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Tapering and Injuries
HI all
I am doing my 4th Marathon in 2 weeks (Oct 20th) at York.
My PB is currently 3.40 and i am trying to beat this at York. I have put a LOT of training in over past year (1800 miiles this year) and i am now starting to feel so aches and pains.
my last long runs have been
21 Miles
22 Miles
and 21 miles on Saturday (5th)
I am avergaging over 50 miles a week, and my last long run i averaged 7.40 min / miles . so well under where i need to be.
HOWEVER.. I have not got some pains in my left leg, mainly tight hamstring...also some glute pain to go with it. I want to back off a bit but reading some sites tell me that you can lose fitness drastically over a short period of time. I was looking to do around 18 miles on saturday as my last long run (obviously its race weekened week after) but unsure if this is wise.
I run 6 days a week (dont run Fridays) as my long runs tend to be Saturdays so like to prepare my legs for that. So i am also worried because my body is used to this that cutting it back in these final 2 weeks will have a negative affect.
I can do a marathon plan ok but tapering really screws with my head!
Where do you guys and girls stand with regards tapering? do you taper or just keep going?
Thanks
Chris
I am doing my 4th Marathon in 2 weeks (Oct 20th) at York.
My PB is currently 3.40 and i am trying to beat this at York. I have put a LOT of training in over past year (1800 miiles this year) and i am now starting to feel so aches and pains.
my last long runs have been
21 Miles
22 Miles
and 21 miles on Saturday (5th)
I am avergaging over 50 miles a week, and my last long run i averaged 7.40 min / miles . so well under where i need to be.
HOWEVER.. I have not got some pains in my left leg, mainly tight hamstring...also some glute pain to go with it. I want to back off a bit but reading some sites tell me that you can lose fitness drastically over a short period of time. I was looking to do around 18 miles on saturday as my last long run (obviously its race weekened week after) but unsure if this is wise.
I run 6 days a week (dont run Fridays) as my long runs tend to be Saturdays so like to prepare my legs for that. So i am also worried because my body is used to this that cutting it back in these final 2 weeks will have a negative affect.
I can do a marathon plan ok but tapering really screws with my head!
Where do you guys and girls stand with regards tapering? do you taper or just keep going?
Thanks
Chris
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Comments
Don't do 18m on Saturday.
I'd go for no more than 12-13 at a nice easy pace. This week you just need to keep ticking over with easy runs and maybe a mini session such as 3 x 1m at 5-10k pace off 3 mins.
Next week should be very little. Even if you were to lose a little fitness (which you almost certainly won't) the detriment to that wo0n't be as bad as not tapering and running on tired legs, or worse still getting injured.
Spend some time stretching, get some Epsom bath salts, have a sports massage etc. You've done the work, don't ruin it by doing more.
It might be worth seeing if any written plans appeal to you in the future. Not to necessarily follow precisely, but to give a good idea of paces and structure. Best of luck.
You're very unlikely to lose any significant fitness by cutting back (even though you might feel like you have - which is normal in a taper), however if you run too much now, you are very likely to get to race day overdone and tired - high risk, negligible reward.