and good luck this weekend!
Loving life on the run. 