I have my first 10K a week on Sunday, and was probably going to take it easier between now and then. Not that I am doing massive miles - but for me it seems a lot.

For example - on Saturday I will probably do an easy 5-6 miles, then maybe a couple of easy 3 miles Mon and Thursday, also I was not going to cycle into work on Thursday and Friday (its a 28-mile round trip each day).
My main idea is that I want to feel fresh and ready to attempt a decent time (decent time being relative ), and not feel as if I am still recovering from previous sessions.

However - is there going to be any noticable benefit considering I am not doing a huge amount and it isn't a marathon or half? Or would you always advocate some sort of tapering?
Just wondering your opinions on whether its necessary/worthwhile and to how much to cut back.

personally i always do some form of tapering... in the week leading up to a sunday 10k ill do something like:

Mon Rest
Tues 5miles inc Intervals
Wed Rest
Thurs Easy 30mins
Fri Rest
Sat rest or an easy 20mins
Sun race

be careful when your at the start line its very very easy to get caught up in the sea of runners and end up starting off too quickly... just pace yourself and rember all of your training

I tapered for my last 10k, only because of circumstances not because i wanted to, but it worked out well and I ended up only 6 seconds off my PB. I think I would probably have beaten it if I hadn't set off at 4km p/h pace for the first 2k. Lessoned learned on starting fast there. I'd recommend tapering though. Try some interval sessions in your build up too.

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[ee-toh]

I too would take the last few days leading up to it easier also it will help keep your legs fresh for the race.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

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A loser is not the one who runs last in the race. It's the one who sits and watches and who has never tried to run.
Bird in Boots Oh what have I done FLM09

I'd do the same amount of runs you'd usually do in the week before, but don't push the pace and shorten them 20%. This should leave you fresh for the race.

I always taper unless I'm just using the race as a training run (as I tend to with club races)... this is pretty much regardless of distance. Obviously shorter distances require slightly less tapering, but ultimately it's just a case of getting to the start line feeling rested and raring to go

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www.richardsimkiss.co.uk

I usually do a similar amount of training in the last week before a race but ease right off the pace. I find this eases the shock of going straight into race pace. I always have the day before the race off though. I made the cardinal mistake of playing in a football match the day before a half marathon once...never again.

I'm still playing around with pre-race strategies, I know for my last 10k I had a pretty easy week beforehand more by accident than design, and smashed my PB.

I try not to rest too much, as I worry about feeling rusty once I get to the start line, so like to have an easy run either the day before or the day before that just to keep the legs convinced that they were designed to run

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My Running Blog -

Same here, I've been using races as training runs this year, and find them to be a good workout. I usually run that bit harder than usual.

Thnx for the replies - confirms what I was thinking.

Will deffo take it a bit easier next week.

Just noticed you're from Glasgow, I assume you are running the Glasgow 10km?

Hope you enjoy it! The crowds on Glasgow Green always gives you a lift because of the atmosphere.

Yeah - really looking forward to it.
Wondering what sort of time I can post, have managed just under 47 mins in training, wondering if I can push towards 45 or whether that would be too much of a stretch.
Will soon find out I guess

Good luck with the run Badz

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0 - 14 Miles in 6 months, 2 hours, 13 minutes and 58 seconds.
Start weight: 18 st 4.. Current weight: 14 st 8.. Current Goal: Duchy Marathon, 8th March 2009

You always run a bit faster in a race, so you should go for sub-45!

There's always a bottleneck for the first couple of km's especially going over the Kingston Bridge - if you find you're behind schedule at this point, don't worry too much, there's a few good downhill and flater streches to make up the time from about 4km in.