Ask any marathoner or ultra runner: taper anxiety is real.
Even after weeks and months of training, the taper is the worst time of the whole training period. What should be a glorious week (or two or three) of downtime is really a torturous period that breeds anxiety and doubt. Just when we should be feeling our most confident, taper anxiety comes in and stirs up a whole mess of distracting emotions.
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For anyone who has ever experienced either the taper crazies or a massive anxiety attack because of a race– truly, most runners have!— it’s a good idea to have some strategies to cope with pre-race anxiety. And because I am one of these people, I’m here to offer you three strategies to cope with marathon taper anxiety. This is, after all, supposed to be fun!
Three strategies to cope with pre-race anxiety when tapering before a marathon
1. DISTRACTION
Look, I’m not going to lie to you. Distraction has become a huge coping mechanism for pre-race anxiety. I have a Kindle Fire fully loaded with books, TV shows, podcasts, and movies to keep my mind off of its current obsession. I’ve found that sometimes it’s hard to concentrate on books, but audiobooks work great!
While I’m not normally an advocate of tuning out from what I’m experiencing, it certainly has a place in emotional self-management right now.
It’s not always just pre-race nerves that need managing. If you are travelling to a race, you might also be nervous about logistics. What if my flight is delayed or cancelled? What if I forget to pack my favorite running shoes? What happens if I show up at the hotel and they don’t have my reservation?
You could make a marathon day checklist to help you feel more in control of the situation.
There are all kinds of highly unlikely disastrous scenarios that can play through your mind when marathon tapering for a big race. Sometimes you just need to be okay with a little digital balm.
Netflix, take me away!
2. MANTRAS
One of the coaching strategies I feel really helps for tapering marathoners is to develop a series of mantras to practice in the weeks before marathon day.
My bedrock running mantra is relentless forward motion. This isn’t so helpful pre-race, though, so I others that I rely on during the taper period:
I breathe in peace; I breathe out joy.
You can time this mantra with your breath: on the inhale think “I breathe in peace,” and on the exhale think “I breathe out joy.” Quite simply, this mantra reminds me to slow down my breathing, take in some peace, and share the joy that I have for running and for life.
It is a meditative form of pranyama that I have used at other significant times– like childbirth! I know that repetition of this mantra can help calm my nerves. It also keeps me in a positive mindset.
Trust the training.
And, finally, I know I should trust the training. During the taper, you have already done all of the work you are going to do.
This is not the time to go out and do one short time trial, just to make sure your speed is still up to snuff. The whole idea of the taper is to leave your legs rested and ready to go on race day.
Learn to trust that the training you have already done is enough to see you through to the marathon finish line!
3. STUDY AND REVIEW
Most runners become diligent students of the sport. The marathon taper period is a perfect time to read and watch everything you can about each race. By studying the race route, its history, and the race day set up, I can eliminate worrying about race day logistics.
(Given that most of the logistics are out of my control, this reminds me that there will be things I cannot control. There’s no use spending my precious energy there!)
If you are local to the race, drive the race route. While it’s great to look at the elevation profile on the internet, actually seeing hills can help you come up with a realistic race pace plan. Furthermore, you’ll also see where roads are narrow or turns are tight or the best place for your loved ones to stand to cheer you on.
When I am feeling an inadequate sort of anxious, I review my running log so I can remind myself of just how much work I’ve put in to get me to the taper and to the start line. I know that I have done the work necessary for a successful race. I validate my preparedness and work to have my confidence crush my anxiety.
Keeping a paper running log may seem outdated and like a lot of extra work– plus there’s no kudos from the online community– but I find being able to flip through the pages and see my handwriting incredibly comforting. It truly helps me get to the starting line feeling confident.
Take Action Against Pre-Race Anxiety
Having anxiety before a marathon is very normal. When you think about all of the time and effort you’ve put into marathon training, it makes sense to want everything to go well!
Put some of that nervous energy to work:
- lay out your race day clothes
- make sure you have your race day nutrition
- grab extra bandaids to prevent runner’s nipple!
- go through your list of must-have runner needs to make sure you have everything!
Using these strategies to cope with pre-race anxiety can make your marathon taper period so much more enjoyable.
Karen Shopoff Rooff is an ACE certified personal trainer and health coach with more than 20 years’ experience running marathons and ultramarathons. The Marathon Finish Line blog is for informational purposes. Please seek advice from a medical practitioner before engaging in a new fitness program.