“So are you tapering now?” asked Mel on our run at lunch yesterday.
I had to think. “Well, yeah, I guess I am.”
It’s only two and a half weeks till I run my first full marathon (Seattle Rock N Roll on June 25), but I’m not as excited about it as I would’ve thought I would be. I guess I have a lot of personal things swirling around in my head lately occupying all my brain space.
There are things I need to make decisions on, or take action on or get started with or finish up or plan out, and I don’t want to do any of them. Then when I try to accomplish anything, I only seem to get…nowhere.
Is this what taper madness is? None of those things above are running related. In fact, running is the only time I forget about all the personal life stuff.
Have you had taper madness before? How did you recognize it? What are the signs and symptoms?
I need to know if this is my problem, if I will break out of this mental funk.
Meantime, I’ll just keep running.
8 comments
That kinda happened with me too it was weird… i would be like not excited at all and then stoked and then like.. dreading it.. and then not care….I heard a good quote once that said;”whatever you feel in the last 3 weeks is okay…. “I kept telling myself that. Whatever YOU feel is RIGHT and what you are supposed to be feeling at that point in time. That's all. You'll rock it.
I'm little to no help but I can't wait to see you in Seattle!!I think the only taper madness I've felt is when I have too much quiet time to think about a race.I'm. not. a. fan. of. quiet. time. 😉
Mine taper madness tends to manifest itself as crazy dreams.I do tend to have a general sense of “meh” about my races though too. I never seem super excited for race day. I like to think it's me being calm and rational and not psyching myself out, but I think that's just the way I deal with the stress. Which, when I read that, seems like I pretty much try to ignore how big a deal it is… The only time I ever had that backfire was my first marathon. I thought I was doing so well and then I ripped my husband's head off over not being able to get my bib on straight. Total crazy person the night before!You'll do great on your race. It sounds corny, but trust your training! I can't wait to read all the race reports. I swear one day I'll actually make it to Seattle to meet all you cool Washington runners! 🙂
It's so soon!!! For me, taper madness is all about feeling tired on most of my runs and noticing imaginary injury twinges. Ghhh
I usually hit taper madness the week before. That is when I start freaking out about logistics, injuries, training plan etc….goo luck!!
Yes, the whole taper thing was bazaar, but you'll be fine! Just stay positive and most importantly enjoy it! So excited for you!Winks & Smiles,Wifey
Sounds like me! I could not get anything done for the weeks before the marathon. The only thing I could think of was the 26.2! You will be fine!
I always get taper madness! Sometimes I want to skip tapering for that reason, but I know I need to slow down so I have the energy for the race. I'm starting to taper for the R & R half, and I haven't gotten into the funk yet, but I am expecting it. If you want a good workout this weekend, come join my bootcamp at Golden Gardens, that should keep the funk away!