I'm in the throes of a Taper Tantrum!

Going into this taper, I was expecting to enjoy the additional downtime.  To feel relaxed and to have the stress lift.   I thought the extra time with my family would be enjoyable and that I would feel free without being tied to my training plan.

Unfortunately this does not seem to be happening.  Instead of thanking my husband for the hard work he does taking care of our home and kids, I am getting mad at my husband for not having the house spotless.    Rather than spending extra time with my kids, I have turned into Mean Mommy yelling at them because they asked for candy one to many times.  I even yelled at my dog when we went for a short run because she wasn’t staying right at my side.  Cranky monster has been unleashed!

It is not uncommon for a runner to experience an array of emotions in the weeks leading up to a big race.  A lot of time and energy has been spent training.  Sacrifices have been made to get in all the necessary training time.  When those training hours ease up, we have time to anticipate the event, to get nervous, to think about everything that can go wrong.  Our bodies are also like a tuning fork humming away, but with no long training runs to work out the tension that builds up in the body.

When this built up energy and these extra emotions are too much, it can turn into a full-blown hard core Taper Tantrum!



Identifying that you are experiencing a Taper Tantrum can be easy.  While we don’t throw ourselves on the floor and wail our arms and legs, our behavior isn’t too far from that.   The big question is what to do about it?

Here are 5 strategies that may help:

• Admit when you are in the throes of a tantrum.  If you can acknowledge it, you can reduce the damage your whirlwind of pent up energy causes to those around you.

• Talk to your partner before you enter your taper period and ask for their help guiding you through what can be an unexpectedly rough period.  Depending on your personality, you may need to be firmly put in your place or gently led to your corner to calm down. Either way, you and your partner can develop a strategy beforehand, much like you would a race strategy.

• Go for an extra walk or engage in other gentle activities like yoga or swimming.  Partaking in activity can help your mind and body keep focused on the routine of regular training.  Routine can be calming for many people and an abrupt change in routine, like entering a taper period, can be problematic.  Be careful to avoid any activity that will create extra stress and interfere with your recovery for race day.  This is not the time to start MMA fighting or Cross Fit

• Drink chamomile tea with passionflower.  Herbal remedies are powerful.  Chamomile is very calming to the nervous system and can help counteract some of the intense energy.  Passionflower is good at easing the chatter that occurs in the mind during this time.   Avoiding caffeine and other stimulants is also a good idea as they can exacerbate tantrum behavior. 

• Use the extra free time to get caught up on other parts of your life that you neglected during training.  Haven’t talked to your best friend in a while?  Meet up for a cup of tea, chamomile of course, or spend the afternoon chatting on the phone.  Schedule doctors appointments you have been putting off or organize your office or garage.  Focusing the brain on easy to accomplish tasks will help focus the energy that otherwise has no place to go. 

Hopefully these strategies will be helpful in managing the unfortunate Taper Tantrum.  And when race day comes, you will be thankful that all that energy wasn’t wasted during your taper transforming you into a monster.  Instead you will arrive fresh and ready to tackle your goal.