Thanks! Now tapering for Amsterdam Marathon next week. Quite nervous! Indeed cut down alcohol. I am so happy I stopped drinking. Life is much more fun sober. Alcohol hijacked my ability to have fun. Making me think I could not enjoy without it. Life is so much fresher and alive and everything improves including your running. Note it also helps to stop drinking caffeine. People sleep on average an hour more and increase their sleep efficiency (deep sleep, REM) by 7%. Before important trainings and on race day you can have a few coffees or pills before the race to get the legal doping benefits from it (3% or so on average). Then stop again and be less jittery and anxious, more rested , and have better stool.
Sitting here with pre-long run porridge pondering the three 'big' races in the next 2 months I'm quite glad someone smarter than me is planning my tapers! Not that I've made it easy doing Ultra, half, 10k in that order :)
Perfect timing for this! 2 weeks out to my first half marathon and realised I got the timing wrong on my plan was trying to figure out what to do about the next two tweeks!
Doing the Great North Run two weeks today, so this video's super relevant. Going to go for a 10 day taper since I started training slightly later this year but I'm sure it'll leave me nice and fresh for race day!
Well theres me recommending this to friends and it turns out my phone just heard me talking about taking it easy 1 week before my big event... but I appreciate it being uplifted to the top as a new video for me! Big thank you for your "Improve Your Running Performance Like a Pro: 7 Simple Changes" video, which introduced me to you, but got me out of a rut after 'failing' Y2Y trail marathon and Brighton marathon, walking 2nd halves after calf-lock repeating injury... with your video it woke me up and I managed a 50k ultra 1 month later with no problems and fast recovery! Well 2 months later, getting started with strengthening to get those new muscle fibres stronger and less prone to injury, more sleep, better nutrition, a physio session... I'm 1 week off Man Vs Coast in Cornwall next week. I'm tapering down without understanding how, so your video her has given me the confidence to do it well, not go cold-turkey in the final week and get myself mentally prepared... THANK YOU!!!
I m in my last big training week for the Berlin marathon😍. I decided to do it in Slovenië. Gonna try to do 160 km this week. Goal get under 2'56"58 my Venice marathon PB. Thank you for you re really helpfull video's and posts.❤ keep up the good work.
NA beer is one of my favorite treats, whether on a taper or not. I tried doing a dry January 2.5+ years ago, and it just stuck with me. I’ve not had alcohol since then, but I love drinking beer (NA) with my friends. NA beer happens to be a fantastic recovery drink too. 🍻
Here for this!! I feel like drinking culture is such a big thing in the UK, NA beer is a great way to enjoy it but without the negative effects of the booze
Austrian here, our drinking culture is big too. NA beer is just the way to go. Luckily more and more breweries are jumping on the bandwagon. When visiting friends who drink alcoholic beer, just bring some for yourself and enjoy.
My training for the month of October 2022 as an example, 1st 58:08 for 10k 5th 58:07 6th 58:27 8th 56:34 11th 54:16 13th 54:59 18th 51:37 10k PB 22nd 2:05:06 Half Marathon PB Unless your a profesional athlete theres no need for tapering, theres no need for easy run days or long runs at an easy pace, just go out every 2-3 days and do the best you can, ( The training distance for a half pb goal can be 10km -14km as long as you can handle the intensity but there will be a point where running more than the point where your intensity drops off wont be beneficial Building intensity in your runs is one of the most important aspects of training and you will find 10k is a good balance of speed and endurance (for me anyway at the age of 61) also thats how you should treat your race build intensity over the distance to the point the last 4km you should be giving it all you have You dont want to be one of those who put months into training for a race to just sprint the last few hundred meters just because you saw the finishing gantry. And just a tip for those who are worried about running so fast in training If you build your aerobic base correctly and understand the differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercise you will run out of leg power before you run out of breathing power, you can run for 2 hours more or less at more than 80% of your Max heart rate and feel comfortable ish and 90% over the last 5km without throwing up unless you been taking too many gels then thats your mistake you will learn from. Good luck and god bless.
Ran a half marathon PB of 1:26:17… without a taper *gasp*. The preceding 4 weeks of training I had increased my mileage WAY too quickly. I went from 2x 35mi weeks to 43mi to 68mi in 4 weeks time. (You know what’s coming next). I got Achilles tendinitis; I was out for the next two weeks with mild pain and stiffness. I kept up my cardio a bit (should’ve done more) by squeezing in a couple swims + added some strength/mobility exercises to start the healing process. Come race day I was quite nervous. I patched together with KT tape, I prepared best I could. Thankfully I avoided injury completely and beat my last PB by 6 minutes! Currently I am on my taper for upcoming Dallas half marathon and feeling pretty comfortable. I can honestly say I’m confident that the added measured decrease in volume will help me narrow my time! Love your videos, can’t wait to see what’s to come!
