Hi, this is Debbie Boyle's coach at Mojo for Running and this is podcast number seven.

In the last few podcasts, we've been talking about the three phases of a macro training cycle.

And by that, I mean the span between goal races.

First is the base building phase in which the runner concentrates on increasing

weekly mileage. Then comes the sharpening phase in which the runner maintains or slightly

decreases weekly mileage while incorporating speed work. And last is the tapering phase. That is the

phase we'll be talking about today.

In this last phase, the one just prior to the goal race, the runner carefully reduces total mileage to allow the body to recover fully while striving to maintain peak fitness by doing high quality race-specific speed work. I recently tweeted

this message regarding my own feeling towards tapering. I have a love-hate relationship with

tapering. I love the extra time I gain from running less, but I hate filling it with work,

burning fewer calories, and spending more time indoors.

Most runners probably feel this way.

If you've been training carefully and methodically, it's hard to taper.

It doesn't feel right.

It feels like you should be doing more.

That's exactly what it should feel like.

Unfortunately, as a result, many people ruined their taper by doing more than they should during the last couple of weeks prior to a big

race, a goal race. And that's too bad, because after spending months carrying out a carefully

designed training plan, blowing that taper

will likely prevent you from seeing the results you'd hoped for.

We're accustomed to running, and for many of us, I mean running a lot.

So when we back off, we feel strange, both mentally and physically.

...