Here you are, nearing the end of your training plan and excitedly waiting for race day. You’ve prepared well, trained smartly and successfully completed each long run. Now it’s time to taper for your marathon – gradually reducing your training, including intensity and mileage, before the big run. It’s a common strategy many runners use to avoid injury, so you can give your body time to recover, repair damaged tissue and adapt to the demands of training.
But for some, this can be a more complicated process. You might even feel pain, aches and soreness during a taper, which can be frustrating since you decreased intensity specifically so this wouldn’t happen. Does this mean all your training has been wasted? Let’s walk through why tapering pain happens, injuries to look out for and when it’s time to talk to your doctor.
Understanding injury: Pain is an alarm system you shouldn’t ignore
Traditionally for runners, injury and pain have been associated with mechanical issues where a certain body part (e.g., the ankle, foot, knee, calf or more) gets overused during training.
In many cases this is true. Tissues are overloaded, develop inflammation and become sensitive – your brain recognizes this and you experience pain. Simply put, pain is the alarm system that alerts you to protect your body. This alarm system is commonly activated by a training error of too many miles, too much speed work or too many hills where the body has not been given ample time to adapt to the new training loads.
Why people become injured during a taper
So why would pain occur when you’re not running as hard? It’s really confusing and disheartening, especially with a big run on the horizon and having worked so hard to get here.
Unfortunately, the cause of a tapering injury isn’t cut and dried. Running puts a lot of strain on your body, specifically your muscles and joints, and injuries can happen at any time no matter your intensity. It’s not uncommon for people to experience an injury during their taper period, which is typically the 2-3 weeks before their marathon.
Also, tapering is a physical and psychological adjustment to your whole routine. For some, a decrease in intensity gives your body time to repair microtears in your muscle, making aches and pains apparent as they heal.
The psychological effect: Taper phantom pains
You’ve probably heard the phrase “phantom pain” before. It’s used to describe the perception of pain or discomfort that isn’t there anymore. For example, it’s often used to explain the phenomenon of those with amputated limbs experiencing pain or sensation in limbs that are no longer present.
However, for runners, taper phantom pains are different. These are perceived pains, aches, cramping or discomfort that appear during the tapering period without cause or warning. While this can sometimes be physical, in many cases, it may be psychological. The time before a race is stressful, you’ve spent months training your body to reach peak performance, and decreasing your intensity during a taper can induce anxiety.
Worrying, anxiety, fear and even poor sleep can amplify alarm signals to the brain that together generate a pain experience. Reducing your weekly mileage and intensity may cause stress, especially if running is the way you burn through stress. A new marathoner may also experience anxiety, fear or worries before their first race.
Although perfectly normal, these thoughts can amplify the body’s alarm system, turning a smaller pain into something more worrisome. Because of this, it’s not always easy to pinpoint where taper pain is coming from. It’s important to keep an eye on symptoms that may alert you to a common injury or problem.
Common running injuries
It’s estimated that about half of all regular runners will experience some sort of injury or strain each year. This is usually caused by pushing yourself too hard, too often. While running offers a host of health benefits like improved cardiovascular fitness, muscle strengthening and more, it can also be very taxing on the body.
Common running issues can include:
- Runner's knee: This condition is the result of sensitive tissues, like cartilage, the patellar tendon, or the iliotibial band (ITB), causing pain surrounding or under the knee cap. Runner’s knee can make running, jumping, squatting or rising from a seated position very painful.
- Bone stress injuries: Bone stress injuries, like stress fractures, often occur due to overuse. They can range from grade 1 (very minor irritation) up to grade 4 (actual cracks in the bone). Lack of adequate strength training, training error, inadequate sleep and poor nutrition can greatly increase the risk of developing bone stress injuries.
- Shin splints: This pain radiates along the inside of the shinbone when overuse or stress causes microtears in the bones and muscles. It’s more likely to develop in athletes and people with flat feet. Heavy heel striking, a slow or bounding cadence and weak glutes contribute to this injury, sometimes resulting in calf overuse.
- Muscle pulls: Caused by overstretching, a muscle pull is a small tear in the muscle that commonly affects the hamstrings, quads, calves and groin for runners and athletes. This is often caused by muscle imbalances, resulting in strain of an overused muscle.
- Achilles tendonitis: This condition, often experienced as pain above the heel, happens when the Achilles tendon is inflamed due to overuse.
- Ankle sprain: Typically caused when the ankle rolls or twists in a way it was not intended to move, ankle sprains can overstretch or sometimes even tear the ligaments around your ankle.
- Plantar fasciitis: When the plantar fascia (the thick band of tissue connecting the heel and toes) becomes inflamed. It can cause sharp pain in the foot by the heel and into the arch of the foot.
- Blisters: Often caused by friction, blisters are fluid-filled sacks that sit on the surface of the skin.
What injuries are and aren’t safe to run on?
Much like tapering itself, the answer to this question isn’t simple. First, you need to determine if the pain you’re feeling is safe to run through. It’s important to keep in mind that hurt does not always equal harm. Pain is the brain’s perception of threat, but pain does not always mean tissue damage.
To determine if the pain you’re feeling is something you can run through, contact your doctor or physical therapist. They’ll be able to help you gauge your pain level, assess your symptoms and provide treatment so you’re ready for the next big race.
3 ways to avoid an injury during your taper
If you’re preparing to taper before the big race and you’re concerned you might experience pain, don’t worry, there are certain things you can do that may help lessen the risk of injury both physically and psychologically.
Take a deep breath and relax
It’s important to trust your training. You’ve worked hard for a reason. And as mentioned, stress can make the effects of tapering pain even worse, so easing that anxiety beforehand can be incredibly helpful. Adopting stress reduction techniques, like meditation, deep breathing exercises and guided imagery can help you re-center yourself in the time leading up to your marathon.
Create a comprehensive tapering plan and follow through
Focus your attention on your pre-race training plan and taper your miles appropriately. Don’t attempt to “test it out” with another long run. Rest is an absolute necessity, allowing your body time to repair and heal. If you’re new to running or you’re not sure how to create the right plan, touch base with your sports medicine provider for extra help.
Get good sleep leading up to your marathon
Sleep helps in multiple ways for recovery, is part of a successful training plan, and reduces the body’s sensitivity. Get several good nights of rest before your marathon. Quality sleep can quicken reaction time and give you the energy you need to power through to the finish line. Establishing healthy habits and good sleep hygiene will help you not just during your run but with your overall health and wellness beyond the race.
When to talk with a specialist
So, when is it time to get a little help? Does your pain mean you need to drop out of the marathon? That is a big decision – one you might need more information to make. It’s time to seek help from a sports medicine expert who is experienced in treating runners. Someone who can help guide you in the right direction.
Consult a physical therapist who specializes in working with runners. Your therapist will be able to look at your symptoms, help you decide if running the marathon is the right choice for you and create a comprehensive treatment plan.
And remember, if you need to postpone your marathon because of an injury, all is not lost. The base fitness that you’ve spent the last 18 weeks working on hasn’t gone away. As legendary marathon runner Hal Hidgon says, the three Rs of peak performance are being, “Rested, refreshed and ready to run.” It’s okay to let your body rest and heal now, and then run your next marathon in six months or a year. Next time, you can create a training plan that helps take your injury into account so that it is less likely to happen again.