Kilimanjaro and Tokyo Marathon Training Tip 4
February 10, 2020
Kilimanjaro marathon race week 2 days to go
February 28, 2020
Kilimanjaro and Tokyo Marathon Training Tip 5
Tapering additional tips
Tapering your other training
- Core, resistance, flexibility and cross training-Keep these to a minimum in the last 10 days.
- Do not introduce any new exercises at this point.
Other factors to consider during taper
- Customizing your taper to your training
- Massage.
- Stretching - keep stretching. Maintain the same stretching regime, as was the case before taper.
Taper blues-Don’t panic.You are not alone.
- It’s perfectly normal to have irrational thoughts and doubts as race day moves closer.
- Phantom pains -You will most likely feel every little ache and pain– Psychologists have known for years that there’s a strong link between cognitive anxiety and the body so it’s not really a surprise that those last minute niggles crop up.
- Running at pace may feel hard – It’s perfectly natural to feel sluggish in the days leading up to a race.
- You’ll be paranoid about standing within a one mile radius of anyone who coughs and sneezes!
Its all normal and is simply your body and your mind preparing itself for a big effort. Find a nice distraction to occupy your mind in the final week
Self-doubtA little self-doubt and some negative thoughts are completely natural before a race.
- ‘Have I done enough training?’
- ‘Will I be able to run at my target pace?’
- ‘What if I don’t feel good?’.
It’s our brain’s natural reaction to an imminent threat or challenge.
Solution
In this instance all that is needed is to re-frame these irrational, negative thoughts that have crept in into positive ones.
Trust your trainingRemind yourself of some good runs that you have done during training. This is just one more - Confidence comes from preparation.
You have done it a thousand times.Come game time you are only doing it one more time
- The hard courses you have run
- The advantages you may have eg training at higher attitude
- The fact that you are well rested
- Some other great experiences in running.
To get the most out of your taper
- Consider your other commitments outside of running in the final week before the race.
- Try to avoid running around like a headless chicken
- Aim to get as much rest as possible outside of running.
- Plan your travel and meals during travel well
