Marathon Coach · Train Smarter
Race Week Mistakes I Keep Seeing (Because I’ve Made Them)
Taper week truths for half and marathon: you can’t cram fitness, how much sharpness to keep, and the panic workouts that cost race day.
You cannot microwave fitness in seven days
Every taper I ruined started with doubt. One more longish run. One more hard session “to feel ready.” Taper is about freshness and confidence. The work is already in the bank — or it isn’t, and panic won’t deposit it.
Physiology is slow. Anxiety is fast. Don’t let the fast one write the schedule.
Keep a little snap, cut the junk
Short strides or a brief familiar tempo can keep legs honest. New volume and experimental speedwork usually create heavy legs and noisy doubt.
Sleep, routine meals, and logistics outperform Strava heroics this week. Studies on taper generally support reduced volume with some maintained intensity — not random thrashing.
Routine over novelty
Broken-in shoes. Breakfast you’ve practiced on a long-run day. No brand-new gear experiments. Race morning is for executing a plan you’ve already met in training, not auditioning a new identity.