It is true that I don't really taper. However, almost every training
run I do is a taper. I'm at the point where I generally don't feel like
I did anything even after a 20 mile training run. The taper is to work
the kinks out, get some rest, and let those muscles grow. Given
that most every run I do is basically a recovery run, there's not much
further recovery that I need. With that said, a few days before a race,
I'll generally reduce my mileage by 20% or so, or maybe transition
some of it to cycling. Everything I do now, however, is a response
to what my body is telling me. If I feel like I've had enough running,
I'll cut back. If I feel rearing to go, I'll add more. My belief is that
a taper can mean a lot of things and to assume there's a
one size fits all approach would be sorely mistaken. Think of the taper
as a period to make sure your body no longer feels stressed. Some
time into the training season, I get
myself into a mode where I simply have no post-run knocks and pings
and that's when I know "I'm there." Early in a training cycle, I will
generally have those knocks and pings. When I take time off or cut back
in any significant way, the knocks and pings start to return - I start
to get the rest-of-the-day stiffness after my runs and so forth. I
make sure I go into a race in the "I'm there" state. No one here can
tell you the answer for how much taper you really need. My first
marathon under 3:20 also happened to be the first marathon where
I ran a 20 mile training run the very day before. Honestly I had no
idea that I had it in me to break 3:20, otherwise I would not have
run 20 the day before. Might I have run faster otherwise? I don't
know. My fastest marathon (Boston this year) was 2 weeks after
a 100 mile race. I ran 60 miles that week. It was also 3 weeks
after a 15 minute PR in a 50k. Then there were several marathons
and ultras that I ran on several consecutive weekends before
that, one of which was my second-best marathon time (prior
to my Boston run.) Could I have done better with a
more substantial taper? How would I know? Given that I beat the
**** out of my times where I used more traditional training and tapers,
what would even lead me to second-guess what I did? Keep in mind
that I train like no one else. I am so focused on staying low in heart
rate and picking up speed tremendously on the downs that I believe
I am maximizing what you can do with a true lazyman's training
program. I break about every rule in the book. But a few of the
rules are gospel and I stick to them. When I talk about what I do
to typical runners, they frequently say that it's the stupidest thing
they ever heard. Then I tell them my before and after times and
most withhold any further comment. They battle their overuse
injuries and I battle my ankle twists and cracks when I'm bouncing
down the rocks on the trail. They take 8 weeks off. I take 2 days
off.

------------------
MyRunningLog[/URL" target="_blank">
MyStuff[/URL" target="_blank">
Low Heart Rate Training FAQ[/URL" target="_blank">
My marathons and ultras[/URL" target="_blank">
My races and reports[/URL" target="_blank">