The cold front continues. In fact, the cold front has been amplified and we are now talking about high temperatures in the 50s. During the day. Remember when temperatures didn't even get down to 50, even at night? Because I most certainly do.
This week -- the week leading up to the marathon -- is the most super-easy week ever. As it should be. Two three-mile runs and one (wait for it) 2-miler the day before the race. That one is mostly to ensure that your body hasn't completely forgotten what running is.
I know why the 5 miles felt long the other day, or at least I can theorize that it was related to tapering. Today's three miles, on the other hand, was just fine. Nice, brisk temperature. Did a loop through Stephanie and David's neighborhood. I feel like I'm hitting up all of the places that I've been along this training journey.
It's funny to me that when I started, 3 miles felt like utter hell during the summer. Now, not only is it easy to run, but the weather is almost diametrically opposite.
Showing posts with label Taper Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taper Week. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
T-6 Days
I've been a bit surprised that I don't seem to be suffering from many of the 'taper week' symptoms that I have read so much about. This is not an easy time, despite the fact that mileage has reduced. You tend to get sick -- check. You tend to worry that you are going to sustain some stupid injury that makes you unable to run your marathon -- check. But other than that, I've been okay. Until today.
One thing that I have read about is the fact that your runs are just not very good runs. This might seem self-evident: you have been running a lot of miles for a lot of time and your body is tired. So clearly you will not be running your best. But until now, I was feeling okay about my runs. Today, not really.
Five miles was a long five miles. This was in no way related to the weather (61F right now!) or anything else obvious. I think that it was more of a point where my body has decided that enough is enough and it doesn't really feel like going on runs any more. The key thing about this phase of the taper weeks is to not panic, because you won't actually run like this on marathon day. So say the experts. Therefore, I shall not panic. But it was still a surprisingly tricky run in some respects.
(The time, though, was slightly faster than the last 5 mile run I did, so clearly this is not related to performance necessarily).
I've also figured out the reason that I've been so obsessive about finishing the training program. These taper week runs are kind of freebies: they aren't actually necessary and likely won't help your marathon in any way. And there have definitely been a few days lately where I didn't really feel like it but went anyway (such as yesterday and for much of today's run). However, I think that there is something in my head that wants to be able to say that I ran all of the training program, even if I don't do well for the marathon. At least I can say I put in the time and effort.
One thing that I have read about is the fact that your runs are just not very good runs. This might seem self-evident: you have been running a lot of miles for a lot of time and your body is tired. So clearly you will not be running your best. But until now, I was feeling okay about my runs. Today, not really.
Five miles was a long five miles. This was in no way related to the weather (61F right now!) or anything else obvious. I think that it was more of a point where my body has decided that enough is enough and it doesn't really feel like going on runs any more. The key thing about this phase of the taper weeks is to not panic, because you won't actually run like this on marathon day. So say the experts. Therefore, I shall not panic. But it was still a surprisingly tricky run in some respects.
(The time, though, was slightly faster than the last 5 mile run I did, so clearly this is not related to performance necessarily).
I've also figured out the reason that I've been so obsessive about finishing the training program. These taper week runs are kind of freebies: they aren't actually necessary and likely won't help your marathon in any way. And there have definitely been a few days lately where I didn't really feel like it but went anyway (such as yesterday and for much of today's run). However, I think that there is something in my head that wants to be able to say that I ran all of the training program, even if I don't do well for the marathon. At least I can say I put in the time and effort.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Taper Time Begins with a Challenge
Since I started training, I've noticed that my body sometimes craves weird things. This goes beyond those times when I find myself hording carbs in my shopping cart, although that is one good example. What is even weirder is when I find my body 'craving' things that have nothing to do with food. For instance, after one of my long runs, I was getting ready to go watch my football game at the bar and I realized that my feet craved for me to wear running shoes. Seriously. I can't explain it any better than to say it is a craving.
Today, I had a 5-mile run. It was supposed to be 5 miles with hills, but I didn't feel like running over in the hill neighborhood. Several factors conspired to make me less motivated: the fact that the sun goes down at 5:30 now; the fact that I did not get home until 5; and the fact that I don't like running in the dark any more for fear of tripping and bashing up my knees (or worse). I couldn't go running in the morning because I was in Orlando. Yes. Again.
I came awfully close to not doing today's run. Probably closer than I have come before. For one, I just wasn't in the mood. Also, I got a massage this afternoon which helped take out all of the running kinks and I was enjoying being able to move my neck freely again (the massage finished at 4:45, hence why I did not get home until 5pm). And the weather, while not vile, is not ideal for running. Today's heat index was in the mid-80s. Ugh.
However, somehow my body craved (?) going for a run around my little condo association neighborhood. By 'little,' I mean this thing loops at 0.7 miles. Why I wanted to do this, I don't know. It required that I circle 7 times around the little loop, then add on a tiny bit. But for some reason, this made me happy and it really wasn't so bad. There is decent lighting at night here, which is not true of all neighborhoods. I ran on the road, so no uneven sidewalks to trip me. It is a loop, but it isn't a terrible loop as far as scenery goes. Just chalk this up to another one of my weird 'cravings,' I guess. And that is another 5 miles that I really did not want to run done!
