Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Truth About Tapering

Apparently, when one trains for an endurance event, one must go through a process called "tapering" during the last two weeks before the event.

Tapering consists of doing shorter, gentler workouts to allow your body time to heal from the rigorous training it has endured, and rebuild some of the strength you will need for the actual race.

It also consists of being RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY and having tiredness and soreness after even a short, easy run. Yesterday I ran four miles, which lately has been a piece of cake; today I am sore and really tired. It's strange.

As for the ravenously hungry part, I was told by a seasoned endurance athlete with whom I work that I would be hungry. She wasn't kidding. I have been eating like there's going to be seven years of famine. It's overwhelming how hungry I have been. I'm going to have to really buckle down on the food intake after Saturday. I actually gained some weight back last week, but this is not the week to worry about that. After the race is the week to start worrying about that again.

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