As the Totalsports Two Oceans Half-Marathon & Ultra-Marathon on April 5th & 6th approaches, you might be wondering how to balance staying in shape with getting enough rest. Tapering, or gradually reducing the intensity and volume of your training in the final weeks before a race, is a key part of the preparation process. But many runners struggle with the concept of tapering, fearing that cutting back on training will cause them to lose fitness. In reality, tapering done right can help you arrive at the start line feeling fresh, energised, and ready to perform at your peak.
Why Tapering is Important
What is Tapering? Tapering is the process of reducing the intensity and volume of your training as you approach race day. The goal is to allow your body to fully recover and rebuild after weeks of hard training, so you’re at your strongest and most rested on race day. While it may feel counterintuitive to ease off on your training just when you feel the need to keep pushing, tapering is scientifically proven to improve race performance by preventing overtraining, reducing fatigue, and enhancing muscle recovery.
How Tapering Helps Your Body: During intense training, you build up physical and mental fatigue. Without proper rest, this fatigue can accumulate, leading to overtraining and diminishing your performance. Tapering provides the time your body needs to repair and restore glycogen stores, reduce inflammation, and rebuild muscle fibers. This results in an increase in endurance, strength, and overall race-day performance.
The Science Behind Tapering
How Much Should You Taper? While every runner’s tapering strategy is different, most runners should aim to reduce their training volume by 20-30% in the final three weeks before the race. For example, if your peak training week involved running 50 km, you’d reduce this to 35-40 km during the tapering phase. The intensity of your workouts can also be reduced, but it’s important to maintain some level of speed work or race-pace runs to keep your body sharp.
The key is to reduce mileage gradually, ensuring that your muscles stay engaged without pushing them too hard. The intensity of your training should not be reduced all at once, and the gradual decrease in volume ensures that you maintain peak fitness levels.
Week-by-Week Tapering Plan
Week 1: Start Reducing Volume At the start of your tapering period (around 3 weeks before the race), you’ll begin to gradually reduce your mileage. This week, your training should still include some of your longest runs, but their intensity will decrease. Focus on running at a steady, comfortable pace. You can still include interval training or hill work in your sessions, but limit the intensity and recovery times between each effort.
Tip: Stay focused on maintaining your fitness while allowing your body to recover. This is not the time for pushing to new personal bests; instead, focus on maintaining what you’ve built.
Week 2: Keep Sharp, But Ease Up By week 2 of tapering, your long run should be significantly shorter — around 50% of your peak long run. Your speed workouts should also be scaled back to include shorter intervals at race pace or slightly faster. The idea is to keep your muscles tuned without exhausting them. These workouts should still be challenging, but there should be plenty of rest between efforts, allowing your body to recover in between.
This week should also be the time to listen to your body. If you feel tired, allow for additional recovery days. The goal is to arrive at the starting line feeling rested, not overtrained.
Tip: Pay attention to recovery. Focus on getting enough sleep, eating nutrient-dense meals, and staying hydrated to allow your body to fully replenish.
Week 3: The Final Countdown The week before race day is about rest, relaxation, and keeping things light. Your runs should be short and easy, with very little intensity. Your longest run should be around 20-30 minutes, and the rest of your runs should just be light jogs to keep your legs loose.
Tip: Do a race-pace test run this week — about 15-20 minutes at your target race pace. This will allow you to mentally prepare for race day and gauge how you’re feeling. After this short session, it’s all about rest and tapering off the training.
Maintaining Mental Focus During the Taper
Overcoming Tapering Anxiety: One of the most common challenges runners face when tapering is the mental struggle of feeling like they’re losing fitness or that they haven’t done enough. It’s natural to feel a little anxious as race day approaches, but it’s important to trust the process. The hard work has been done in the previous months of training. Now it’s about giving your body the time to repair and rest.
How to Stay Mentally Strong: Take this time to focus on visualisation and positive mental strategies. Visualise yourself running smoothly, crossing the finish line with strength, and executing your race plan flawlessly. This mental preparation can ease pre-race jitters and set you up for success.
Avoid Overdoing It: The Risk of Over-Tapering While it’s important to taper, it’s also crucial not to overdo it. A common mistake is reducing your training too much, which can lead to losing fitness and feeling sluggish. The key is finding the right balance between rest and staying sharp. Avoid the temptation to cut all training during the final two weeks. Keeping a light level of intensity and shorter runs will help you maintain your fitness and prepare your body for race day without overtraining.
Tip: Keep up your regular strength training or cross-training, but scale back the intensity. Light cycling, swimming, or yoga can help maintain your flexibility and strength during the taper.
Tapering is an essential phase of race preparation that allows your body to rest, recover, and be ready to perform at its peak when race day arrives. While it may feel strange to cut back on your training, remember that the tapering process helps you replenish glycogen stores, reduce fatigue, and improve race-day performance. By following a gradual tapering plan, listening to your body, and staying mentally focused, you’ll ensure that you arrive at the Totalsports Two Oceans Half-Marathon & Ultra-Marathon rested, refreshed, and ready to give your best performance.