You’re so right re alcohol, it was an eye opener when I started wearing my Garmin to monitor sleep. If I drink my body battery does not go up during sleep and my body is under stress the whole time. I couldn’t believe it 😮
Good to watch this, I will trust the power of taper. I have just 2 weeks to Vilnius Half. I want to smash it and with the taper it will be easier. Thanks
Thanks for using kms for the example! In my last week of normal before the long run drops next weekend for the taper for Sydney Marathon 🎉 looking forward to having more time again
My "half" taper consisted of swapping the long runs with bike rides- and the 6-9 mile runs down to 4-5 mile "FAST runs... The Fri before a Sun "half" was a v-hard/fast 5k and Sat was a day off... Getting the legs really shifting prior to a Half really worked for me...
I knew about the basics of a taper, but you clarified a few points and gave your insight as high-level runner, so thank you. Next time please list distances in furlongs, for any equine viewers 😂
This is fantastic, thank you! Another possible video idea: how do you view cutback/deload weeks? Is that valuable to someone at your level? Are there good guidelines for how to manage them in general?
Awesome vid! My peak week has just ended with my 15 miler, which puts me at 68 miles for this week! Hoping for a MASSIVE PR in my actual Half Marathon ! I’m planning to reduce my mileage by 25-30% next week Will update based on how my body is recovering. So far I feel very energised even after my peak week 😊 Negative splitted my 15 miler from the 12k mark onward, finished with 2h 18min
It's september 17's... Pleeenty of time 🙂 This week I have three races (!). Today a 27K, on wednesday a 25K and then next saturday a marathon race, with a very relaxed 6K the day before. I then have two weeks to taper. On the 2's, I'm doing a 18K, but I'm not intimidated by distances that short. One "strange thing" I've found works for me is, doing two rest-days just before an important race. It makes my brain go in to a "I need to RUUUUN" mode on the end the second day, making me more eager to start the race. LOVE the Km's ! 🥰
Great stuff, thanks. I will always run a short run with strides the day before race day to keep the legs “awake”, and it has great psychological benefits, releases a lot of stress
I’m less than 2 months out from my second marathon 🤩 I’ll go to Dublin on 29th October! I’m looking forward to enjoying my taper properly 🤪😂 Love the video 😁
Hey Phily, I just started my running journey so I don't even race, but listening to you is fun! I'll keep the informations in the back of my mind for when I need them ahaha I'd love some videos for newbies like me, from examples of training plans to gear you recommend, to tips on running when it's pouring, for instance. Have a great day!
You should totally sign up to a race, even just to run it easy! And I’ll keep this in mind, also check out @danielmoves for more newbie-relatable content 😉
I'm with you on this comment. I just want to know the fastest way to get from where I'm at to being able to run a 10K trail run and actually be able to run all of it no matter how long it takes. :o)
Hey Phily love your videos! Could you make a training plan for people who have completed the couch to 5k? I’d been trying to convince my brother to get into running for ages and he finally went and did the couch to 5k challenge! He really enjoyed it but didn’t know what to do afterwards and stopped running sadly. I think a lot of people fall into this trap so maybe a video covering this topic would be very useful to lots of people!
Running 5Ks for beginners is pretty much cardio/anaerobic and kinda miserable (heck I find 5Ks to be miserable a decade later). I think its why people give up. When I was a beginner my coach said once you start doing long runs over 10mi/16-20K your body changes running can become conversational and enjoyable. Try to get him in a 5k-10K program again so he has peers as well. If he's starting out again his long runs are initally gonna be 3-5mi w/ rests for a good month or 2 perhaps try running or run-walking w/ him on those days as your recovery day and/or your easy days.
I'm gearing up for the CPH half in a few weeks as well! It'll be very exciting running in your footstps (although, let's be honest, I'll probably be a fair number of kilometers behind!). Once again an absolute delight of a video. Go on Philly! 🏃♂
This is such a great video Phily! I first watched and used it's info for the Vitality 10k in '23. Must have scrutinized, paused, zoomed in at least a dozen times...felt amazing by race day and achieved my PB. This time I have my first official half marathon in 10 days and have already started to eas off my volume. I've returned to absorb your wisdom again, another dozen times and am so excited for race day. Is another PB on the cards? I hope so... I'll let you know. Thanks again
Intrigued on your thoughts about S&C within the taper ? Would you keep it up and then drop it the week before the race or just something really light to just keep you ticking ?
