This week, the two rookie marathoners shift their focus to tapering, rest, and recovery to ensure optimal performance on race day.
In Pursuit of 26.2 is a series following two Equinox members as they train for the New York City Marathon, from their first long-distance runs to the finish line. Since early August, our athletes have been following a new personalized training program created by an Equinox Personal Run Coach, powered by Precision Run, and utilizing Equinox services to strengthen, stretch, and stabilize. Check back each week for a new installment.
To the uninitiated, the week or two before race day may appear like Groundhog’s Day in regards to training. Marathoners, one may think, are still following the rigorous program planned out for their peak training week. Maybe they’re even going extra hard with deadlifts and weighted squats at the Club. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. At least in the case of first-time marathoners and Equinox members Aurora Straus and Luis Colón.
In reality, training volume goes down and rest days go up. “We don’t want them feeling flat on marathon day,” shares Equinox Personal Run Coach Corky, who’s been guiding Aurora and Luis on their months-long journey. “Race week has to be more restorative, keeping them in a bubble of health and wellness is key.”
Less running and more resting may sound like a dream to an aspiring or novice runner, but when you’re in the thick of marathon training, simmering down on mileage and high-intensity strength training can feel jarring. Welcome to the taper.
So, what does tapering entail exactly? In an ideal world, tapering — which can start anywhere between three to two weeks before race day — speaks to the “progressive reduction of about 20 to 30 percent of mileage per week,” according to Corky. This is done for the runner’s safety, well-being, and performance. Taking a more mindful approach to training helps lower the risk of injury, balances hydration levels, allows more time for muscles to repair microtears, and strengthens your immune system. In short, tapering is an effective way to ensure you perform at your best (and safest) come race day.
Tapering doesn’t mean all movement has to be ruled out, however.
“As race day comes closer, we do have to kind of give the body some time to prepare for that,” says David Perry, a Tier 3 personal trainer at Equinox Columbus Circle who often works with runners, including Aurora. Earlier this month, David shared that the final one to two weeks preceding marathon day should be reserved for performing pre- and post-race stretches as well as dynamic exercises that focus on strengthening the core and maintaining balance. He added, “By that point [during the taper], what we're doing is really making sure that we can practice different movements, different exercises to make sure that the running form will be great.”
For the first half of her wind-down, Aurora continued her trusted training regimen (four runs, two strength training sessions, and one recovery-oriented session throughout her week), but with less volume during her taper, per Corky. This past weekend, following a last-minute work trip to Dallas, she ran her final 13 miles and took a Best Stretch Ever class at Equinox to complement her recovery period. While Aurora is taking a step back when it comes to her mileage, she admits the drop in physical activity disrupted her sleep pattern, prompting her to spend a casual 30 to 45 minutes on a stationary bike to help improve the rest and recovery portion of her taper.
“I've actually found from my Oura ring that my restorative sleep this week has started going down as I was doing fewer runs because my body seems to not register that it doesn't seem to need as much restorative sleep,” says Aurora. “But I would like it to not feel that way. I’m trying to push it forward without adding too much.”
Aurora has also been experiencing sudden “aches and pains that didn’t exist beforehand,” which may sound like a setback, but this and a lack of energy are actually quite common during tapering. In many ways, they’re a sign that you’re tapering correctly.
“During the taper, aches and pains can pop up as the body finally gets to recover from months of training,” shares Corky. “Fatigue and the need for extra sleep and calories are common. Sometimes they are phantom pains, as many marathoners experience a bit of an emotional roller coaster during the taper.”
“I've been Googling things like, ‘Do I have a hip injury or am I just tapering?’” says Aurora. “But these are things your body has not really had time or capacity to deal with during the last three or four months in marathon training.”
Coming off a half-marathon in his hometown of Atlantic City on Oct. 20, Luis took it down a notch, per Corky’s recommendation, with a 10-miler last Saturday that spanned the same path he and thousands of marathoners will be running during their final 10 miles on race day.
With the gradual slow-down in physical activity, Luis is faced with more downtime, a welcome change from his normally-packed work schedule, which included two campaign shoots last Monday through Thursday. He reflects, “You go from doing all this heavy activity and everything's happening so quickly to just tapering and doing less and less than the last and so it's almost as if your body is like requesting or wanting more like, ‘Wait, this is it?’”
The 32-year-old creative director took off this Monday through Wednesday to enhance his taper by simply taking it easy: cleaning up around the house, catching up on TV, and enjoying “a few little treatments like a massage and lymphatic massage with some foot reflexology mixed in,” says Luis.
From the outside looking in, the idea of tapering sounds like a godsend after weeks of logging miles and snacking on less-than-appetizing energy gels. But in reality, putting their rigorous training on the back burner has been somewhat surreal for both first-time marathoners.
And it makes sense, too.
“The emotional and psychological part of the taper can have athletes feeling on edge. I often refer to these as ‘taper tantrums,’ and they are normal,” says Corky. “Fear of getting sick, race dreams and nightmares, and a heightened emotional state are super common for first-time marathoners as race day approaches.”
In Aurora’s case, the 25-year-old management consultant’s background as a professional race car driver has come in handy with this final countdown. “[Tapering] is where I expected my experience in racing to apply to marathon training,” she says. “This is one of the few places where I do think it's helpful knowing how to handle nerves and not really worrying until you have to worry.”
In addition to taking a step back from increased physical activity, moments of reflection and hopes for marathon day have served as a highlight of this final week.
“The part I'm most excited about isn't so much the pace or the personal challenge,” says Luis. “But being able to see New York from a different perspective after so many years of running on bridges and running through streets in places that you just wouldn't have seen otherwise.”
While Aurora says she’s “not freaking out about” marathon day, she does acknowledge the moment of eventually making it to the finish line after months of hard work. “I've alternated between periods of time where I'm like, ‘Yeah I can definitely put my body through hell for five hours and I will be done,’ and thinking about the actual distance of 26.2 miles — it’s a very long distance,” she says. “I’m more in shock and awe of what’s to come.”