This week’s training theme:
After you’ve trusted your training, next trust your taper.
My penultimate week of training went better than the week before it. My leg was feeling much better — and I received the equivalent of a papal dispensation in terms of running the race despite a minor problem.
In the true spirit of “don’t do anything new before the race” I’ve decided not to go to physical therapy until after the marathon. It’s probably paranoid of me to think this, but I don’t want someone massaging my leg only to end up with some new problem as a result. It’s Tuesday evening and it really does feel better, about an 0.5 on the 1-10 pain scale.
My mileage was only slightly less than the previous week (owing to the fact that that week’s mileage was knocked right down by virtue of having taken two full days off to heal up The Leg). Recovery pace accounted for 60% of the mileage, with the rest an easy run with 3 miles at marathon pace and a 13 mile “long” (Long? That’s not long) run on Sunday.
I spent Sunday morning in Fairfield, CT, milling about the Scandinavian Club (my people!) while Jonathan ran his little heart out over 18+ miles. Side note: He took first in his age group again, and outkicked two young West Point Military Academy whippersnappers at the finish.
Since I had about two hours to kill, I pitched in with preparing the post-race food setup, went out to cheer the runners on, and then had a lovely conversation with another race spouse, a fellow runner whose husband was doing the race as a training run. We see them both on the Bronx River Pathway and sometimes at races, so it was nice to get to know at least one of them a little better.
It’s been truly bizarre to just run once per day (the exception being Wednesday). And it’s the first time in months that my legs have not felt tired on a run. I have a spring in my step and I’m having to hold myself back from running faster.
The tapering is beginning to drive me a little crazy, though. I’ve picked my race outfit, selected my gel flavors, devised my pacing strategy, and have my pre-race plan all laid out. Aside from obsessively checking the weather reports for Sunday, there’s nothing left for me to do. Except wait. And wait. And wait. Fortunately, work has been busy, so my mind is off of the race much of the time. But when it’s on the race, it will not stop. And I’ve begun having racing dreams too, which has been interesting.
A look back at the week:
- Monday: 3.9 miles recovery pace
- Tuesday: 5.5 miles recovery pace
- Wednesday: 7 miles recovery pace (AM); 4 miles recovery pace (PM)
- Thursday: 7.2 miles easy pace with 3 miles at marathon pace
- Friday: 5.2 miles recovery pace
- Saturday: 5.1 miles recovery pace
- Sunday: 13 mile long run (steady pace) — easy, easy, easy pace
Total mileage: 50.9 miles
Paces this week:
- Recovery: 9:25 – 10:50
- Long: 9:08-9:26
- Marathon: 7:44
This week’s quote:
“Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.“
— Barbara Johnson
Coming up in training week eighteen: 26 miles, with close to 80% at recovery pace. One marathon “rehearsal run” on Wednesday. Then, on Sunday morning, we’ll see how far all this has gotten me.
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Races Like a Girl 