Taper? You Don't Need No Stinking Taper: Here's How to Peak For Freescale
by Wish, 1/25/2006

If you're one of the thousands of Central Texans training for the Freescale Marathon on February 19th, congratulations on all your efforts over the last several months. Trust me, marathon day is almost here. After Sunday's 3M Half Marathon, Freescale will be just three weeks away.

Still, these final three weeks are absolutely critical in your marathon preparation. In terms of pure training, it should be the easiest part of your schedule. The volume of just about every aspect of your training is reduced, including those interminable weekend long runs. All that should be behind you.

Ironically, this easy phase of training as it leads up to Freescale is the most difficult part for many marathoners. Our bodies are so used to the routine of hard training that any deviation from it, feels awkward. Instead of feeling pumped up and energized by the reduction in training, we tend to feel uneasy and uncertain.

This final three weeks is commonly called the tapering phase. And I'm here to tell you tapering is for suckers. Peaking is for winners.

There's a difference.

As Greg McMillan, an Austin-based on-line running coach (www.mcmillanrunning.com), says, "One of the great examples of the difference between tapering and peaking is something I read about the great golf coach Harvey Penick. He never wanted to put a negative thought into the mind of a golfer he coached. So rather than tell someone to 'choke down' on a club for a certain shot, Penick told them to 'grip down'. There's a subtle difference."

Swimmers taper for an important meet; runners peak. We're different. Or should be. Think about it. At the end of some of your biggest training weeks this fall, you probably ran one (or several) of the Distance Challenge Races. Chances are you ran pretty well without tapering-i.e., a huge reduction in training--for it.

I know I did. One of my best races was the always difficult Motive Bison Stampede Motive Half Marathon. I maintained a normal training week (speed, monster hills, fartlek) but instead of going long on Sunday, I ran the race-and ran well. I didn't get into a dither about Motive because it was just another Sunday.

Ditto the marathon. One of my best Freescale was three years ago-the windy, cold year-when I decided that since I was so terrible at this tapering garbage, I wouldn't even bother with it. Instead of this absurd, three-week reduction in mileage (and the staleness and indecision that went with it), I just ran what I normally would and had one of my best marathoners ever.

"I work with hundreds of marathoners," says McMillan, who coaches 2005 Houston Marathon winner Kelly Keane, "and I never use the word 'tapering.' When people hear that word, they hear relax. To them, tapering means to reduce their training and that everything is done. The hay is in the barn. Which isn't true at all.

"I much prefer to have my runners peak for the marathon," continues McMillan. "I went my runners to go into race on the upswing. I want them to think, 'I'm on the rise. I'm going to run my best race.' "

McMillan isn't suggesting that Freescalers continue to maintain a normal training volume in the final three weeks. What he is suggesting is that too many marathoners taper way too much-reduce their training too radically-and rather than bring their body to a peak, they fall into a mental and physical rut which they can't climb out of on marathon day.

"I've seen it happen so often," says McMillan who ran Freescale last year. "Marathoners are in this wonderful training rhythm and all of a sudden they switch it off before their most important race for no reason at all other than they've heard it's a good idea to taper.

"They get stale and when race day comes, they can't switch it on again. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't reduce your overall mileage, but what you need to do is switch your mindset from a training mode to now is when I am ready to race."

What McMillan suggests is to do some workouts faster than marathon pace in the final 10-12 days. He suggests running several short workouts at 5-K or 10-K pace which are designed to bring the body to a physical peak.

"This isn't heavy training," says McMillan. "This is just exposing yourself to faster training to keep the engine revved up."

McMillan's peaking plan is astonishingly simple: Reduce the long run miles and easy day volume. Instead of going 20, two weekends (February 4-5) out from Freescale, run 13-15 miles. The next weekend (February 11-12) run 9-12 miles with five or six of those miles at your marathon goal pace is.

This last "long run" is a very important final workout because it will keep you in your training routine of a weekend long one and it will also remind your body and mind that you're a MARATHONER who is just about ready to roll for 26.2 miles.

Gilbert Tuhabonye, who often trains with McMillan, has a similar plan for his Gazelles, running Freescale. Ten days out from Freescale, he has his serious competitors do 10 times 800 meters at a pace a little bit faster than their marathon goal pace. With two minutes in between each 800, this should be a fairly easy, but quick workout. The Gazelles final long one is about 12 miles the weekend before Freescale.

Paul Carrozza is another top coach who doesn't believe in conventional tapering for marathons. "Marathoners are so used to the hard training routine," says Carrozza, "that when they are told to rest, they rest way too much. They aren't used to resting and it throws them off.

"Peaking is certainly a more positive way to go into the marathon than tapering. If nothing else, it's more positive. To me, peaking over the final three weeks is maintaining your speedwork and stamina through quick workouts, while reducing the miles on your long runs."

As for the routine of the easy runs during the week, these should be gradually reduced by possibly eliminating one day entirely and taking a walk instead.

A little more specifically, McMillan advises reducing the volume of the daily easy runs by 10 to 25 percent. Instead of running an easy hour, go 45 minutes. If you normally run an easy 45 minutes, make it 30. And so on.

Keeping the workouts relatively fast, will keep your body (and mind) in racing shape. Rather than feeling lethargic and wondering whether you can run even one mile at marathon pace, you'll feel sharp and ready to run your best marathon on Febuary 19th.

See you there.