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Taper Fueling Principles: Simple Mindsets for the Final Weeks Before a Marathon

Love Language in the Taper: Cooking for the Chicago Marathon

We are 18 days out from the Chicago Marathon, and I am taking my job of feeding my very fast and very strong runner as seriously as ever. A few years ago I learned to use the taper for my own races as a chance to try out new recipes and to throw some of my favorite freezer meals together for easy access when I was recovering. When David races, I somehow go even harder on this- feeding him is my love language, and nobody needs some extra love like a tapering marathoner.

Why Consistency Beats Major Changes Before Race Day

Honestly, very little changes about our diet in the final weeks leading up to a marathon. Eating enough, and paying attention to how what we eat makes us feel during runs and during our work days is something we try to practice and reflect on regularly. The two weeks before a marathon are probably not the time to make major changes to your diet. (Unless you’ve been underfueling, in which case I say the best day to start eating more is today 😀)

Frameworks Over Rigid Rules for Race Prep

A lot of what I think about is not superbly scientific or fine tuned- and for us, that’s okay. I have written before about how rigid rules or attempts to optimize don’t work well. I’m also not a registered dietitian so I think it would be problematic for me to pretend that there is some sort of super power hack I can teach you about eating during tapering. I find that having some informed and manageable frameworks for our diet help me not to obsess, and make it easier to make decisions I feel good about. I’m not claiming they will make you a crazy fast runner, or make your taper crazies go away. I’m just saying, thinking about these things works for me, and if you find yourself obsessing and wondering about macro counting or adding 49 supplements, they might be helpful for you too.

Operating Principles for Our Taper Diet

1. Reduce High-Risk Digestives (Dairy Cutbacks)

Cutting as much dairy as possible, or using our go to lactose free options. We are already regularly having lactose free milk and yogurt, so the big thing here is to cut the cheese out. No enchiladas or lasagna during this phase. I find non dairy cheese to be really weird, so we just don’t use it. We have enough variations of foods without dairy in our rotation that this is no big deal for us. If dairy doesn’t bother you, then of course, no reason to cut this out!

2. Prioritize Whole-Food Immune Support

Keep Vitamin C top of mind. Your body is really good at absorbing Vitamin C, but it can’t absorb as much as in a dose of Emergen-C. Vitamin C also won't “boost” your immune system beyond its normal abilities. It will keep your immune system functioning as well as it can though! Knowing this, and knowing how anxiety inducing it is to get the sniffles during a taper, I try to make sure we get some vitamin C in most of our meals. For us this is as easy as grabbing a bag of Cuties and dipping some bell peppers in hummus. We’ve had real bummer luck with tasty strawberries this season, but strawberries are another of my favorite ways to make sure we’re supporting our immune systems with our Vitamin C consumption.

3. Enjoy Home-Cooked Fresh Foods Before Travel

Eat the stuff at home that we won't enjoy as much when we’re traveling: Raw veggies and roasted veggies are the top two in this category for us. Traveling, even for a race, is usually full of burgers, pizza, burritos, amazing and delicious meals. If we find a great salad I usually enjoy it less because I think it’s over priced. You can of course, find places to eat a good mix of veggies- I love Cava for this reason, SO many vegetables, but it’s really just not the same as a heaping plate of veggies and hummus at home, or a giant baking sheet covered with roasted veggies.

As a bonus, the carb load period, if done right, usually leaves folks DYING for a salad. (A lesson I learned from Stevie!) so really enjoying those big salads and veggies before a carb load and a trip work well for us.

4. Maintain High Volume via Breakfast and Snacks

Breakfast and snacks are two ways to make sure you’re eating enough through the day. Maintaining the volume of food you eat during a taper, (or rest for injury, or recovery post race) is really important. Your body is still working really hard to recover from your training block and be race day ready, now is not the time to skip breakfast.

We’ve been prioritizing fats and protein at breakfast, because David and I both noticed feeling like our brains worked better when we did. Egg bakes last week, and this week, breakfast burritos fit the bill. Kodiak cakes and peanut butter are another great option we’ll probably have ready.

We’ll add in some turmeric popcorn for some bonus anti-inflammatory snacking, and some energy balls for a sweet treat that satisfies me more than a mini candy bar does. I’m probably going to make some rice krispy treats, because they’re delicious and a fun way to add some carbs. From “super foods” to nostalgic classics, we’ve got room for all of them during a taper, and having them on hand helps keep our volume up.

Behind the Scenes: Real-Life Taper Meal Inspiration

I said very seriously to a friend the other day that I’d rather die than become an influencer- but I also really want to get better at marketing myself and finding the people who want to read what I write, so I’ll be posting more details (and honest unedited photos!) of the meals we’ll be making to meet these requirements on my Instagram - @umhanduhhh

Soyrizo breakfast burritos are up now, and turmeric chicken thighs will be up next. If you are anti instagram, I couldn’t be a bigger fan or more supportive. Just send me a text or email and I’ll text you recipes or anything else you want to know about these meals :)

Our Taper Week(s) Menu Plan & Meal Prep Ideas

  • Turmeric Chicken Thighs with Broccoli and White Rice
  • Slow Cooker Chicken Shawarma with Rice and Pita and Greek Salad
  • Korean-ish Beef Bowls
  • Warm bread Salad with rotisserie chicken
  • Turkey Trot Meatballs
  • BBQ Chicken Sliders and Fries with Slaw
  • Soyrizo Breakfast Burritos
  • Cinnamon Sugar Bagel Bake
  • REALLY GOOD Rice Krispy Treats
  • Energy Balls
  • Turmeric Trail Mix Popcorn

The headers for this piece of writing were generated by Gemini, with the prompt “Don’t rewrite any of my actual writing, but format for SEO-just add titles or sub headers only.” All AI generated content is noted in orange!