Currently in the last week of the 'not yet tapering'. I've done taper for previous half-marathon before. This is actually a lot what I've doing. But this time im tapering for full marathon. Anxiety will be longer hahaha. Thank you for the words of wisdom. And a little bit of new anxiety since my running weeks are only 55-60k for a marathon (not half !!!)
So i usually Start my taper 5 days to one week befor the race (I do mostly 1500 to 5k, maybe a 10k). So its usually a taperworkout 4 to 5 days out: 3x1k in Racepace (for the 15 its 3x500m) plus 400m Faster that racepace. Then its easy runs until the day before, where i really like to do prerace Workout. It usually consists of 700m or 1k at racepace and i do it the day befor. I think thats way better than having a restday on the day befor. I have always done it and i think it just works really wellen for me.
Wow its like you knew I am set to Taper soon.17th September 2023 will be my 1st HM race and I hope to achieve 1hr35. Anything faster will be bonus. Thanks for this, will implement as best as possible 😉🏃♂.
Luckily I have a km to mile conversion on my calculator so I'm with you, but then I hit the enter button. Turns out my taper is greater than my highest mileage week. Sucks to be old!
Unfortunately I’ve left it a bit late to taper for my HM next week, but I wasn’t planning for a PB anyway: I already did one at my last HM and this upcoming course is more difficult, so I’m just going to enjoy myself. (Well, I say that - things can be different when you get to the start line.) Will definitely bear your tapering advice in mind for the future when I’m going for the next PB.
Great video I am 10days away from a Half Marathon PB attempt at The Brass Monkey Half in York, UK. Its supposedly an extremely flat course. I think my plan looks very similar to what you propose but its good to get the feedback and to get a bit of confidence. My only doubt now is how hard I can push it in the race, obviously training gets tiring and I can feel I need a rest now, hopefully after tapering I will be flying! hahah
Hi Phily, I’m running the Royal Park Half and am in the second week of my eight week plan targeting sub 1:30. Race pace does feel hard now ….. planning to taper from week of 25/09 ( race being on 08/09) 😁
@@PhilyBowden So, I run 1:14:57, just 3s ahead of my target. I see that you met at least the basic target, new PB. I am looking forward to next video regaring your race, as my was 100% as planned,every single split. Cheers, Pavol (PS: My brother did also PB with 1:10:49)
This was so helpful and perfect timing !! Also running Copenhagen half and hoping for a big PB! 🤞🏽 What are your thoughts on running a shakeout vs resting the day before a race?
3 weeks to my half marathon number 5 but this time Is Cph half so os more intens and my goal is 1.30 and hopefully getting in the top of my age grup you are really my idiol my dream is to become like you gonna start Ny tabe next sunday so 2 weeks before race day
10 days or from my upcoming half, and I'm really hoping to PB this one, but tapering always gives me so much anxiety! Seeing my mileage drop fills me with nerves that I'm losing fitness, regardless of the fact that i KNOW I'm recovering and growing stronger. I still worry I'll show up on race day dragging and heavy and slow 😩 does this ever happen to you?! Have any strategies for dealing with it?
Hola Philly. 13 days out from the Tamarindo half marathon here in Costa Rica and found this helpful. Curious if you alter your nutrition or eating approach? I guess no margaritas this next two weeks. Grrr.
Brilliant . . . I'll have to watch this a few times . . . Would you say all this training schedule is based on someone about your age? I'm just wondering how hard I can push my training and not get injured at my age of 68 years old. I'm in a hurry because, even though I'm constantly improving with PBs, I'm getting older and older faster and faster so the target keeps moving. After a race (I'm racing my own previous PB) do you get sore legs and feet for a while and if so just how long? And how do you know when your recover runs should end and you start pushing for more strength again. How often do you "race" (any distance) as hard as you can? My only advantage is that I have extremely high testosterone so I do manage to recover from injuries in about the same time a younger person does but I still obviously want to avoid all injuries but I don't mind just being sore if it's normal but I don't know what "normal" soreness is. I want to do a TRAIL 10K. Right now my training is (according to Strava) burning about 800-900 cal per hour and I train from 3 to 6 hours three times a week when I can. I'm actually wondering just how many calories a pro burns in a week compared to what I'm burning being 50 pounds too heavy. I might be burning as much as you or more because I'm 210 pounds rather than 160 (which is where I would be if I was a real runner) If I could get down to 180 pounds that would be an "after hitting 30" PB . . .
