The Psychology of Tapering: Why It Feels Harder Than It Should and How to Stay Grounded
It’s finally here. The taper for my last three events for Lead Challenge—The Leadville 100 Mountain Bike, The Leadville 10k Run and the Leadville 100 Run.
Tapering.
The magical final stretch of training where you dial things back to rest, recover, and prime your body for race day. On TrainingPeaks, where I plan my workouts for myself and my athletes, it looks amazing — fewer miles, more rest, and fresh legs. But in reality? For many athletes, myself included, it’s a mental minefield.
You might feel restless, anxious, heavy-legged, or like you’re “losing fitness.”
Maybe the intrusive thoughts start creeping in:
Did I train enough? Am I peaking too early? What if I blow it?
Welcome to the psychology of tapering.
Why Tapering Triggers Anxiety
1. Loss of Structure
During peak training, your day revolves around workouts, recovery, and fueling. Taper removes that rhythm. This sudden loss of structure can leave space for overthinking to creep in.
Psych insight: Humans, especially those with high achievement orientation, often use structure to regulate mood. When it disappears, uncertainty fills the space. For someone like me with ADD movement helps me to regulate. Lack of movement has me bouncing of the walls. Which can be interpreted internally as anxiety or stress.
2. Reduced Endorphins
Less training = fewer feel-good chemicals like endorphins and dopamine. Combine that with a performance goal on the horizon, and it’s no wonder anxiety increases. Our bodies are out of balance right now and seeking that homeostasis.
3. Overidentification with Training
When your identity is tied to “doing” and pushing hard, rest can feel like laziness or a loss of self. You’re no longer proving something to yourself every day. That’s unsettling. I’ve often experienced the desire to race a workout during the taper, I feel great, why not?! In part, this where that comes from.
Tapering in my happy place, on the trail headed towards Longs Peak.
4. Increased Time to Think
More downtime leads to more mental noise. You’re not distracted by long workouts anymore. Now your brain turns inward, and it’s not always kind sometimes. For me, I start searching for things I don’t really need on race day. ‘No, your brakes are fine, you don’t need new brakes…or a new bike.” No, you really don’t need a brand-new third pair of shoes for the run.”
Common Thoughts During Taper Week
“Why do my legs feel like concrete?”
“I feel worse now than I did during my long run.”
“Everyone else seems more ready than me.”
“What if I peaked too soon?”
“What if I undertrained?”
These thoughts are normal. They’re also not evidence of actual fitness loss or performance doom.
How to Manage Taper Anxiety
1. Expect It and Normalize It
If you can name it, you can tame it. Mental tension during taper is common across all levels of athletes. Anticipate it instead of reacting to it. Think of it as a sign that your body is absorbing training, not falling apart.
Reframe: “This discomfort is part of the process, not a red flag.”
2. Focus on Process, Not Outcome
Shifting attention to controllable actions helps regulate anxiety. Instead of spiraling over race-day what-ifs, focus on:
Sleeping well
Hydrating
Doing mobility
Reviewing your plan
Practicing mental cues
Let race-day performance take care of itself.
3. Stay Mentally Engaged, Gently
Use taper to sharpen mental skills rather than overanalyze training.
Try:
Imagery (e.g., seeing yourself calm on the start line, navigating tough sections confidently)
Breathwork
Mindful walking or light movement
Journaling about what you’ve already accomplished (Create a jar of power: See below for instructions)
4. Avoid the Comparison Trap
Stay off Strava or mute athlete friends if it’s triggering. Others posting “last big workout before the race!” doesn’t mean they’re more ready than you, it means they might not be tapering properly.
5. Set Boundaries with Your Brain
Worried thoughts will arise. Set a daily “worry time” (5–10 minutes) where you let them out on paper. The rest of the day, practice redirecting your attention back to the present. I recommend writing all your fears down on paper. Get that thought out of your head. When you start to name things by writing them down, they tend to have less power over you. (Remember: Name it to Tame It)
6. Revisit the Why
Taper is a perfect time to reconnect with your values and intention. What pulled you into this race? What matters more than the outcome?
When performance becomes the only focus, taper can feel threatening. When purpose stays in the center, the nerves lose some of their power.
Taper Mental Routine Example
Daily during taper:
Morning breathwork (2–5 min box breathing or other comfortable breathing exercise)
Gratitude or confidence journaling (Write 3 things you’ve done well)
Imagery of a successful race segment (2–3 minutes)
Limit social media scrolling/comparison time
Evening reflection (Was today about control or connection?)
Final Thoughts
Taper doesn’t have to feel like a psychological ambush. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also where the real transformation happens, not just physically, but mentally. You’re learning how to be with discomfort, how to trust your process, and how to show up with a clear mind and calm heart on race day.
And that’s the real finish line.
Bonus Tool:
The Jar of Power.
Sit down in front of your training log or even sit with your coach who has outside view. Write down on a small pieces of paper all those things that you did this training cycle that were amazing. That five hour long run. That PR in the 50-miler. Getting up at 4:00am to run three hours in the snow before the kids got up. Write them all down and savor them. Put them in to a glass jar, we’ll call the Jar of Power. Over the next couple days open the jar up and look at them. Look at what you accomplished. How you got here. Savor it.
If you like what I’ve got here follow along on instagram @coloradoathletemind
If you’re struggling with the taperreach out to me for a free 15-minute introductory call