Marathon Taper Aches and Niggles: the 6 Exercises to do when Achilles, Shins, Hips, and Everything in Between Hurt Before Race Day
We think peaking is the hardest part of marathon training.
Sure, we're running the long miles.
Ticking the boxes on the grueling workouts.
But if that's the hardest part, then why does taper time always sneak up and surprise us?
With the most random aches in the most random places.
Over-night mystery shin splints.
Frantically texting a running coach at 4:30am explaining the 20 different ways our body is falling apart and that we're officially crashing out.
Well let's dive into a little bit the science (that we do know) about tapering.
So we can give your brain (and your running coach) the break you both need.
And along the way, I'll drop a circuit that's a blend of both corrective and PT rehab exercises to restore some mental sanity and reduce some aches so you can show up on race day feeling strong, confident,
... and not like the 4:30 am crash out version of yourself ;)
Why Everything Hurts During Marathon Taper Week
Fun fact:
Did you know that "workouts generally take 7-10 days AT THE SHORTEST before we see their benefits"?
The trap we can fall into then is the assumption that we work out hard and then rest until race day because "we can't gain anymore fitness".
Not so, young padawan, not so.
Because like other marathoners, you might have experienced the "wooden leg" or "dead leg" or plan old heavy and tired legs the more you rest.
Which to our tapering brains, makes no sense.
More rest, fewer mileage should equal springy, ready legs.
What you're experiencing is something called "muscle tension".
But before we dive into that...
We have to remember: our bodies are not an excel spreadsheet where we put in X and always get Y.
Sometimes we get "fish".
yes, that is as purposely random as it seems.
But it explains a lot about WHY our bodies feel like electrocuted playdoh while we taper.
The standard taper aches and niggles are often a nervous system response to doing a whole TON of work and now being on the other side of that massive 20+ mile long run and getting down to recovery business.
Sometimes our bodies make it feel like we got hit by dump (cyber) truck in order to deliberately slow us down.
To make us chill out while it rebuilds and repairs.
No, it's not fun, but our bodies frequently don't have any other way to communicate with us and truly get our attention other than the sensation of pain and fatigue.
Hence, a entire slew of phantom niggles.
Bringing it back to muscle tension with that context in place:
Muscle tension is yet another response to balance of "hard-get-ready-for-race-day workouts" and recovery time.
To make a VERY complex topic dangerously simple, we like our muscles to be adapted to performed at the right "length" or "tension".
We don't want a too tightly wound spring; we don't want a too loose spring.
We want muscles that perform and operate at just the right tension, generating just the right amount of force, with optimized efficiency for our race-distance of choice.
Hence, if you feel nice and bouncy and a pep and bounce in your stride, your muscle tension is probably high.
If your stride feels flat and heavy, it's probably low.
What makes it feel flat and heavy (and "low")?
Think too many days off from, running after a heavy leg day, running after a hard workout or long run.
That's why the final few weeks before your race, your taper often has a dash of strides or some other kind of intensity.
It's an effort maintain "higher" tension and keep that pep in your step.
(Don't read this as we need "maximal tension". we need the right tension for the right distance).
Because remember, that last week before your marathon is NOT the time we build fitness.
It's when we finesse and try to optimize that muscle tension and your mental state.
So why the taper aches and niggles if you're still doing strides and intensity?
Let's bring it full circle and put it together:
You have a musculoskeletal system recovering from a month of progressively harder and harder workouts.
You have a nervous system (that's part of your neuromuscular system) that's also recovering.
And your muscle tension is a little wack with your muscles actively rebuilding (literally) and recovering too.
So what's a runner to do?
1. listen to your running coach. Run the workouts they have meticulously planned for you. DO NOT add more.
2. Try out some of the circuits I have below for specific aches and then the full body circuit for more vague full body/too many niggles soreness.
None of these meant to be strength workout.
But they're also NOT your basic stretches.