Having a had a few tapers over the last few years, it still amazes me how this works every time. Just need to sort my head out from the relentless, and incorrect narrative that I’m throwing all that training down the drain😂
I ran a lot of races during my last marathon training block (18 weeks P&D). In these 18 weeks, I ran 8 races and 3 mile time trials. The P&D has a few tune up races (3 I think) in it but I did more. I didn't race all of the races all out but used most of them as pace workouts; race length was from 5k to half marathon, most around 6-10k. In those weeks, I would substitute the tempo run with an easy run with strides and run the race at a planned pace. I incorporated the mile time trials in track sessions. E.g. Instead of doing 5x 600m VO2 max, I ran the mile, rested 5 minutes and then did 3x 600. In short, you can race during a plan but you have to keep the intensity distribution similar to what your plan wants you to do. If you add more intensity to the plan, it may be too much for you to handle, you won't recover in time for the workouts in the next week. It worked out for me, I got through the plan uninjured and I ran my sub 3:30h marathon (PB!)
I have long runs plannen in the 3 and 4 weeks before my marathon of about 3 hours, one week before I have a long run of 2 hours, I'm aiming for a 4 hour marathon. Is that last long run too long, should I shorten this one?
Thanks! Now tapering for Amsterdam Marathon next week. Quite nervous!
Indeed cut down alcohol. I am so happy I stopped drinking. Life is much more fun sober. Alcohol hijacked my ability to have fun. Making me think I could not enjoy without it. Life is so much fresher and alive and everything improves including your running.
Note it also helps to stop drinking caffeine. People sleep on average an hour more and increase their sleep efficiency (deep sleep, REM) by 7%. Before important trainings and on race day you can have a few coffees or pills before the race to get the legal doping benefits from it (3% or so on average). Then stop again and be less jittery and anxious, more rested , and have better stool.
Sat here literally 2 weeks from my next race… perfect timing, thanks Phily!
C'mon Coleee!
Sitting here with pre-long run porridge pondering the three 'big' races in the next 2 months I'm quite glad someone smarter than me is planning my tapers! Not that I've made it easy doing Ultra, half, 10k in that order :)
Yes that is quite the eclectic mix Iain! 😉
It's so cute how Europeans refer to oatmeal as "porridge". I always think of Goldilocks when I hear that word. 😊
Yep, it's tricky to taper for a race when it's part of training for your A Race.
Since I live in Kansas and am an uncultured idiot, I freaking love that you guys say porridge!
@@MNP208same lol
I completely my fist half this morning so would have been nice a week ago. But got 1:28:52 so I'm happy.
You read our minds, I'm exactly 2 weeks out of my next race! Thxx for the tips ❤
Must be psychic 😉
Perfect timing for this! 2 weeks out to my first half marathon and realised I got the timing wrong on my plan was trying to figure out what to do about the next two tweeks!
Doing the Great North Run two weeks today, so this video's super relevant.
Going to go for a 10 day taper since I started training slightly later this year but I'm sure it'll leave me nice and fresh for race day!
GNR is an awesome event! I’m dying to go back there after only running it the year they changed the course for Covid! Have the best time!
Well theres me recommending this to friends and it turns out my phone just heard me talking about taking it easy 1 week before my big event... but I appreciate it being uplifted to the top as a new video for me! Big thank you for your "Improve Your Running Performance Like a Pro: 7 Simple Changes" video, which introduced me to you, but got me out of a rut after 'failing' Y2Y trail marathon and Brighton marathon, walking 2nd halves after calf-lock repeating injury... with your video it woke me up and I managed a 50k ultra 1 month later with no problems and fast recovery!
Well 2 months later, getting started with strengthening to get those new muscle fibres stronger and less prone to injury, more sleep, better nutrition, a physio session... I'm 1 week off Man Vs Coast in Cornwall next week. I'm tapering down without understanding how, so your video her has given me the confidence to do it well, not go cold-turkey in the final week and get myself mentally prepared... THANK YOU!!!
I m in my last big training week for the Berlin marathon😍.
I decided to do it in Slovenië. Gonna try to do 160 km this week. Goal get under 2'56"58 my Venice marathon PB.
Thank you for you re really helpfull video's and posts.❤ keep up the good work.
