Taper Tantrums
The hay is in the barn and it’s time to taper. Yay! But wait – why does my knee suddenly hurt? Why does my easy pace feel so hard? Why do I feel so bloated? Did I gain weight? Why am I so tired all the time? Am I getting sick?
Welcome to the taper tantrums! Taper tantrums, also known as taper crazies, are a common phenomenon that many runners experience just before a race. After weeks or months of building fitness and pushing your body to its limits, your body recognizes the decreased volume of training and capitalizes on the extra time and energy to adapt.
While it may seem frustrating because of the questions asked above, this is actually the period of time where your body is absorbing the fitness you’ve built so you can maximize your potential on race day. Most of the time this is just your mind playing tricks on you because you have more time, more energy, and are possibly beginning to feel anxious or nervous about the race.
During this time, it can be tempting to go down a rabbit hole researching all your phantom injuries that have surfaced or perhaps dive into your training stats and fall into the trap of “wishing you did more”. However, at this point in the build, the hard work is done and you simply don’t have time to “cram” for fitness – fitness takes time to build, which isn’t done the week leading up to your goal race.
Instead, focus on things you can control to keep your mind at bay and help yourself to show up confident at the startline. Here are a few things to help ease the taper crazies:
Focus on the basics: proper nutrition, sleep, and recovery go a long way.
Make time for non-running related activities that you might have neglected during training, such as going out for coffee or reading a book.
Practice positive mindfulness by assuring yourself of all the training that you DID do rather than all the training that you WISH you did.
Plan your race day out so that you are prepared but don’t plan it out to the extent that if something changes, you’re unable to adapt. In your race plan, include details of how you might react in certain scenarios to stay calm and confident.
Repeat your race day mantra frequently so that you carry it with you for the entire race.
At the end of the day, it’s JUST running and it should be enjoyable. You’ve worked so hard in training and the race is just the cherry on top. Your race result does not define you as an athlete or person. Stay positive; remember your “why”, and soak up the moment – you got this!