Understanding Tapering and Rest.
Tapering and rest are terms that get thrown around all the time in the running world. And although they are similar, they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s zero in and try to develop a better understanding.
‘Tapering’ is a term usually used in the context of longer races (half-marathon, marathon, ultra, etc), but it applies to races of any distance. I’m not gonna provide a dictionary definition, but it basically refers to a purposeful and relatively gradual reduction of total training volume and/or intensity in the days/weeks leading up to a key race. The goal of it is pretty obvious: to prepare the body to perform optimally on a given day. What’s interesting is that, while this certainly involves a runner getting in more rest of some sort, the idea of ‘tapering’ is actually different from the idea of ‘resting’.
The purpose of ‘rest’ is to restore a runner to some baseline level of global non-fatigue. By global, I mean both physical and psycho-emotional. It’s easy to think that that’s basically the same purpose as tapering. It’s good to go into a key race in the most non-fatigued state possible, right? The problem is that a fully rested individual will typically lack the level of readiness needed to perform optimally. It’s important to understand that there are gradations of rest. Resting as a means of recovery between hard workouts is usually partial, meaning you’re resting enough that your body can absorb hard training, and can tackle the next hard session without being excessively fatigued. Rest needs to be sufficient, and this usually doesn’t mean total.
The purpose of tapering is to prime the body so it can perform optimally on race day–NOT to fully rest the body. A lot of people make the mistake of OVER-RESTING during a taper. There are a couple main reasons to avoid excessive rest:
It disrupts homeostasis in the body.
The benefits of certain forms of “readiness” (partial rest) can outweigh the detriments of low levels of fatigue.
The body gets used to what it’s exposed to over and over. This is why we train. We know that, after repeated exposure to certain stimuli, the body will adapt in the direction we want it to. We usually think of adaptations in the sense of “if I push myself in THIS way, my body will get better at doing that thing”. But the opposite also holds true. If you REST your body much more than it’s used to, it will start to adapt in THAT direction too. Even if you over-rest for a relatively short period of time, the level of performance readiness starts to decay. It’s not that you’re getting out of shape, per se, but that your body is thinking that its need to be race-ready is no longer necessary.
So it follows that a state of readiness does not necessarily equate with total rest. In addition to the homeostasis part, there is often more to be gained by priming the body via certain lighter workouts, than there is by resting more completely. A national-class HS coach I’ve spoken with will regularly have his team run a 1.5 mile threshold run THE DAY BEFORE a race. Seems crazy, right? This is obviously going to incur some fatigue. Yet his runners consistently perform at a high level. How? Because the low dose of fatigue this causes is outweighed by the metabolic and neuromuscular priming that the tempo run establishes. Their bodies are given the signal that it’s time to perform, and the gears are greased for that next day of racing. In summary, it’s all about finding the sweet spot. With a big race coming up, you don’t want to just totally stick to business as usual, but you also don’t want to stop running completely and sleep 12 hours a night. Get with your coach and brainstorm the types of sessions that make you feel your best. It’s more about the readiness than the rest!
AED
Dreditor-in-chief
