In early May, ASICS FrontRunner Admire Muzopambwa won his second Wings for Life World Run title, covering 50.4km on the App in Johannesburg. Not long before that he ran Ultra Trail Drakensberg (pictured). This week he (along with fellow ASICS FrontRunner Givemore Mudzinganyama) is preparing to tackle the  Nedbank Ultra Marathon 50km record attempt event in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). 

We chatted to Admire about recovering from such a big effort and how he tapers ahead of a race:

You’ve just come off the back of a big effort at Wings For Life World Run, what did you do to recover from that?
It has been tough to really recover fully from that, but I have been stretching and patiently waiting to do some speed work ahead of the 50km record attempt event. I managed to get those sessions in after four days. That’s when I could again find a 3:45 pace as average. I find that with the lower Autumn/Winter temperatures my body doesn’t recover nearly as quickly as in Summer. So eating well, hydrating properly and resting is even more important. 

You have an event this coming weekend, how do you usually taper/rest in the last week (or two) ahead of a big goal such as this one?
Usually I do shorter (such 10, 8 and 5km), slower runs and with a few speed surges thrown in just to keep the muscles firing. For this one it has been a delicate balancing act between recovery and tapering however. I guess we'll see on the day how it has all worked out. Or not!

If you didn’t run Wings for Life, would your taper have been different this week?
Definitely, it would have been very different and more structured toward the goal (a  very fast 50km) with a balance of rest and speed work.

You mentioned nutrition earlier. How important is that in a taper week?
Nutrition is very important because it’s part of the build-up. You need to be fuelling up correctly else your engine is going to be running low... More info on nutrition ahead of a race, here. 

Any other tips you could give beginner/intermediate runners on resting up the last week before a goal race, even if it is a 10K or Half?
Resting is very important before your goal race. It should include good sleep and less time on your feet. Also use the time to plan your pacing and seconding well.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF TAPERING, HERE. 

Featured image: Kirsten Oliver/UTD