Taper.

No, I'm not talking about tapering drywall butt joints (don't ask) or reminiscing about the infamous pottery wheel scene in Ghost where Patrick Swayze is helping Demi Moore taper the clay after he totally ruined her vase in the making while "Unchained Melody" is playing in the background.

"Tapering is a special training period immediately preceding the major competition during which the training stimulus is reduced in a systematic non-linear fashion to achieve a peak in performance. Optimal physiology, technique and psychology are all outcomes of tapering. " (Thanks to the Australian Sports Commission for this definition-  I don't know.  It was one of the first Google results!).

It is the final stage of training. The culmination of 5 months of training. You would think that a runner would love the opportunity that tapering affords them. Reduced weekly mileage which means more downtime and a chance to rest. What's not to love about that?  

I've always looked at tapering as a love hate relationship. On the one hand, you reduce the miles that you run after plateauing at the 21 mile long run. This gives you a bit more free time and a little less pressure of trying to fit all the training into an already hectic daily schedule. 

It gives your body time to repair and prepare (oh, I like that one!  It even rhymes!) itself for the big day. Kind of like a car front end alignment. Much needed after hitting all those potholes this spring. It is also a time to reflect and prepare mentally. All good things you would think right?

I liken tapering to the theme song of that 80's classic "The Facts of Life":

You take the good, you take the bad,
you take them both and there you have
The facts of life, the facts of life.

We've talked about the good.  Now we talk about the bad.  It is a challenge to train for so long with the goal to steadily increase mileage week after week and then all of a sudden wind it down to what seems like almost nothing over a couple of weeks.  It goes against everything that you have been doing.  Your body and mind wants to run more to keep up with the regime that it was used to. 

There are those great mind games that kick in during taper.  What else would your brain and body do with the extra time that it has now?  You know that you have done everything possible to train and be ready for the big day.  However, there is that certain moment when you start second guessing everything.  I mean everything.  Did I train enough?  Did I do enough hill workouts?  Should I have done a few more tempo runs? Is my refueling plan solid?  It takes mental toughness to put that all aside and not listen to your head.  I look at it and say that everything that I have done and my plan is what it is.  I'm not going to change it now even though part of me wants to.  Why?  Because I did it all when I wasn't worrying about things and had a more clear head. 

How about even more head game action?  "Please sir, may I have another?"  Why not!  It is crazy the things that my mind comes up with during taper.  The paranoia sets in and takes a death grip on all logical thinking.  Did that person two offices down from me just sneeze?  Did you just seriously cough in the same room that I am?  Now I have to hold my breath for as long as I can hoping that the contaminated air sinks to the floor before it makes its way over to me.  What was that twitch I just felt?  Why do I have that pain in my knee all of a sudden (both of these are things we runners like to refer to as "phantom pains")?  The desire to want to wipe everything down with Purell.  Then spray it with Lysol just for old times sake.  Why is it that there are so many people on crutches a couple of weeks leading up to Patriot's Day?  Stay away!  Heaven forbid if somebody with them walks in front of me.  Sorry everyone, I'm not in my right mind right now so please forgive me for how I may treat you.  It is as if every person on the face of the earth has the plague.  Is it normal to take a paper towel with you after washing your hands in a public bathroom and then use it to open the door when leaving to protect your pristine hand from the germ laden handle?  No?  Oh... 

I guess that I should probably just go wrap myself in bubble wrap and then climb into an inflatable bubble for the rest of this week.  That sounds pretty logical and a very sane option to me right now! Go Taper Town!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!
 

The Final Countdown.

Oh, We're heading for Venus (Venus)
And still we stand tall
Cause maybe they've seen us
And welcome us all, yeah
With so many light years to go
And things to be found (to be found)
I'm sure that we'll all miss her so

It's the final countdown...

I crack up every time that I hear that song. A montage of Gob Bluth's (Arrested Development) cheesy magic tricks, sorry, "illusions" cycle through my head like I'm flipping channels trying to find something to watch. I absolutely love Arrested Development (original series and not the reborn Netflix version). I digress.

It is the final countdown. 4 days until race day. I have so many mixed emotions right now. Nervousness, anxiety, joy and sadness.  Each one waiting for the right moment to hit like a Mack truck.

