As noted in chapter 6, her two world records in the marathon have been models of optimal pacing; in both performances, she ran first and second halves that were within a minute of each other and ran her fastest miles at the end.
It’s also important to note that Radcliffe set her current shorter-distance PRs, such as 30:01 for 10,000 meters, only after becoming a marathoner. This is despite having been a serious runner for more than a decade before running her first marathon in 2002. For many runners, the great aerobic fitness they develop during a marathon buildup can continue to be cashed in after marathon season is over and they’ve returned to regular road races.
And who wouldn’t be inspired by Radcliffe’s victory at the 2007 New York City Marathon just nine months after giving birth? Like many women, Radcliffe claims that she felt physically stronger running after pregnancy.
Despite her world records and big-city victories, Radcliffe will also always be known for dropping out of the 2004 Olympic Marathon and sobbing on the curb. Soon after the race, she explained that taking anti-inflammatories for a leg injury had upset her stomach, rendering her unable to fuel properly. Subsequently, she noted that the stress of the event – expectations placed on her by the British press and by herself – had gotten to her. More than any other race, the marathon has the power to overwhelm. Try to remember that you’re doing it because you want to (at least we hope you are!) and that your performance in the race has no bearing on whether you’re a contributing member of society or all-around decent person.
There’s also a cautionary note in Radcliffe’s recent history. After winning New York City soon after giving birth, she was continually beset by injury. Trying to rush back to fitness to get to the start line of a given marathon compounded her bodily woes. In early 2008, a toe injury prevented her from starting April’s London Marathon. She then suffered a stress fracture in her thigh while trying to make up for lost time before the Beijing Olympics. She was able to resume running on land only in the month before the marathon there; despite daily cross-training, she simply lacked the running-specific fitness to race for 26.2 miles, and she finished twentythird. After the race, Radcliffe said that if it had been any race but the Olympics, she wouldn’t have started. Most of us can be much more flexible in planning our races, so if your training suffers a setback owing to injury or significant illness, be open to the idea of refocusing on another, later marathon.
How Should You Reduce Your Training to Improve Racing Performance?
The scientific evidence indicates that the key to effective tapering is to substantially reduce your mileage while maintaining the intensity of your training. Reducing the amount you run reduces accumulated fatigue to improve your marathon performance, while interspersing efforts that you have been doing throughout your buildup, including
O2max intervals and strides, maintains the adaptations that you have worked hard to gain over the past several months. (During your taper, you should do shorter sessions at those paces, so while you’re maintaining the intensity of training, you’re still reducing the quantity of higher-intensity training.) A tune-up race 2 weeks before the marathon is also a key session for advancing your fitness (and, ideally, providing psychological reinforcement that you’re almost ready to roll).
How much you reduce your overall mileage depends on your current training volume, past experience (know thyself), and overall health. In general, older runners tend to require slightly more time to taper than younger runners. Our guidelines for cutting back your mileage, based on research, discussions with elite marathoners and coaches, and personal experience, are as follows:
• Third week premarathon: Reduce mileage by 20 to 25 percent.
• Second week premarathon: Reduce mileage by 40 percent.
• Marathon week (6 days before race): Reduce mileage by 60 percent.
For example, a marathoner whose training peaks at 70 miles (113 km) per week would reduce her mileage by 20 to 25 percent (to 52 to 56 mi; 84 to 90 km) in the third week before the race, by 40 percent (to 42 mi; 68 km) the following week, and by 60 percent (to 28 mi; 45 km) during race week. For race week, the 60 percent mileage reduction is for the 6 days leading up to the marathon.
Three weeks before your marathon is arguably the most important time for a successful taper. This is the week that many marathoners do too much because the marathon still seems a long way off. If you work too hard during this week, however, you may find yourself feeling flat with 2 weeks to go and struggling to rest up as quickly as possible for the race. It’s much better physiologically and psychologically to allow your body to start to freshen up during this week. This will put you in a much more relaxed state of mind, feeling that your marathon preparation is on track rather than stressing that all of your efforts are going to be wasted.
Marathoners tend to progressively decrease their training efforts during their marathon taper. That method presents two problems. First, by steadily decreasing training effort over the 3 weeks, they risk a small loss in fitness (adaptations to training are lost at about the same rate that they are gained) before the marathon.
Around three weeks before your marathon is a good time to start your taper, decreasing the intensity and amount of your training.
The larger concern, however, is psychological. The steady-reduction approach doesn’t provide any psychological reinforcement. Marathoners generally need reminders that they’re still fit, or their confidence may become shaky. The more-effective approach to tapering is to intersperse harder efforts within an overall trend of recovery. Figure 5.1 shows a 3-week marathon taper in which harder efforts are included every few days. This type of taper will leave you fit, rested, and confident for the marathon.
Leading up to the marathon, it is paramount to believe in your training program by adjusting your taper to fit your individual needs. Keep a record of your taper leading up to each of your marathons and how you felt and performed in those races. Over time, you’ll be able to identify patterns that will allow you to fine-tune your taper and gain confidence that your taper has given you the maximal edge in performance. For example, many runners prefer a day off quite soon before the marathon. If you’ve found that works for you, we recommend taking that complete rest day 2 or 3 days before the marathon. It’s almost always best to do a light jog the day before the marathon – you’ll feel better on race day, you’ll have a chance to get a last check on any tight muscles, and perhaps most important, you’ll do something other than stare at the walls all day fretting about your race.
Based on the optimal tapering criteria we’ve just discussed, here’s a sample tapering schedule for a marathon (table 5.1). This tapering program is taken from the 18-week training schedule in chapter 9 of this book. By following this schedule, your mileage would have peaked at 70 per week (113 km), and you would have run your last 20-miler (32 km) on Sunday before the start of the taper. Let’s go through this schedule day by day to see the rationale for each day’s training.
