Only it isn't. Because there are lots of different opinions about what kind of taper works best. There is the 'carry on as you are but cut your mileage by X% in week one, then Y% in week two etc' option. There is the 'drop your mileage but do more short pacey stuff' option, and the obviously conflicting 'cut your mileage and cut out all speed work' too. Race 3 weeks before. Don't race 3 weeks before. Race but only up to 10K etc etc. Aaaagh!
The only common ground everyone seems to agree on is that tapering should involve cutting your mileage. The general consensus also seems to be that keeping at least some pacey strides going will keep you fresh. My humble opinion is that the mileage needs to come down to allow muscles to recover and niggles to face, but fitness and sharpness need to be maintained. So, I'm going with (approximately) 25%, 40% and 60% reduction in miles respectively over the last 3 weeks. But I'm going to make sure I do enough reasonably pacey stuff to stay fresh and confident. During the last week, I will do active recovery (basically walking) every other day, and easy 3 - 4 mile runs with strides on the other days.
So how did week 1 of the taper play out? Well it started on Monday morning in Cyprus with a textbook active recovery run with Deb -10km along a beautiful coastal path at just under 8 minute miles, with heart rate averaging 108 bpm. The evening run was a slightly quicker jog out to the shop the long way round. Just under 4 miles at 7 minute mile pace - heart rate around 116 bpm.
So, by Tuesday morning, I felt fresh despite running 30 miles over the previous 2 days. 'Recovery running Monday' - it could catch on. Tuesday morning's planned 7 x 760m off 90s session was my last sub-5K pace intervals session and it was hard work in the swirling wind. But average pace on the reps was not far off 5:10 - so I felt lifted and tired by the session in equal measure. The evening session was handed over to the kids as the whole family jogged to the local school's gravel track for a mini fartlek session - got my arse properly kicked by Lola on the sprints, but, again, felt strong when the pace lifted even if I could not get near Lola as she banged out a few 29 second 200m reps!
Wednesday morning was another active recovery run with Deb - just over 7 miles at around 7:20 pace - heart rate nice and low at 113 bpm (my heart rate range is very low as my max heart rate is only 164 bpm). Wednesday evening's session was a low to medium threshold (137bpm) run on the treadmill - 10km in around 37 minutes. Felt like hard work and my heart rate climbed throughout the run - probably because of the heat and cumulative fatigue.
I gatecrashed Deb's progression run on Thursday morning - 2 miles at 7:30 pace, 2 at 7:00 and two at 6:30 on the now very familiar coastal path around Paphos. Good session for Deb - although I wonder whether her target marathon pace of just over 7 minute miles is starting to look a bit soft. Thursday evening's session was a quick 4.5 miles on the treadmill with a few strides - just turning the legs over ahead of a long journey home on the Friday, which would also be my first day off in 4 weeks.
The day off fell at just the right time to grab a bit of rest ahead of the national 12-stage relays in Birmingham on Saturday. I won't go into lots of detail here, but the event was a fantastic experience and the club achieved its target of a top 50 finish, and all involved had a great time. It was especially satisfying to see so many of the club's improving runners starting to show their potential.
Personally, I was determined to run my long 5.5 mile leg sensibly - to limit the wear on my muscles (tapering being about sharpening up not over-training!). I also wanted to avoid the pacing mistake I had made at the northern relays when I went out too quickly. The race went well - sensible levels of effort for the first couple of miles, steady for the middle mile into the wind, and then into top race gear for the last two miles (5:22 and 5:19). I was happy with my time of 30:40 and my legs felt fine by the evening. Sharpen don't blunt etc.
[race effort face]
Sunday was the last long run in my schedule - 14 miles at steady effort. I decided earlier in the week to do this run as a non-racing participant in the Sheffield Half Marathon. I had also decided (after seeking advice on Saturday) that I should just run it on feel and enjoy it without pushing too hard. So, I set off a few rows back and relaxed into a steady Sunday run pace of around 6:30. Only it wasn't: the first mile beep said 6:06. A reminder of how easy it is to get sucked in to going out too fast. With renewed determination, I slowed down, chatted to a few people around me and was pleased to see the second mile pass in 6:30 - that's better. Little did I know that I had also climbed 133 feet during the 2nd mile - meaning the 2nd mile had been just as daft as the first. And so it continued basically. My only comfort was that I was breathing easy (every 5 steps) and I am sure that if my wrist based Mio heart rate monitor had not gone bonkers (again) it would have showed an effort level of well below race effort.
The wind on top of Ringinglow was really strong and I was getting increasingly frustrated with watching club mate Kevin Bartholomew 50m ahead battling the headwind and being too nice to tuck in behind someone else for a bit of a rest. He had quite a following at times - people using him as a windbreak. I decided to kick on to catch him up, have a word and shield him from the wind for a bit. I did the same for John D a mile or so later. With all the distraction I hadn't realised that I was starting to move through the field. I still felt relaxed and not at race effort though, so just decided to roll with it down the hills to Dore. The downhill miles were now ticking past pretty quickly 5:23, 5:24, but I felt fine - and I was supposed to be running to feel. So that's fine.
The support down through Ecclesall was excellent and I was properly enjoying myself now. Gravity was doing the hard work, my legs were turning over easily, and I was only a few miles from the finish of a really enjoyable run. My only concern was that I might have irritated my club mates by drifting in and out of the race and offering advice. I also realised that I was probably the club's leading runner in the race - and that felt a bit false somehow.
Anyway, concerns put aside for a bit, I took a caffeine gel with water at mile 10 (more to rehearse for London than anything else) and started to reel more people in as the field thinned out. As I went past Hunters Bar roundabout I could only see one yellow vest in the distance - from the posture and gait I guessed it was probably Kevin Doyle from Kimberworth Striders. I snuck up on Kevin and we chatted briefly before I decided the run would be even better if I nicked another place before the end; so, I set off up Charter Row and caught another (unknown) runner. Before I knew it, I was round the corner and trotting happily up to the Town Hall - the picture that Pete Robertshaw took with 400m to go sums up my mood up nicely.
Obviously a hilly half marathon at target marathon pace was not part of my plan! But it felt good, didn't tire me out as far as I can tell, and it has given me the confidence to taper properly over the next 3 weeks. I'm fit enough now - just need to be as fresh and sharp as possible on the day.
The run also made me realise that my heart rate monitor might not be reliable enough for marathon day - so I'll need a plan b. And, my shoes were uncomfortable for the last few miles meaning I might need to try an alternative. Maybe even my race shoes? But, that's a debate for next time.
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