DCM Taper Madness

mr_bump

Just finished my last 'big' run as part of my DCM training block and am officially in taper period as of now. However I'm already getting an uneasy feeling about the drop in mileage and intensity, and so am thinking about racing for a PB in my local Parkrun next Saturday? Is this madness or can a 5K race be justified as a race sharpener?

For a bit of background i'm relatively new to running (14 months), so am a bit inexperienced in these matters. I am pleased with my training so far - have loosely followed P&D and averaged 55 m/pw for last 10 weeks. DCM has been my target race all year so really don't want to jeopardize that, but also feel that running a good 5K could be a real confidence booster. I'd also have 8 days to recover which seems reasonable to me. All advice welcome.

snailsong

I'd say go for it. Since sept 14 I've raced half marathon, 8k, 5k (last weeks parkrun), and 10k (today). I'll probably try to better the 5k time in next week's parkrun. 8 days should be enough to recover from a 5k.

The P+D 55 plan, which I'm also following, has some speedwork this week so I'll probably skip this and do the parkrun instead.

Confidence boosting is the key. How well you perform in the last few miles of DCM will have as much to do with your head as your legs. For the past two years I've run good 10k pb's in the run-up and I feel the boost in confidence has been a huge advantage on the day.

kingQuez

I wouldn't *race* 5k during a taper, I don't think it would set me up to have other good training sessions in the next two weeks... at 5k intensity, a 5k distance just seems like too far to run.

The goal with the taper is to arrive fresh and relaxed. Yes it leads to mind games as the distance drops off, but you have other important things to spend your time doing (sorting race kit, eating + sleeping well, maintaining mobility with foamrolling/massage/gentle stretching), and avoiding anyone that's sick. You should be feeling restless, and have to hold back in your runs from now till the race to ensure you're getting well rested and recovered to hit your peak on race day . All-out efforts like the type you should be putting into a 5k will probably leave your immune system suppressed for a day or two as you recover, leaving you susceptible to picking up bugs and other things that will just make taper-madness worse (even if your legs or lungs are OKish).

For me I'll probably do something like a 6mile run alternating (marathon pace + 1min) with marathon pace. It seems like a more relevant sharpener (3-4miles at marathon pace), but with the benefit of forcing you to focus on race-specific work (pacing). If you're in dublin and can get out on the course for some of the run it's a great time to do some visualization of the race day.

Rogue Runner

Chill. You've put the miles in. Your fitness isnt going to drop off. Quite the opposite. Your muscles will repair and you should toe the start line feeling fresh. Substitute running for swimming, go for cycle. Don't race a 5k 2 weeks out from a marathon. You will get no benefit from it whatsoever.

mr.wiggle

A case of madness without the Taper,methinks !!
Cant wait to see what youre like next week !!

mr_bump

Thanks for all the advice. I think i'll er on the side of caution so and postpone the 5k race effort until after the marathon. Damn tempting though to see what improvements this training cycle will have on my performance at the shorter distances!