Today, I had a 5-mile run. It was supposed to be 5 miles with hills, but I didn't feel like running over in the hill neighborhood. Several factors conspired to make me less motivated: the fact that the sun goes down at 5:30 now; the fact that I did not get home until 5; and the fact that I don't like running in the dark any more for fear of tripping and bashing up my knees (or worse). I couldn't go running in the morning because I was in Orlando. Yes. Again.
I came awfully close to not doing today's run. Probably closer than I have come before. For one, I just wasn't in the mood. Also, I got a massage this afternoon which helped take out all of the running kinks and I was enjoying being able to move my neck freely again (the massage finished at 4:45, hence why I did not get home until 5pm). And the weather, while not vile, is not ideal for running. Today's heat index was in the mid-80s. Ugh.
However, somehow my body craved (?) going for a run around my little condo association neighborhood. By 'little,' I mean this thing loops at 0.7 miles. Why I wanted to do this, I don't know. It required that I circle 7 times around the little loop, then add on a tiny bit. But for some reason, this made me happy and it really wasn't so bad. There is decent lighting at night here, which is not true of all neighborhoods. I ran on the road, so no uneven sidewalks to trip me. It is a loop, but it isn't a terrible loop as far as scenery goes. Just chalk this up to another one of my weird 'cravings,' I guess. And that is another 5 miles that I really did not want to run done!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Whoops
Yesterday's 'long' run was so short that I completely forgot to blog about it! It was only six miles. Hard to think of that as a long run after the past month, I do have to say. And I realized that instead of being annoyed that it got hot during Taper Week, I should be grateful. It would be even worse if it gets hot during a normal week with much longer runs.
Anyway, I've been reflecting quite a bit on how things are going since this is the last Taper Week before the real Taper Weeks that will occur right before the actual marathon. Crazy! In response to this, I think that I've started hording. Yesterday I went to the Running Center and stocked up on 'sport beans,' opting only for the ones with caffeine (apparently, they do not all have caffeine, as I discovered around mile 10 of the 14-mile run. Boo). Today at the grocery store, I started hording carbs. Because I will likely need carbs. And kept reminding myself to stock up for when I am ridiculously hungry, which will probably start sometime tomorrow after a 9-mile run. Also, I bought a big container of chocolate milk so that it's just sitting at home and I don't need to detour to the CVS and stand in line for, like, 15 minutes after a long run to get my chocolate milk because someone ahead of me feels that the marked discount on Tampa Bay Rays cowbells does not match what was in the sales flier (why yes, that did actually happen, how did you guess?). I'm flipping the schedule this week because of work, so it will be 9M tomorrow, 5M with hills on Thursday, and long run Sunday. The week after will having some flipping as well. Stay tuned!
I have only 3 actual long runs remaining before the marathon: 16M, 18M, and 20M. This schedule stops at 20M. Please don't ask me if I am worried that this will not be enough training or if I think I will make it or if I feel that there should be another longer run. The answer to all of those questions is that yes, I'm concerned. But I'm reminding myself that it's not about the actual plan (to some extent) but your belief in the plan. I mean, I could technically run a marathon tomorrow, regardless of how I trained, it just might not go so well and I might really hate myself the morning after -- and all of this will likely happen no matter what training plan I follow. So I need to have faith that this plan will work. Also, I'm already breaking it down in my head that it will be 2M + 2M + 2.2M to finish. That's it. Just three groups of two at the end. This can totally be done. And will be, dammit.
I also keep trying to do the math for 10% markers (2.6 miles) during the run but keep breaking down after 13.1. It is a good time waster, though.
I do have to say that as I'm getting into this last stretch of training, I'm not feeling too awful. No major injuries to report, no serious problems, and as long as I don't bang a shopping cart straight into my shin like I did today, no real pain. Phew. I may not be fast, but I think that I am pretty durable.
This post has lots of numbers for my non-quantitative brain. No idea why.
Anyway, I've been reflecting quite a bit on how things are going since this is the last Taper Week before the real Taper Weeks that will occur right before the actual marathon. Crazy! In response to this, I think that I've started hording. Yesterday I went to the Running Center and stocked up on 'sport beans,' opting only for the ones with caffeine (apparently, they do not all have caffeine, as I discovered around mile 10 of the 14-mile run. Boo). Today at the grocery store, I started hording carbs. Because I will likely need carbs. And kept reminding myself to stock up for when I am ridiculously hungry, which will probably start sometime tomorrow after a 9-mile run. Also, I bought a big container of chocolate milk so that it's just sitting at home and I don't need to detour to the CVS and stand in line for, like, 15 minutes after a long run to get my chocolate milk because someone ahead of me feels that the marked discount on Tampa Bay Rays cowbells does not match what was in the sales flier (why yes, that did actually happen, how did you guess?). I'm flipping the schedule this week because of work, so it will be 9M tomorrow, 5M with hills on Thursday, and long run Sunday. The week after will having some flipping as well. Stay tuned!
