Tips to Combat "Taper Madness"
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The tapering starts now. Starting this week, runners gearing up for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon are starting to “taper”, or gradually decreasing their workouts over the next two weeks leading up to the race to show up to the start line rested, healthy, and as fresh as possible.
During this time, runners may experience a feeling known as “Taper Madness”, a phenomenon that can result when you exert less energy than what you’re used to. We reached out to Chicago Endurance Sports coaches powered by HOKA for tips to combat Taper Madness.
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Two weeks to go until race day, cut mileage by about 50 to 75%
Rest during the taper is as important as the physical training from the past 19 weeks. Your goal is to get to the start line as rested, healthy, and fresh as possible.
Follow the scheduled taper
Ignore the urge to make up for missed runs and workouts. Additional mileage at this point provides no measurable benefit but can increase the risk of injury or hurt performance.
Try to get at least eight hours a night
Sleep is an important part of the tapering process leading up to the race.
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Recognize "Taper Madness"
Exerting less energy can result in a phenomenon known as Taper Madness. You may feel a bit anxious or obsessive; experience self-doubt or strange
dreams about race day. Aches and pains feel amplified, or you experience new phantom pains.
Combat "Taper Madness" by finding non-physically taxing, ways to use stored up energy
Watch inspirational movies. Visit with friends. Review your training log (Training Peaks). Start organizing/planning for race day. Note: weather conditions do not tend to change that rapidly, there is no reason to re-checking it every fifteen minutes.
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