Totally dependent on your fitness and base. Is the HM an "A" race for you or are you simply just doing it as part of your training? In the grand scheme of things, 13.1 miles is not something you need to taper more than a week for if you have a good base. If you have been a 5K/10K specialist for a long time and are just stepping up to 13.1 than a more conservative approach is appropriate. How many MPW are you doing in your run up to this event? If you have a good base and want to really kill this HM, then a 25% drop in volume for week 1 and a 50% drop in volume for week 2 is more than enough. If you are over-reaching in your training right now (peaking for something later on) then go conservative and don't set yourself up to have to dig out of a hole after the race. For me, the day before a HM should be a dynamic warm-up that includes 3-5 strides at the end then run 15% of race distance (2 miles) at race pace.

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach