4.6 • 931 Ratings
🗓️ 18 September 2024
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Most training plans call for a reduction in mileage before your goal race but if you feel nervous and anxious during this time you’re not alone. In fact, there’s even a name for the emotional turbulence runners feel during this time and it’s called the taper tantrums. If you’re tapering for your next marathon right now or will be soon, it’s important to remember your body needs this rest and not to panic with extra training.
This episode provides a guide to runners resting up for the big day while managing the symptoms of this very athlete-specific ailment. It’s completely normal to start to question your fitness at this time but it’s important to remember that the taper is a key component of your training. Much like rest days, the taper allows your body to recover and then absorb the fitness you gained from hard weeks or months of training. This non-medical advice for runners will cover questions like:
Getting the taper right is just as important as your big long runs if you want to perform well for your goal race. There’s no single correct way to taper but there’s lots you can do to make sure your body and mind both come out of it feeling fresh.
How to Taper Correctly to be Ready for Your Marathon - Runners Connect
This week’s show brought to you by:
Mushroom Breakthrough
One of the most difficult things about training hard in the morning is the brain fog and mental fatigue that comes when you’re trying to get your work day going.
I am sure all you morning runners can relate to that feeling of not being able to focus and get motivated those first few hours at work.
That’s why I was excited when BIOptimizers released its one-of-a-kind product called Mushroom Breakthrough
It’s a powdered blend of 5 potent superfoods including 1.2 pounds of concentrated mushrooms, which have been shown in research to enhance memory, focus, processing speed, and more.
It’s the perfect way to not only boost recovery post-run, but improve mental clarity in the morning without taxing your adrenal system with caffeine.
You’ll notice the difference in concentration, focus and mood, especially on those days when morning training really has you feeling tired and unmotivated.
For an exclusive offer go to bioptimizers.com/runtothetop and use code RUN10 during checkout.
And the great thing about BIOptimizers is that you can try it risk-free with their 365-day money-back guarantee.
LMNT
Maintaining healthy electrolyte levels will not only improve performance and endurance on the run, but can help with preventing headaches, maintaining a healthy weight, and help with recovery.
That’s why we recommend all runners check out LMNT. It's loaded with everything you need to replenish your electrolyte balance with 1000mg of sodium, 200mg of potassium, and 60mg of magnesium, and doesn't include anything you don't need like extra sugar or anything artificial.
Even better, they are currently running a special deal where you can get a free LMNT Sample Pack with any order. So, order your favorite flavor and get a free sample pack to try out new flavors or share with your running friends.
To get this special offer and make sure you’re hydrating properly this summer, head over to drinklmnt.com/runnersconnect.
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
0:00.0 | The marathon is very much practice in sort of trusting yourself and trusting your body and just trusting the training that you did. |
0:08.0 | And so in the taper, you gotta trust it. You can't, you don't want to test fitness. If things don't feel right, |
0:16.3 | you don't want to try to cram in another workout to see, to really get yourself |
0:19.8 | fitter. It's not going to change anything and more likely to make you tired. |
0:24.0 | It's a lot easier said than done to trust the process during a taper. |
0:28.0 | It might feel good at first, but I always find that by the end of the taper, every run feels like crap, and I just have to constantly resist this temptation to burn off all my extra energy with a hard run. |
0:40.0 | Not to mention the phantom pains, making it feel like a new injury is popping up every day. |
0:45.0 | Runners often call this feeling of anxiousness the taper tantrums, or taper crazies. |
0:51.0 | And I'm joined by Coach Andy to walk you through how to manage this |
0:54.2 | very running specific ailment to give your body the rest it needs before race day. |
0:59.3 | Many of you listening might even be in the middle of tapering right now. |
1:03.0 | And if that's the case, we wish you luck. |
1:05.0 | It honestly sucks. |
1:06.6 | You've got no choice but to have confidence in the training you've already done. |
1:10.6 | While you might not be able to avoid the taper tantrums, you can certainly try a few things to make |
1:14.7 | it a little bit more manageable. |
1:17.0 | We'll get into all of that today, including what to do and what not to do in order to make |
1:21.9 | sure your taper goes as smoothie as possible. |
1:24.1 | So with that, let's taper down this intro and get right into it. Hello runners and welcome to the Run to the Top podcast where our goal is |
1:41.9 | making you a better runner with each and every episode. |
1:44.1 | I'm your showrunner, Corey Nackler and I'm not an elite runner but together we'll |
1:48.9 | explore new strategies and topics to take your running to the next level. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from RunnersConnect: Coaching Community, Running Experts, Inspiring Runners, No Fluff Blog, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of RunnersConnect: Coaching Community, Running Experts, Inspiring Runners, No Fluff Blog and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.