The Race is tomorrow! This is my last post recapping my training.
The taper gets a bad rap. Many people hate it but I really love it. There are no expectations on pace and it is a wonderful physical and mental break. That said, I do struggle feeling a bit "off" during my taper runs.
"Why does my knee hurt?"
"Oh my god my toe is rubbing. WHY IS MY TOE RUBBING?"
Or, my biggest freak out, "Why do I have no feeling in my left leg?!" (Has this ever happened to you? This was the second time I ever remember this happening to me - where one of my legs suddenly feels asleep and like jelly from the hip down. It starts to almost give out with every step.)
Oh phantom pains.
Thankfully, I have had experience with the taper (reflecting on my more recent previous marathons) and follow enough runners and running blogs to know that the freak-out is normal. My goal for the taper was to honor the plan and the work that I have put in by really running all of the runs easy. And not, "I'm pushing myself but it is still easy" but EASY. Like, "I feel as if I am shuffling along and barely moving" easy. I definitely accomplished this.
I also wanted to actually complete all of the taper runs on the plan. During my past two marathons, I skipped taper runs thinking that would do my body good and because I felt tired. Re-reading the "taper" section of the Hanson book definitely helped me this week. Of course I feel tired. But skipping my runs would not be the answer and I would run the risk of feeling sluggish the first few miles of the actual race from being out of routine. HELLO Boston Marathon! I didn't run the 4 days prior to that race and definitely felt like a slug from the moment the gun went off.
So. Goal for the week: Run all the runs and run them EASY.
Monday May 15
Plan Says: 5 miles easy
What I Do: For the second week in a row, the week was off to a rocky start when my alarm failed to go off and I woke up late to start the day. I had a crazy day at work, having a big presentation, followed by taking my daughter in to get her "real" cast on her arm that afternoon. 0 miles
Tuesday May 16
Plan Says: 5 miles easy
What I Do: Again, no Sense alarm. (GRRR! I have contacting customer service on my to-do list.) Again not having morning run put a crunch on my schedule so I left work early to get a run in before the bus came as we were traveling that night to go to my niece's choir concert.
4.58 miles, 36:01 (7:51 avg pace)
That night I did the High Mileage Reset by JasYoga. My left ribs are still tender but not constantly so I've crossed them off the worry list.
Wednesday May 17
Plan Says: Off
What I Do: Having used my off day on Monday, I had 5 miles to do. Actually, 5.4 miles to make up for the shorter run on Tuesday. I set two alarms for a morning run and Hallelujah! I was up at 5.
5.45 miles, 45:35 (8:22 avg pace)
Thursday May 18
Plan Says: 6 miles easy
What I Do: I kind of feel that 6 miles is a long distance so close to the race but "Trust the Plan", right? Dual alarms = up at 5. The nice thing about 5 agfm runs is that I no longer need to carry lights! So fun!
6.01 miles, 49:47 (8:17 avg pace)
Friday May 19
Plan Says: 5 miles easy
What I Do: 5 miles at 5 AM. Going very slowly.
Saturday May 20
Plan Says: 3 miles easy
What I Do: We needed to leave our house EARLY to get to Green Bay on time for the kids runs as both my 3 year old and my 6 year old were signed up to run. Thus, I was up early to get this 3 mile shake-out done.
3 miles, 7:51 avg pace
Sunday May 21
Plan Says: RACE DAY
What I Do: You'll have to come back next week to read the race report!
Weekly Mileage
Plan says: 24 miles (excludes race)
What I did: 24 miles
It's officially done. 18 weeks of "official" training plan work and 761.75 miles logged since 1/1/17 leading up to the big day.
What a great way to finish out the training cycle. Congrats on being very consistent with the plan and trying something new.
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