Tapering Question

[NMG]

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd seek some advice from you given that I've never gone through a tapering period before (I've never formally trained for a race).

Long story short, I've been following a half marathon training plan for the last 10 weeks and tomorrow was supposed to be my last long run before tapering down for the race on the 26th. The problem is that I've now been hit with a head and sinus cold and I just don't think I have:

a) The energy to tackle a 22K training run (I think I could if it were race day, but that's a different situation) and
b) The desire to push my luck with a 22K training run and have this head cold morph into a sinus infection or worse and really set me back for the race itself (I have a history of developing sinus infections and bronchitis).

With the exception of the 22K, the next two weeks are pretty straight forward as far as my training plan goes and I don't foresee any issues with sticking to it. At this stage in the game, do you think it's important to try and makeup the 22K at some point in the next week or should I just substitute it with a shorter distance tomorrow and stick with the rest of the plan thereafter?

I have had a bunch of mid range runs in my training schedule, including fairly recent runs of 18K and 20K, and I'm confident that I can cover the distance on the 26th. My logic brain (as opposed to my "get out there and stick to the plan" brain) is telling me that since I was able to run the 18K and 20K fairly comfortably, that it is probably riskier to try and push one last long run in as opposed to just forgoing it and starting my taper early.

Do you think my logic brain is on the right track?

[ian]

Listen to your body and scale back the runs as necessary. Almost all of your training is already in place and the extra rest you get in these next few days will improve your legs and your mood for the end of the taper. If you're feeling especially guilty about the change in plans, I find that a nice brisk walk can simulate the good parts of a run (fresh air, blood flow, calorie burn) without much downside (heavy breathing, sweating, injury risk).

[NMG]

Thanks for the advice ian, it certainly helps. I think sometimes the listening to your body part gets overlooked and we just "force" ourselves to stick to the routine, even though it probably does need to be flexible to some extent. I'll take your advice.

Much appreciated!

[ngcaper]

Two weeks out your not going to gain any more fitness, but risk further sickness if you push it. Considering you have 20's and 18's your ready. Rest recover and rock the 1/2

[Jwolf]

Congratulations for finishing most of the training and for listening to your body about the run on the weekend.

Good advice from Ian. I'd just caution you not to over-taper at this point- three weeks is a pretty long taper and you can have some de-training if you drop volume too much. I'm not sure what the rest of your training and weekly mileage is like, but I'd like to see something in the neighbourhood of 16k this weekend (preferably Saturday but Sunday is ok too). Then maybe a 8-10k run on Tuesday before cutting back in the 5 days before he race. On the Wednesday before the race, maybe a shorter run with some fast stuff.

[NMG]

Hi everyone, thanks for the continued feedback!

For the rest of this week I have some repeats scheduled for tomorrow, 8K on Thursday, 5K on Saturday and 10K on Sunday (I could swap the weekend runs no problem). The 10K could go a little longer for sure, depending on the loop I choose to run. Next week looks pretty easy with some repeats on Tuesday, a slow 5K on Wednesday and an easy jog on Saturday before the race on Sunday.

My cold is pretty much gone now and my legs felt really fresh yesterday when I went out for a 10K, so I think the next two weeks are lining up pretty good for being ready.

Jwolf, I was also worried a bit about losing too much, but I think this will work out okay. Certainly appreciate everyone's advice, so if you have any other thoughts, please feel free to throw them out there!

Thanks again!!!!