Tapering ?

[skedaddle]

I've made reference to tapering recently being of the mind that running has an accumulative effect on our bodies. The accumulation of fitness but also the accumulation of fatigue, cause and effect, at some stage it seems prudent to rest up and give the body time to recover.

The truth is i don't know if tapering is just a western concept devised to accommodate over training, or if we could in fact maintain our running all year if we just backed off a little on our regular runs
.
When i cut my running back i'm not only effecting my fitness, it effects my diet, my mental wellbeing and focus, this doesn't seem too balanced to me as it just replace one set of stresses with another.
REST IS IMPORTANT, don't get me wrong, i'm not disputing that, but does it have to be sedentary?

Any thoughts?

 

[Abide]

I think this is where having another aerobic hobby shines. Mountain biking, paddle boarding anything that is significantly different than running seems like a great alternative.

One of my favorite ultra runners had the most fascinating training plan, he would run races pretty much every weekend and that was virtually the extent of his run training. During the week he would excercise almost daily but lift some weights, use the eliptical or stair climber and "run" in the pool. All of these were non-impact training which he attributed to his ability to run so much on the weekend. I would occasionally run into him outside running during the week but that was more for heat acclimitization than mileage. Last I talked to him he was out running around 20 100 milers a year and he is in his sixties.

 

[skedaddle]

I think this is where having another aerobic hobby shines. Mountain biking, paddle boarding anything that is significantly different than running seems like a great alternative.

One of my favorite ultra runners had the most fascinating training plan, he would run races pretty much every weekend and that was virtually the extent of his run training. During the week he would excercise almost daily but lift some weights, use the eliptical or stair climber and "run" in the pool. All of these were non-impact training which he attributed to his ability to run so much on the weekend. I would occasionally run into him outside running during the week but that was more for heat acclimitization than mileage. Last I talked to him he was out running around 20 100 milers a year and he is in his sixties.

That's such an amazing story, thanks Abide it fed me well

 

[Sid]

I find swimming and running to be complementary.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19908172

 

[SI barefoot]

If you try to allow yourself to focus on health, in addition to progress, that can be a useful tool. Cross training is good, but does little to help if you are too fatigued already. Pleasant surprises can come from the least likely (seemingly) places. New strengths and better balances come from rest. The feeling of guilt and dread is short lived, usually only a few days, especially if you can accept what you may gain from patiences and a smarter approach.

 

[SI barefoot]

Also, I think the time it takes to recover with a smart approach is fairly linear. If you do things right and decide to take total rest, then you should recover quicker. If you recover with a smart approach and choose to taper your workouts it may take longer to really recover. To me, one big thing included in a smart approach is the right mindset, you must believe what you are doing will help in the long run. Once you have a good mindset then it will be easier to maintain making good decisions with regard to when you feel ready to resume higher intensities, nutrition, and what areas of your system need a little work as you take your break (form, core strength, breathing, etc). I think it is hardest to balance things, and keep a good mindset, when you are approaching a goal, such as a big race or event.

 

[skedaddle]

Also, I think the time it takes to recover with a smart approach is fairly linear. If you do things right and decide to take total rest, then you should recover quicker. If you recover with a smart approach and choose to taper your workouts it may take longer to really recover. To me, one big thing included in a smart approach is the right mindset, you must believe what you are doing will help in the long run. Once you have a good mindset then it will be easier to maintain making good decisions with regard to when you feel ready to resume higher intensities, nutrition, and what areas of your system need a little work as you take your break (form, core strength, breathing, etc). I think it is hardest to balance things, and keep a good mindset, when you are approaching a goal, such as a big race or event.

Thanks Sl barefoot

The tapering i'm talking about, and questioning, is an end of season slowdown more than for a race.
My goal this year was a forty mile run, i missed my target, mainly due to an accident early in the year and a frozen shoulder, so it seems prudent not to keep doing the long runs and give myself a rest.

I've been questioning this approach, and am leaning towards something more consistent, less stop, start.
where i don't have to keep tapering and rebuilding my base, but instead be more gentle in my training all year round. Put in the miles, but maybe introducing more walking on the long runs, making my harder workouts less intense. The less is more approach.

I think my mindset is healthy, I don't want to injure or disillusion myself in pursuit of targets i'm not ready for. I know i could run the forty miles today but i doubt it would be a good run, i have the discipline to recognise that and the patience to hold back.

So i suppose i'm questioning the way i recover more than the need for recovery. Can i recover on a day to day basis and still hit my targets with a more gentle approach proper diet and early nights? Or is training hard followed by a period of absolute rest the way to go?

I'm also an older runner where it is very important to maintain flexibility and stride length, stop running for any length of time and it's not so easy to bounce back, not that i'd ever use that as an excuse, but it's something i have to consider.

I suppose the healthy way is not to put yourself in a position where you could get injured or fatigued in the first place, like you said a difficult balance to get right.
Personally i'm going to try being more gentle on myself from now on, learn about relaxation and how to rest when in the act of running. Eat well, sleep more, deal with stress, give more, love more.