It has been a very long week this week waiting for race day. The local news coverage of what happened one year ago at the Marathon really hit me harder than I thought it would. I think that that is because I have a greater understanding of what the Boston Marathon means now not only to myself but the other runners, their families and the City of Boston. Very emotional  stuff.

This week has also been very long due to the fact that I'm tapering. It was much more difficult this time around as I'm really sticking to it. When I trained last year for the marathon in Hampton, NH, I didn't focus to much on tapering and I it caught up with me. I was just winding down a very active race season and didn't feel that I needed to follow the program that closely.  Lesson learned.  I was able to get my final training run (5 miles) in tonight though so that helped with putting my sanity back in check.  It was pretty darn cold out there with the wind whipping and a temperature of 32. I guess it didn't help that I was running in shorts.

I have the B.A.A. 5K race on Saturday along with bib pickup for the marathon at the race expo. Exciting weekend of running activities. It is kind of sad though to think that it is all coming to an end. This thing that has taken over my life since December.  Controlling so many aspects of what I do and don't do. It's a love hate relationship.  More of a love thing though. 

Now, I have to go and pop in the first season of Arrested Development and laugh my @ss off!  Love those crazy Bluth's! 

It's the final countdown
We're leaving together
The final countdown
We'll all miss her so
It's the final countdown (final countdown)
Oh, it's the final countdown.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

 

 



It' All In The Numbers.

This tapering thing is for the birds!  It is very difficult to run so much during training in the months before the marathon and then have to limit how much you run in the last couple of weeks.  I know that I need to do it but it goes against the norm over the past 4 months.  That said, I might as well do something with the extra time on my hands so I figured why not reminisce about my training and put it into some real numbers.  Show what goes into training for a marathon.  So, without further ado...

Training Stats
Number of months training: 4
Number of training runs: 46
Distance run: 454.48 miles
Total time spent running: 58 hours  10 minutes
Average length of each run: 1 hour 15 minutes
Average elevation gain: 506 ft
Average elevation loss: 560 ft
Average speed: 7.2 mph
Average distance: 9.88 miles
Average temperature: 29
Average real feel temperature: 23
Lowest temperature: 12
Lowest real feel temperature: 3

The most important number: 27855

Why is 27855 the most important number?  That is my official bib number for the race.  I was so excited to get my marathon packet recently which contained my runner passport and that awesome number.  27855.  Numbers.  Hey, I should play the lotto now that I have some numbers to use!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Let The Tapering Begin.

The Boston Marathon is 21 days away!

Three weeks to go.  This has been a long journey since starting training back in the beginning of December.  Long runs. Early morning runs. Evening runs. Lots of refueling gels and sports drinks.  Trying to balance training, work and family.

Taper.  I'm not talking about a lovely wax dinner candle used to set the mood for fine dining.  I'm referring to reducing the number of miles that I run in the remaining three weeks leading up to the marathon.  The purpose of tapering is to allow the restocking of depleted glycogen supplies and the repair of damaged tissue from the weeks of hard training.  In essence, it is giving my body the chance to recover and to be in peak condition for the big day. 

This process calls for a reduction of miles by 20 to 25 percent per run three weeks out.  A further reduction of 20 to 25 percent per run two weeks out.  The final week before the marathon calls for a few six milers early in the week. 

The process of reducing mileage can be seen as a good thing on one hand but also difficult on the other.  The thought of being able to cut down on mileage each week is so inviting and welcomed this far into training.  However, it can also have a negative mental impact by giving you extra time to start questioning your training.  Did I do enough to prepare myself for this race?  Did I run enough?  Should I have focused more on my speed?  Should I have put more hill work into my weekly training?  All good questions.  However, deep down, I know that I've done the best that I can.  I just have to keep reminding myself of this fact whenever I begin to question things with the extra free time that I'll have on my hands.  Questiong things is expected and has already begun to some degree.  It is just another aspect of marathon training to be prepared for.  This mental component can be just as hard to train for as the physical component.  You have to learn to take complete control of the head games and put everything in perspective.  Mental strength + physical strength = Athlete.  Hello world, my name is Keith and I'm an athlete.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!