Urban Feet Coach Dossier - Taper Follow-Up

Urban Feet Running ClubTaper Follow-Up

Progress Check • Taper Adjustment • Race-Week Script

The taper is working. Do not get greedy now.

This follow-up uses the April 13, 2026 Garmin-backed activity export to check the original April 5 taper plan against what actually happened, then tighten the remaining week so you arrive at Jersey City with your best race still available.

You have done enough to earn freshness. The remaining job is to stop spending energy you will need on Sunday.

Progress: Friday, Saturday, and Monday all landed inside the intended taper lane.
Watch item: Sunday became a real run rather than the off-or-recovery day originally prescribed.
Adjustment: Keep Tuesday honest, make Wednesday truly quiet, and treat all remaining mileage as support work, not fitness work.

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Coach follow-up dossier
Data through Monday evening, April 13, 2026
Garmin-backed taper checkpoint

Primary Call

3:38-3:40

unchanged

Best New Signal

4.01

easy miles on Apr 13

Taper Block

22.05

miles from Apr 10-13

Risk Note

Sunday

was heavier than planned

Coach's premise: the original race call still stands. Your recent work says you are moving through taper week well enough to protect the 3:38-3:40 lane. It does not justify chasing 3:35 by force.

Open original dossier

Taper Status

What the last four days actually say

Friday and Saturday were good taper behavior. Friday's 4.01 easy miles at 9:01 pace matched the plan. Saturday's 9.10 miles landed squarely inside the planned 8-10 range, and the average pace stayed controlled enough that it still reads like aerobic support rather than a hidden race.

Sunday is the only meaningful deviation. The original script called for off or 3 recovery miles. You ran 4.93 miles at 8:15 pace. That is not sabotage, but it is more work than the ideal taper script asked for. The implication is not panic. The implication is that the rest of the week now has to become cleaner, quieter, and less negotiable.

Monday restored the picture. The 4.01-mile run on April 13 is exactly what a taper follow-up wants to see: the legs are still available, the pace did not drift into compensation, and the week can still close well if you avoid making Tuesday or Thursday bigger than they need to be.

The taper is slightly busier than perfect, but still very salvageable.

Past-Based Adjustment

Why the remaining plan gets quieter

Tokyo 2024 and Jersey City 2025 were built on steadiness, not last-minute proving.
NYC 2024 is still the caution sample in this archive: thinner runway, lower durability, worse result. That is the reminder to stop adding work once the taper starts asking for calm.
The right answer to a slightly heavy Sunday is not to squeeze more fitness out of Tuesday. It is to stop leaking fatigue into race week.

Plan Versus Reality

Progress through the taper plan

This is the clean comparison between the April 5 prescription and the actual Garmin record now on file through Monday evening, April 13.

Date	Original Plan	Actual Garmin Record	Coach Read
Fri Apr 10	4 easy miles	4.01 mi in 35:44 at 8:55/mi, avg HR 143	On plan. Honest, controlled, and not overcooked.
Sat Apr 11	8-10 easy, final 2 at marathon pace only if smooth	9.10 mi in 1:16:09 at 8:22/mi, avg HR 151	On plan. The mileage landed exactly where it should. Nothing here suggests taper panic.
Sun Apr 12	Off or 3 recovery miles	4.93 mi in 40:41 at 8:15/mi, avg HR 137	Slightly heavy. This is the one day that drifted beyond the intended freshness budget.
Mon Apr 13	4-5 easy miles plus 4 strides	4.01 mi in 35:44 at 8:55/mi, avg HR 143	Good reset. Mileage is correct. If strides happened, fine. If not, that is also fine.

What Improved

The legs stayed available

The Apr 13 run matters. It says the taper is not collapsing into deadness. You are still carrying enough spring to trust a light workout, not a rescue workout.

What To Watch

Do not compound Sunday

The Sunday run did not ruin anything, but it spent some freshness. That cost should be paid back with quieter days, not with another medium-hard session.

What Stays True

The race call does not change

The archive still says 3:38 to 3:40 is the mature, evidence-based lane. The faster number is still optional, conditional, and late-earned.

Remaining Week

Adjusted taper from Tuesday to race day

Date	Adjusted Session	Why this is the right adjustment
Tue Apr 14	4-5 total with 2 x 1 mile at marathon pace only if the first mile feels easy. If not, 4 easy + 4 x 20 sec strides.	The original structure survives, but the entry condition gets stricter because Sunday already spent some freshness.
Wed Apr 15	Off. No makeup miles.	This is where you pay back the extra Sunday work and let the taper become visibly lighter.
Thu Apr 16	3-4 easy miles only.	Shorter than the original script. The point now is rhythm, not training load.
Fri Apr 17	2-3 easy miles + 4 short strides.	Enough to stay connected, not enough to create a hangover.
Sat Apr 18	Off or 15-20 minute shakeout if you know it helps.	The race is already in the bank if you stop trying to prove it.
Sun Apr 19	Race day. First gel early. Calm first 10K. Keep the stretch goal dormant until after mile 20.	The best race you have available still begins with restraint.

Updated Race Read

How the target should feel now

Primary call remains 3:38 to 3:40. Nothing in the recent workouts argues against it.
3:35 stays a ceiling, not a mission. The extra Sunday run makes it even less wise to chase that number from the gun.
Protective floor remains useful. If the legs feel dull on race morning, 3:42 to 3:45 is still a smart salvage band rather than a failed day.
The archive still favors patience. Your best marathons came from calm openings and steady late decisions, not from taper-week heroics.

Simple Rule

If Tuesday needs persuasion, downgrade it.

The workout should confirm readiness, not manufacture it. If marathon pace does not arrive naturally, keep the day easy and preserve race-week confidence the honest way.

Execution Script

Final race-week cues

Opening

8:24-8:28 per mile through 10K. Let the race come to you. You are not buying time here. You are preserving options.

Middle

8:20-8:24 only if breathing stays quiet and fueling feels automatic. If the day feels slightly heavier, keep it closer to 8:25 and stay patient.

Late

Mile 20 decides whether any stretch goal is real. If you still feel in command there, race. If not, protect the best day that still exists.

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