I have only 3 actual long runs remaining before the marathon: 16M, 18M, and 20M. This schedule stops at 20M. Please don't ask me if I am worried that this will not be enough training or if I think I will make it or if I feel that there should be another longer run. The answer to all of those questions is that yes, I'm concerned. But I'm reminding myself that it's not about the actual plan (to some extent) but your belief in the plan. I mean, I could technically run a marathon tomorrow, regardless of how I trained, it just might not go so well and I might really hate myself the morning after -- and all of this will likely happen no matter what training plan I follow. So I need to have faith that this plan will work. Also, I'm already breaking it down in my head that it will be 2M + 2M + 2.2M to finish. That's it. Just three groups of two at the end. This can totally be done. And will be, dammit.
I also keep trying to do the math for 10% markers (2.6 miles) during the run but keep breaking down after 13.1. It is a good time waster, though.
I do have to say that as I'm getting into this last stretch of training, I'm not feeling too awful. No major injuries to report, no serious problems, and as long as I don't bang a shopping cart straight into my shin like I did today, no real pain. Phew. I may not be fast, but I think that I am pretty durable.
This post has lots of numbers for my non-quantitative brain. No idea why.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sometimes I really hate you, Florida
It's official: it got hot again. Record-breaking heat, in fact. Today it got up to 91F in Tampa. That would be summer weather, except that it is very slightly less humid. But not really.
This is just unfair. It's a taper week for me, meaning that my mileage is spread out over 4 days of shorter runs. I was really looking forward to this because shorter runs generally feel much faster than normal. In fact, today's run was only 4 miles. Can you imagine? I ran three times that plus two more miles on Sunday.
Instead, 4 miles turned out to be very painful indeed because it got hot again. BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
(I mean, I guess it could be worse since up north it is snowing and everything. But I don't care because I feel like whining about my weather situation.)
Anyway, unable to bear the thought of running in summer morning conditions, I decided to take a gamble on the weather and go for the nighttime instead. Of course, this also added the challenge of running before it got dark since the sun now goes down at 5pm or something. Okay, not really. The sun never goes down at 5pm here. I'm thinking back to Boston. But it does go down much earlier and by the time I was wrapping up the run at 7:30pm-ish, it was definitely dark.
Meh, no alligators crawled out of the darkened sewer and got me, so whatever.
(If you're curious, yes, I was traumatized by Stephen King's It at an impressionable age).
It was still not quite at the 160 threshold of ick. But again, it was far too close to the 150 threshold of ick, perhaps even surpassing it on the way to 160. Come on! It's late October! This should be over by now.
Oh, the dew point? Lower 70s. To cite my favorite Wikipedia page on the topic yet again, 'Very humid, quite uncomfortable.' And this was at 6pm today.
It could have been worse, though. This morning the dew point was 72F, the humidity 90%, and the temperature 75F, which means that yes, we did surpass the threshold of ick. So at least I made the right decision by waiting. I guess. But I'm still too sweaty and tired.
Blech. Just blech.
This is just unfair. It's a taper week for me, meaning that my mileage is spread out over 4 days of shorter runs. I was really looking forward to this because shorter runs generally feel much faster than normal. In fact, today's run was only 4 miles. Can you imagine? I ran three times that plus two more miles on Sunday.
Instead, 4 miles turned out to be very painful indeed because it got hot again. BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
(I mean, I guess it could be worse since up north it is snowing and everything. But I don't care because I feel like whining about my weather situation.)
Anyway, unable to bear the thought of running in summer morning conditions, I decided to take a gamble on the weather and go for the nighttime instead. Of course, this also added the challenge of running before it got dark since the sun now goes down at 5pm or something. Okay, not really. The sun never goes down at 5pm here. I'm thinking back to Boston. But it does go down much earlier and by the time I was wrapping up the run at 7:30pm-ish, it was definitely dark.
Meh, no alligators crawled out of the darkened sewer and got me, so whatever.
(If you're curious, yes, I was traumatized by Stephen King's It at an impressionable age).
It was still not quite at the 160 threshold of ick. But again, it was far too close to the 150 threshold of ick, perhaps even surpassing it on the way to 160. Come on! It's late October! This should be over by now.
Oh, the dew point? Lower 70s. To cite my favorite Wikipedia page on the topic yet again, 'Very humid, quite uncomfortable.' And this was at 6pm today.
It could have been worse, though. This morning the dew point was 72F, the humidity 90%, and the temperature 75F, which means that yes, we did surpass the threshold of ick. So at least I made the right decision by waiting. I guess. But I'm still too sweaty and tired.
Blech. Just blech.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)