NA beer is one of my favorite treats, whether on a taper or not. I tried doing a dry January 2.5+ years ago, and it just stuck with me. I’ve not had alcohol since then, but I love drinking beer (NA) with my friends. NA beer happens to be a fantastic recovery drink too. 🍻
Here for this!! I feel like drinking culture is such a big thing in the UK, NA beer is a great way to enjoy it but without the negative effects of the booze
Austrian here, our drinking culture is big too. NA beer is just the way to go. Luckily more and more breweries are jumping on the bandwagon. When visiting friends who drink alcoholic beer, just bring some for yourself and enjoy.
My training for the month of October 2022 as an example,
1st 58:08 for 10k
5th 58:07
6th 58:27
8th 56:34
11th 54:16
13th 54:59
18th 51:37 10k PB
22nd 2:05:06 Half Marathon PB
Unless your a profesional athlete theres no need for tapering, theres no need for easy run days or long runs at an easy pace, just go out every 2-3 days and do the best you can, ( The training distance for a half pb goal can be 10km -14km as long as you can handle the intensity but there will be a point where running more than the point where your intensity drops off wont be beneficial Building intensity in your runs is one of the most important aspects of training and you will find 10k is a good balance of speed and endurance (for me anyway at the age of 61) also thats how you should treat your race build intensity over the distance to the point the last 4km you should be giving it all you have You dont want to be one of those who put months into training for a race to just sprint the last few hundred meters just because you saw the finishing gantry. And just a tip for those who are worried about running so fast in training If you build your aerobic base correctly and understand the differences between aerobic and anaerobic exercise you will run out of leg power before you run out of breathing power, you can run for 2 hours more or less at more than 80% of your Max heart rate and feel comfortable ish and 90% over the last 5km without throwing up unless you been taking too many gels then thats your mistake you will learn from. Good luck and god bless.
Ran a half marathon PB of 1:26:17… without a taper *gasp*. The preceding 4 weeks of training I had increased my mileage WAY too quickly. I went from 2x 35mi weeks to 43mi to 68mi in 4 weeks time. (You know what’s coming next). I got Achilles tendinitis; I was out for the next two weeks with mild pain and stiffness. I kept up my cardio a bit (should’ve done more) by squeezing in a couple swims + added some strength/mobility exercises to start the healing process. Come race day I was quite nervous. I patched together with KT tape, I prepared best I could. Thankfully I avoided injury completely and beat my last PB by 6 minutes!
Currently I am on my taper for upcoming Dallas half marathon and feeling pretty comfortable. I can honestly say I’m confident that the added measured decrease in volume will help me narrow my time!
Love your videos, can’t wait to see what’s to come!
My first half marathon in mid September aiming for a 1:55 🙌🏼, perfect timing Philly, regards from Adelaide Australia 😎
Going to run the Stockholm Half Marathon in 2 weeks so this video came just in time! Thanks Phily
Yooo this is perfect. I am one week out of the LONDON BIGHALF. Struggling to know what’s to do. Man thank you 😃
You got this!
Love your videos. Always make me want to go running 🥰
I have started yesterday my half marathon 8 weeks plan. So thanks a lot. I'm quite nervous because it will be my first official half marathon 😅
You’re so right re alcohol, it was an eye opener when I started wearing my Garmin to monitor sleep. If I drink my body battery does not go up during sleep and my body is under stress the whole time. I couldn’t believe it 😮
I’m preparing for my first half marathon this fall, this vid is perfecto, thanks!
Good to watch this, I will trust the power of taper. I have just 2 weeks to Vilnius Half. I want to smash it and with the taper it will be easier. Thanks
Loved this I’m looking to dramatically improve my half marathon pace ahead of a few races next year. Thanks for such information dense videos 🏃🏻♂️ 💪
Thanks for using kms for the example! In my last week of normal before the long run drops next weekend for the taper for Sydney Marathon 🎉 looking forward to having more time again
RIP. The heat was so brutal that day. Hope you made it.
km for the win! let's goooo!!!
My "half" taper consisted of swapping the long runs with bike rides- and the 6-9 mile runs down to 4-5 mile "FAST runs...
The Fri before a Sun "half" was a v-hard/fast 5k and Sat was a day off...
Getting the legs really shifting prior to a Half really worked for me...
I knew about the basics of a taper, but you clarified a few points and gave your insight as high-level runner, so thank you.
Next time please list distances in furlongs, for any equine viewers 😂
Thanks for doing the example in km!
Excellent video and explanation!! On point 💯👏👏
This is fantastic, thank you!
Another possible video idea: how do you view cutback/deload weeks? Is that valuable to someone at your level? Are there good guidelines for how to manage them in general?