 

[SI barefoot]

If you can stick with thinking the way you talk about in the last paragraph, and believe in living that way, then I bet you will be a happier person. I try to make goals that I could give or take. If I don't make it, oh well, I've still got my health and my two legs to try again with later. With that being said, when I get close to an event my nerves can get me and it can be hard to hold back a hair and not push myself into the realm of having a good chance of hurting myself. Lesson learned from doing this many times in the past. Higher intensity workouts should still feel relaxed and controlled, and should end with you feeling energetic. Also, those types of workouts should be fairly infrequent, maybe once ever other week. I find that I need 1-2 days of no running after most harder workout. Not feeling like it is easy to bounce back could be a sign of really overdoing it and not recovering fully. That is when the cumulative effects really stack up. When things are in balance, and that balance can improve (which is why elite athletes can run 100 miles a week with little risk), you should feel eager to get out there and nurture it after maybe 2-3 days of rest, max. If not, something is wrong -- techinique, volume of training, intensity of training, etc. 40 miles is a long way. Personally, I'd want several years of quality training, not draining, to build my aerobic physiology to be able to handle that distance as safely as I possibly could. Most people who run a marathon are, IMO, only sort of ready to run a marathon. You can force yourself to do a lot, and goal setting can trick you into fooling yourself. Hope this helps.

 

[skedaddle]

If you can stick with thinking the way you talk about in the last paragraph, and believe in living that way, then I bet you will be a happier person.

I think this is a good way forward for me, my competitive days are over but i totally understand the pressures of preparing for a race, i'm trying to make my running more holistic.
I know forty miles is a long way and respect the distance, i've completed just over thirty before, and built up a base to do that, but even then it was a step into the unknown..

and goal setting can trick you into fooling yourself

I was reading today about getting caught in a loop of hope and fear when training for a goal. 'Hope' that you can live up to your goals, 'fear' that you'll fail to realise them, one feeds the other until you end up chasing your tail and doing too much.

Thanks Sl barefoot, you've helped me a lot

 

[SI barefoot]

One thing I've noticed since being laid up with my broken foot (left), is that the rest has made my right foot stronger and I have better control and coordination with it. I think I had some residual inflammation and maybe a trace of dysfunction in that right foot that wouldn't have shook unless I stopped all together. I'm 90% sure my left foot broke mainly from more significant dysfunction in its 1st metatarsal -- increasing my training and running two races in two weeks didn't help either, but I mostly blame the dysfunction and my stubbornness during that second race. My big toe wasn't plantar flexing which shifted a lot of the load during my mid and late stance phases of my gait cycle to my second metatarsal. As it turns out, this is a quit common. Now, since I have nothing better to do, I'm working the hell out of my right foot (and it feels great!) and gently working better mobility and control into my left foot. I'm also building strength in the rest of my body, and being way to temped by internet shopping, lol. The down time has given me plenty of time to offer friendly advice, too . It's also giving me more time to work on the mobility in my mid-spine and shoulders. I've been watching a lot of great videos for these types of things. Even if I'm off for 8 weeks, I don't think I'll lose that much. Rather, I see it as a shift. I may lose a little endurance for the short term, but I'm gaining wisdom and function for the long haul (plus my core is getting ripped as hell!).

 

[skedaddle]

Ouch! Mend well my friend!
It's great to here how positive you are with your recovery, focusing on what you can do and not what you can't.

 

[Abide]

What it sounds like you are talking about is periodization, I misunderstood and thought you meant tapering for a race.

Not that it matters that much since both are very similar concepts.

I have been tinkering with only running twice a week and seeing where that leads. Significant weekly mileage starts to wear at me mentally and I am hoping 2 -3 day gap between runs will help keep things mentally invigorating.

Everyone seems to handle periodization differently though and I think a bi-monthly long run is probably adequate for maintaining a solid aerobic base during your off season.

 

[skedaddle]

What it sounds like you are talking about is periodization, I misunderstood and thought you meant tapering for a race.

Thanks Abide, i struggle with words so i don't always make myself clear.

I'd never heard of the term 'periodisation' and yes that was my initial thought for the thread, along with challenging the idea of seasonal training altogether in favour of a more gentle but consistent approach all year round.

I'm also talking from a standpoint outside competitive running, i'm more interested in having a balanced, controlled run over challenging distances than entering races. I think that's an important distinction to make.
There is an ultra i'd like to run in a few years, but i'm certainly not ready yet.

 

[Tristan]

I never back off on purpose 'off season', and depending on the year some times I never really had an off season - doing races winter, spring, summer, and fall. Those were mainly shorter races though, and milder winters. But often times weather forces me to back off during winter. I can only comfortably run up to about 4" deep in snow. Seems when it gets much deeper than that it really strains my gait and causes bad things. And even if there is not deep snow if its grey skies, cold and blowing wind out, I'll stay in. Blue skies, and bright sun, even if only 0F I'll enjoy much more. But my runs dwindle so much that the few I do get out for I feel like I need to back the mileage down. I really wish the seasons didn't mess up my running but winter certainly does.

Tapering I use just to describe back off a little prior to a race, to promote being fully recovered from training and also build up the most energy reserves in the body.