They're a happy middle where you feel enough of the effort from the exercise where we can create a change in the perception of your nervous system.
Marathon Taper Problems: The Exercises to Fix Heavy Legs, Random Aches and the Dreaded Taper Niggles
The Taper Niggle Troubleshooter
Your fast-acting exercises for troubleshooting specific aches.
2-3 sets each // all body weights
Mystery Shin Splints: Hamstring Sliders
x10 reps B legs
Grumpy Psoas/ Deep front-of-hip Ache: Up Dog Contract-Relax
Reps X weight
Phantom Achilles Twinge: Runners Foot Plank on Edge of Step with Step Backs
30 Reps X weight
The Taper Twinge Toolkit
A circuit to help chase away the vague, full body"everything hurts" aches and drop back comfortably into your body.
2-3 sets each // body weight
Supported Split Squats with Opposite Ankle Reach Backs
x10 reps EA SIDE
Down Dog Overhead Push Up
x5 reps
Bear crawl to Down Dog "Ups"
x5-8 reps
The Exact Exercises to Fix the Random Aches During Marathon Tapering
This is for the "Everything hurts day and I cannot pinpoint it to save my life" moments.
The purpose of this circuit is to get you back INTO your body, to give your joints and muscles feedback via proprioception (from gravity pressing down on your body as you travel through space)
You're not meant to be sweating from this.
It's NOT meant to be a "workout".
It's meant to be a conversation between your nervous system and musculoskeletal system. The goal is, after doing 2-3 rounds of this, the "volume" of the achiness should be "turned down".
But realize, every body is different and responds differently, especially right now during taper where your body has no rules but "ouch". So take what serves you, leave the rest.
Supported Split Squats with Opposite Ankle Reach Backs
Don't be surprised if one side feels stickier compared to the other.
As in it's more difficult to actually reach back there and touch the outside of the ankle. Keep reaching! And take breaks as needed.
The goal here is to notice which side is more stuck than the other: often this can be the side with not-so-great hip mobility (such as internal rotation) OR just tight, deeper hip musculature. Often bore reps will help to restore that hip motion and "unstick it".
Down Dog Overhead Push Up
Yes, I am aware of how hard these are. No, I'm not trying to kill you.
It's ok to rest your head on the floor as if you're trying to do a headstand.
But the purpose of this exercise is to help with any weird aches in your arms / upper body.
This exercise works because introduces weightbearing and proprioception to those muscles and joints. I deliberately kept the reps LOW because yes, if you've never done these and don't regularly do upper body work, these can leave you sore. However 10-15 reps should not leave your unable to move the next day.
Bear crawl to Down Dog "Ups"
This is another great option if you have phantom upper body aches, but it's primarily meant for any weird twinges in your knees, quads, hamstrings.
Starting in a bear crawl asks your upper body/shoulders and core to engage. Moving into the down dog shifts a lot of that work into your lower body, primarily asking your quads to work (which can help hamstring niggles calm down.
If you're real adventurous, make that transition from bear crawl to down dog fast, almost with a little "pop" of power. This will engage more quad, helping with knee niggles and reduce hamstring tightness
WRAPPING UP
Like I said before: take what serves you here. Leave the rest.
And I realize I didn't provide explanations for the first circuit. (if I went super in depth, this article would become a novel).
But they all operate on the principles of:
reciprocal inhibition
contract-relax
and/or the use of isometric exercise as a way to modulate the experience of pain.
(have fun diving down those google rabbit holes if you so wish haha)
But one thing I want to leave you with: Don't panic if these "don't work".
Because tapering is a mix of a science and an art...
and every body's nervous system is different, some exercises will simply work better than others.
It doesn't mean you're broken and race day will be a bust.
It means your body needs a different "movement language".
Wishing you best of luck as you finish your taper! You've got this race on lock :)
And until next time...
Dare to Train Differently,
Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit
REFERENCE:
The Science of Running by Steve Magness
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