Awesome vid! My peak week has just ended with my 15 miler, which puts me at 68 miles for this week!
Hoping for a MASSIVE PR in my actual Half Marathon ! I’m planning to reduce my mileage by 25-30% next week
Will update based on how my body is recovering. So far I feel very energised even after my peak week 😊
Negative splitted my 15 miler from the 12k mark onward, finished with 2h 18min
Perfect timing! I’m 5 weeks out from my first HM and I’ve been wondering how to taper my last week
great advice thank you Phily first Half Marathon Hoka 5th May Sydney Australia
It's september 17's...
Pleeenty of time 🙂
This week I have three races (!).
Today a 27K, on wednesday a 25K and then next saturday a marathon race, with a very relaxed 6K the day before.
I then have two weeks to taper.
On the 2's, I'm doing a 18K, but I'm not intimidated by distances that short.
One "strange thing" I've found works for me is, doing two rest-days just before an important race.
It makes my brain go in to a "I need to RUUUUN" mode on the end the second day, making me more eager to start the race.
LOVE the Km's !
🥰
This might be the most digestible taper video I've ever seen on UA-cam, thanks Philly!
Great stuff, thanks. I will always run a short run with strides the day before race day to keep the legs “awake”, and it has great psychological benefits, releases a lot of stress
Nice one! I got your video right on my taper week. I'll be having my first marathon on the 17th of sept.
I’m less than 2 months out from my second marathon 🤩 I’ll go to Dublin on 29th October!
I’m looking forward to enjoying my taper properly 🤪😂
Love the video 😁
Hey Phily, I just started my running journey so I don't even race, but listening to you is fun! I'll keep the informations in the back of my mind for when I need them ahaha
I'd love some videos for newbies like me, from examples of training plans to gear you recommend, to tips on running when it's pouring, for instance.
Have a great day!
You should totally sign up to a race, even just to run it easy! And I’ll keep this in mind, also check out @danielmoves for more newbie-relatable content 😉
I'm with you on this comment. I just want to know the fastest way to get from where I'm at to being able to run a 10K trail run and actually be able to run all of it no matter how long it takes. :o)
You've timed this video perfectly! Taper time is a couple of weeks away for me as I'm doing my second half at Robin Hood in Nottingham in 4 weeks.
Perfect timing Phily thanks, as I'm back at the GNR again in September!
Wooo! Enjoy the atmosphere, it’s one of a kind
I’m doing my 1st HM the 3rd week of October! I would love to know more about your fueling strategy for this distance.
Hey Phily love your videos! Could you make a training plan for people who have completed the couch to 5k? I’d been trying to convince my brother to get into running for ages and he finally went and did the couch to 5k challenge! He really enjoyed it but didn’t know what to do afterwards and stopped running sadly. I think a lot of people fall into this trap so maybe a video covering this topic would be very useful to lots of people!
Running 5Ks for beginners is pretty much cardio/anaerobic and kinda miserable (heck I find 5Ks to be miserable a decade later). I think its why people give up. When I was a beginner my coach said once you start doing long runs over 10mi/16-20K your body changes running can become conversational and enjoyable. Try to get him in a 5k-10K program again so he has peers as well.
If he's starting out again his long runs are initally gonna be 3-5mi w/ rests for a good month or 2 perhaps try running or run-walking w/ him on those days as your recovery day and/or your easy days.
Great advice. I have my first ever half marathon on the 12th. Will start tapering now. A bit late but better later than never. 👍
12 days out from my first ever half marathon... thank you for the advice!
Just caught this video after running my first HM race!
1:38:47 official time, smashed my pb by more than 10 minutes 😄
And yes i did taper. Ramped down my milage for the 2 weeks leading up to the race.
I'm gearing up for the CPH half in a few weeks as well! It'll be very exciting running in your footstps (although, let's be honest, I'll probably be a fair number of kilometers behind!). Once again an absolute delight of a video. Go on Philly! 🏃♂
This is such a great video Phily!
I first watched and used it's info for the Vitality 10k in '23. Must have scrutinized, paused, zoomed in at least a dozen times...felt amazing by race day and achieved my PB.
This time I have my first official half marathon in 10 days and have already started to eas off my volume. I've returned to absorb your wisdom again, another dozen times and am so excited for race day.
Is another PB on the cards?
I hope so... I'll let you know.
Thanks again
Columbus Ohio half marathon October 15!! 😎😎 Got a couple 10k and 5k races too leading up to it
Intrigued on your thoughts about S&C within the taper ? Would you keep it up and then drop it the week before the race or just something really light to just keep you ticking ?
