Miscellany: Mulliga Runs a Marathon, Part 5 - The Taper

My marathon is in less than 2 weeks, so I am in the midst of what runners call "the taper" - a period where you reduce your training volume in preparation for the big race:

Everybody reacts differently, and no one can tell you precisely how long or how much you should taper, but most plans recommend cutting out anywhere from 25% to 50% of your miles (as compared to your seasonal peak) in the weeks before the marathon. For me, that means only running a total of about 27 miles this week. It's a cakewalk compared to the 40+ mile weeks, when most of my free time was spent running.

More difficult is cutting out caffeine and alcohol, and increasing sleep, to recover the body as much as possible before the trauma of 26.2 miles. Hopefully it all goes well come race day...