Sleep, rest, and fueling are the key components to a proper taper. After months of investing in training and building your body up, it’s important to preserve that effort by eating, sleeping, resting intelligently, and easing stress in the final weeks before the race.Shelly Glover, exercise physiologist, says that now is the time to set a daily schedule and stick to it as much as possible. This includes setting consistent bed times, meal times, and run times. Sticking to a schedule will help ensure that you are at your best on race day.
Sleep and Alleviating Stress:
Sleep can often take a backseat to commitments of work, family, and entertainment, but running well in a marathon requires that you allow yourself enough time for your body to recover from the physical toll that training places on it.
The body releases its highest levels of Human Growth Hormone (hGH), which repairs the soft tissues that are broken down during exercise, during undisturbed sleep; this is vital in making sure your muscles are feeling good and in top shape on race day. Not sleeping enough before the race can also affect your mental focus, increasing anxiety and irritability—the last things that you want to be feeling before a long race.
“Sleeping is an underrated component in the life of many distance runners,” says multisport coach Scott Cohen. “Sleeping promotes recovery, and recovery allows for greater intensity and consistency in your speed/hill workouts and long runs. Getting an ample amount of sleep can prove quite challenging, but do whatever you can to get as much sleep as possible the week of the marathon.”
In fact, some experts say that endurance running requires making time for even more sleep than the recommended eight hours per night. While it may not be possible for many working runners, you should try to get eight to 12 hours of sleep each night before the race.
Glover says that sleeping can prove difficult for many runners during the taper. “To relax and improve quality of sleep [when you’re on a reduced running schedule], try a light stretch before going to bed,” she says. “Mentally, give yourself a brain rub down. Visualize fingers massaging the brain and kneading out the worries and tensions. Focus on your steady breathing. Acknowledge distracting thoughts, but let them drift away. This method is relaxing for sleep or calming for focus on marathon day.”
On the last night before the race, it's normal to have feelings of anxiety or stress that will make it hard to fall asleep. Don't worry about it. According to studies, one night of poor sleep (among many weeks of taking care of yourself), won’t have a significant effect on your performance.
Cohen says the key to the final weeks, in addition to sleep, is simply decreasing your stress level. “It’s imperative that you do your best to ‘put your stress on the shelf’ during marathon week,” says Cohen. “Instead, try and take in all the excitement and the positive energy that flows throughout our running community and our city! I promise you—your stress won’t disappear and you can always pick it up again at the conclusion of your marathon.”
Glover says it's key in the final weeks to “trust your taper,” and not get stressed out thinking that you are losing your edge. She also says it's important to keep thinking positively.
“The power of words isn't lost on anyone," she says. “Don’t continually talk about being nervous. You’ll work yourself into an unmanageable state and waste your energy. If you can at least pretend to be confident the real confidence often follows. Focus on the miles and races you’ve stored in the bank.”
Proper Eating
Another component in staying in top form during the final weeks is making sure to eat properly. Take extra care to eat properly in the weeks leading up to the race so that nutrition won't hold you back from peak performance on race day.
Cohen says there are no hard and fast rules in terms of eating, but that it's not the right time to skimp or skip your food intake. “Think of food as the optimum fuel for your aerobic engine,” he says. “In terms of using caution, never experiment with something new one to three nights before your race, and minimize any possibility of gastrointestinal distress or acid reflux by trying to avoid spicy fare the week leading up to the marathon.”
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