Also doing the Copenhagen half, might see you there!
Woooo good choice!
Currently in the last week of the 'not yet tapering'. I've done taper for previous half-marathon before. This is actually a lot what I've doing. But this time im tapering for full marathon. Anxiety will be longer hahaha. Thank you for the words of wisdom. And a little bit of new anxiety since my running weeks are only 55-60k for a marathon (not half !!!)
So i usually Start my taper 5 days to one week befor the race (I do mostly 1500 to 5k, maybe a 10k). So its usually a taperworkout 4 to 5 days out: 3x1k in Racepace (for the 15 its 3x500m) plus 400m Faster that racepace. Then its easy runs until the day before, where i really like to do prerace Workout. It usually consists of 700m or 1k at racepace and i do it the day befor. I think thats way better than having a restday on the day befor. I have always done it and i think it just works really wellen for me.
Really helpful for a beginner like me, thank you!
(Love your personality too!)
Wow its like you knew I am set to Taper soon.17th September 2023 will be my 1st HM race and I hope to achieve 1hr35. Anything faster will be bonus. Thanks for this, will implement as best as possible 😉🏃♂.
Luckily I have a km to mile conversion on my calculator so I'm with you, but then I hit the enter button. Turns out my taper is greater than my highest mileage week. Sucks to be old!
Thank you so much for your video it's massively going to help me with my half marathon in September 🥰 xx
Great example! Training for the half in CPH aswell and have around the same volume as your example around 52 km around an average week ;)
Willamette Valley Half in 3 weeks. Still dealing with a bruised toenail, but the other injuries have healed. And I am quite under trained.
Great video - thanks for sharing Phily
You and Daniel have an unrivaled sense of humour LOL! Great video as always :)
Best explanation of tapering that I have ever seen on UA-cam!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!!
Thank you very much! 😆
I have the thanksgiving day half-marathon in a few weeks. I'm starting to taper now.
Thanks for using km
2 weeks out from my first time-recorded Half Marathon°° perfect timing.
Hey phily loving your vids, can you please give some tips on how to improve running form?
I would love to hear your pre race/taper strategy for a middle distance runner ie 800m!
So, what would you do if the race is on Saturday, but your typical training week ends on Sunday? Where would you remove that one training/rest day?
Unfortunately I’ve left it a bit late to taper for my HM next week, but I wasn’t planning for a PB anyway: I already did one at my last HM and this upcoming course is more difficult, so I’m just going to enjoy myself. (Well, I say that - things can be different when you get to the start line.) Will definitely bear your tapering advice in mind for the future when I’m going for the next PB.
Non-tapered races are really good training to see how you fare on more tired legs, enjoying it is always a good number 1 priority!
Awesome! I’ll try to analyse it that way.
Great video I am 10days away from a Half Marathon PB attempt at The Brass Monkey Half in York, UK. Its supposedly an extremely flat course. I think my plan looks very similar to what you propose but its good to get the feedback and to get a bit of confidence. My only doubt now is how hard I can push it in the race, obviously training gets tiring and I can feel I need a rest now, hopefully after tapering I will be flying! hahah
You should consider doing a podcast!! I would love to listen to you and all your strategies/guests while running! :)
I would actually love to!
The best background was the wall with all the artwork i think.
Great advice as always, thanks for sharing 👌
Less than 4 weeks until the Dublin Half Marathon. I definitely would have tapered harder than advised, so thanks for the heads up!
i got a Ultra coming up. I always over train 🤦♂️ so for my next race I’m definitely gonna try and focus on the taper and actually rest 😅 probably.
Highly appreciate the example in km!!!
Hi Phily,
I’m running the Royal Park Half and am in the second week of my eight week plan targeting sub 1:30. Race pace does feel hard now ….. planning to taper from week of 25/09 ( race being on 08/09) 😁
How would you do for turn up race during marathon training?? That really interesting to hear😊
This video is timed so perfectly for me! Thank you so much. MCR Half im coming for yeeeeeee.
Ah I’m so glad! Yes Manchester is mid-October right? Good luck!
@@PhilyBowden Yes, it’s the 15th of October 😊
Good timing as I’m 3 weeks out from Cardiff HM! Is the Sunday 2 weeks from race day too close for biggest long run session?
Thumbs up and appreciation for the KMs! 😉
Going to CPH 1/2M this Sunday. Taper started 2 weeks before the race. This week will be just 50km, so only ~30km before race :-) Target time is 1:15h
Woooo see ya there!
