When you're in the thick of marathon training, the idea of tapering down your running before race day seems like welcome relief.

And yet when taper actually arrives, many marathoners are sore, tired, and overly anxious about the weather.

While the mental and physical adjustment to less running and more recovery doesn't always feel great, tapering correctly can shave minutes off your marathon time.

Here's how.

taper time

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from the team

"Okay, I'm ready to come home."

That's the message Sophie sent me a few weeks ago.

Sophie was on the PR Team for a year and loved it. When she got the opportunity to join an in person running group, she decided to take a break from the PR Team and check it out.

I completely got it.

But the group was big, and the paces were never quite right for her. Run after run, she was working to keep up while everyone around her seemed fine.

Sophie tried not to let that get to her, but week after week, she started feeling slow, behind, and like she didn't belong.

Her fitness began to slip, and her confidence slipped with it.

So she reached out, ready to come back.

PR teammates who had trained alongside her before welcomed her back like she'd only been gone a weekend. Within a week she was swapping workout notes and cheering on race results.

Most importantly, her training fit her again.

If you've ever worked up the courage to join a group run, only to feel defeated by the end, we get you.

The PR Team is designed for every runner, no matter what.

join us

*team names changed for privacy

every click above helps The Planted Runner, no purchase necessary.

planted practice

Each week, I'd like to challenge you to one small action that I'm calling your Planted Practice.

You don't change the way you think by reading something cool in a newsletter. You change with small, daily work, just like training your body.

Each Planted Practice is deceptively simple, but might just be more powerful than you think.

This week's challenge: imagine the worst

Golf legend Rory McIlroy was asked how he stays so calm before big events. He said he actively imagines the worst.

In golf, that might be hitting the ball into the trees. What would happen then? Well, he’ll hit it back on the fairway and he’d be back in the game.

Once McIlroy imagined that the worst thing really wasn’t so bad and there was always a strategy to get back in the game, his pre-game anxiety lessened.

Next time you are nervous about a big run or race, take some time to imagine the worst thing that could happen. Then imagine how you’d overcome it.

Because you always do.

*share how it went on social and tag me!

#plantedpractice

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podcast

Traveling is a lot harder when you’re plant-based. No one actually likes airplane food, but the plant based options are genuinely awful.

We plant people have pretty much gotten used to planning ahead when we travel and I’d love to share how I do it.

Even if you are not plant-based, you are a runner, and if you are traveling to a race or just want to make sure you’ve got filling, healthy options, you’re going to want to plan ahead.

Today, we're talking travel, and not just race travel. Any trip where you're away from your own kitchen.

You’ll learn:

• What's in my carry-on bag
• How to be prepared without feeling like the high-maintenance friend, and
• How to make plant-based travel actually enjoyable instead of a constant compromise

listen here

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inspo

“Life is a daring adventure or nothing.”

—Helen Keller

Have a great run today, Coach Claire

P.S. If you missed it, grab the Readiness Reset, a FREE seven minute audio training. Use it before hard workouts, long runs, and race day to stay calm and focused.

Thank you for being a part of the Planted Runner community!

My mission is to help runners just like you reach goals they never dreamed possible through science-backed training and plant-based nutrition.

Since 2016, I've helped thousands of every day runners become fitter, faster, and stronger with truly customized training and coaching.

I also love to share what I have learned from my own journey starting as a non-runner to a 2:58 marathoner at age 42, as well what I have learned coaching runners, completely FREE. I do that every week in this newsletter and on the Planted Runner Podcast.

I'm so glad you're here and my inbox is always open. Feel free to reply with questions or feedback!

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