@@PhilyBowden So, I run 1:14:57, just 3s ahead of my target. I see that you met at least the basic target, new PB. I am looking forward to next video regaring your race, as my was 100% as planned,every single split. Cheers, Pavol (PS: My brother did also PB with 1:10:49)
This was so helpful and perfect timing !! Also running Copenhagen half and hoping for a big PB! 🤞🏽 What are your thoughts on running a shakeout vs resting the day before a race?
Aw yay I’m so glad! Personally I prefer going for a little shakeout as my legs feel better for it
3 weeks to my half marathon number 5 but this time Is Cph half so os more intens and my goal is 1.30 and hopefully getting in the top of my age grup you are really my idiol my dream is to become like you gonna start Ny tabe next sunday so 2 weeks before race day
I've actually had marathons, where I startet training three weeks before the race
Kind of an inverted taper...
10 days or from my upcoming half, and I'm really hoping to PB this one, but tapering always gives me so much anxiety! Seeing my mileage drop fills me with nerves that I'm losing fitness, regardless of the fact that i KNOW I'm recovering and growing stronger. I still worry I'll show up on race day dragging and heavy and slow 😩 does this ever happen to you?! Have any strategies for dealing with it?
Hola Philly. 13 days out from the Tamarindo half marathon here in Costa Rica and found this helpful. Curious if you alter your nutrition or eating approach? I guess no margaritas this next two weeks. Grrr.
I liked the tape visual puns in the beginning of the video, but felt it was a missed opportunity to include some tapir footage.
This is super helpful. Two more weeks until I start my taper
Brilliant . . . I'll have to watch this a few times . . . Would you say all this training schedule is based on someone about your age? I'm just wondering how hard I can push my training and not get injured at my age of 68 years old. I'm in a hurry because, even though I'm constantly improving with PBs, I'm getting older and older faster and faster so the target keeps moving. After a race (I'm racing my own previous PB) do you get sore legs and feet for a while and if so just how long? And how do you know when your recover runs should end and you start pushing for more strength again. How often do you "race" (any distance) as hard as you can? My only advantage is that I have extremely high testosterone so I do manage to recover from injuries in about the same time a younger person does but I still obviously want to avoid all injuries but I don't mind just being sore if it's normal but I don't know what "normal" soreness is. I want to do a TRAIL 10K. Right now my training is (according to Strava) burning about 800-900 cal per hour and I train from 3 to 6 hours three times a week when I can. I'm actually wondering just how many calories a pro burns in a week compared to what I'm burning being 50 pounds too heavy. I might be burning as much as you or more because I'm 210 pounds rather than 160 (which is where I would be if I was a real runner) If I could get down to 180 pounds that would be an "after hitting 30" PB . . .
“Taper Tantrums”🔥🇨🇦✌🏼😂
When the most inspiring running channel on the interwebs also features Salad Fingers. Oh man oh man oh man
Is drinking coffee recommended on race day?
Well said and we’ll laid out👍
I use to love beer but after all but completely quitting alcohol I have lost my taste for it but it does taste better with pizza.
Having a had a few tapers over the last few years, it still amazes me how this works every time. Just need to sort my head out from the relentless, and incorrect narrative that I’m throwing all that training down the drain😂
What does the week after the race look like?
What do you think about a pre-race shakeout run the day before? :)
Question: how does one incorporate extra races in a plan despite the plan being for an entirely different race (difference in distance).
I ran a lot of races during my last marathon training block (18 weeks P&D). In these 18 weeks, I ran 8 races and 3 mile time trials. The P&D has a few tune up races (3 I think) in it but I did more. I didn't race all of the races all out but used most of them as pace workouts; race length was from 5k to half marathon, most around 6-10k. In those weeks, I would substitute the tempo run with an easy run with strides and run the race at a planned pace.
I incorporated the mile time trials in track sessions. E.g. Instead of doing 5x 600m VO2 max, I ran the mile, rested 5 minutes and then did 3x 600.
In short, you can race during a plan but you have to keep the intensity distribution similar to what your plan wants you to do. If you add more intensity to the plan, it may be too much for you to handle, you won't recover in time for the workouts in the next week.
It worked out for me, I got through the plan uninjured and I ran my sub 3:30h marathon (PB!)
Great North Run next week, taper in effect.
I have long runs plannen in the 3 and 4 weeks before my marathon of about 3 hours, one week before I have a long run of 2 hours, I'm aiming for a 4 hour marathon. Is that last long run too long, should I shorten this one?
I just started my half taper and got sick 😩