Taper Kicking in Nicely

After last week's pile of running (after already having decided I would only do a two-week taper, since I only had 8 weeks between ROTPM and North Face), I made sure I checked an actual training program for a 50-miler to make sure I did an adequate taper.

Originally, I had myself doing a 2-hour long run this week, but instead that got chopped into (2) 1-hour runs, which was fine by me.

On Monday, I was predictably fatigued, and opted to let myself sleep in, and then I swam around noon, and it felt good to do it. On both Saturday and Sunday prior, I had wanted to do recovery swims, but was more interested in food, stretching and resting than another workout, so the Monday swim was nice.

I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to run on Monday, and it was funny when I went back and looked at some ultra training plans that called for not running the day before and day after these long runs, but of course, I am used to that, but in this case, I knew my legs could use the rest. I have run the day before and the day after every other long run I've done for this segment of my training.

But even though I wasn't going to run Monday, I felt like getting in some strength training, so I did that and it felt good, too, especially since I tapered it down to one set of 15 reps, which is pretty damn easy.

Tuesday called for a :30 run and 1:30 bike, so I decided to get the run done in the morning, and my legs felt pretty peppy, although sidewalk and asphalt feels like crap after the nice, soft trail runs over the weekend. When I got on the bike, I felt like going hard, and so I did.

Wednesday morning was another swim, and then around noon it was time to go run for an hour. Even before I got started, I could tell my legs weren't too interested in running, and I ended up having one of the crappiest runs I've had in a really long time. Part of it was because I think the hard ride on Tuesday wasn't exactly good for recovering from the previous week, but also on Tuesday night I had dinner with my niece and some of her friends (they call me "Auntie" which I think is so cute), indulged in things I wouldn't normally eat, and my stomach was just a mess while I was running on Wednesday. Oh well, one crappy run does not a race make or break, and I knew I wouldn't start feeling tapered until maybe Saturday, so on with the show.

On Thursday I was going to do another 1:30 ride, but I could tell my legs weren't feeling like doing it. Still, I got on the trainer, and 1 minute later, I decided that nope, this ride was not happening, it wasn't necessary, and in the big scheme of things, might even hurt me. So I rested the legs and felt better for doing so.

Friday morning I had a 5,000 yard swim planned, and when I woke up, I felt good and rested for it, and ended up swimming 5300 yards just so I could make it an even 3 miles! Afterwards, I felt no more tired than I used to feel after maybe 3,000 yards, so I have declared 5,000 yards to be the new 3,000 yards! Which is a good thing, because between now and Ultraman Canada, I will only have 5 more Friday long swims which are shorter than that!

All I had to do Friday afternoon was another :30 run, and although I took the first mile out easy, I picked things up and ran around 5K pace for the remainder, and man that was fun! I found it entertaining right after I finished that I had swam and ran about the same distance, and I thought ahead to coming Fridays when the swim and run will be the same distance. It feels somehow Zen to me...

Yesterday I let myself sleep in since I only needed to run for an hour, but I did need to run with a hydration belt as I will do in the race. I bought a new one at REI, but decided I'd go with the double bottle Fuel Belt that I already had. I filled both bottles even though I didn't need hardly any of the fluid at all for just an hour just to get used to the weight on me.

Boy am I glad I am a few pounds lighter than last year! When I first started running (at Waterfall Glen), I was like, ick, it sucks to weigh this much, but then I got used to it and was fine. Thing is, my waist is so small that I have the straps tightened as much as possible and I still have the Velcro part overlapping way more than it's supposed to, but at least it stays on. I did my run 5'/walk 1' thing, and didn't feel particularly peppy yesterday, but I still enjoyed the hell out of a 1 hour run that went by so quickly.

Just as I was about to leave, I spotted someone getting out of their car, and I recognized a friend, Chad, from behind, called out his name, and chatted with him and his wife for a few minutes. I told them about what I'd been doing and my training, and they both assured me that what I've done plus my background I should be fine for 50 miles. But still, this is something I've never done before and I am sure it will be new territory for me. But hearing a few ultra distance athletes that I highly respect telling me I'm good to go felt good.

Even though I only ran an hour, I felt suitably tired, which is pretty normal for a taper for me. Still, it was nice to have pretty much most of the day to get some chores done, and then I needed to get to sleep early so I could run this morning in the dark.

Why? Because I had to try running with the headlamp on (North Face 50 starts at 6AM in the dark and you are required to use a headlamp). I bought the thing weeks ago but hadn't used it, so today was the day. It was about 30 degrees this morning, but no wind, so actually quite pleasant. I woke up before the alarm went off just before 5AM, drank 2 cups of coffee and ate a Powerbar, loaded up the Fuel Belt bottles again so I'd have all the weight on me, strapped on the lamp, and got going just after 6AM.

Right away I noticed how interesting my breath looked in the cold air under the light of the headlamp, but other than that, it wasn't a big deal. Although with all the light pollution where I live, it wasn't exactly pitch black. Still, I had to watch where I was going, using the light coming from my head. The weight of the thing didn't bother me, but once again I thought thank God I am so light because of all the extra weight I have strapped to my body!

I didn't feel like run/walk this morning, so I just ran nice and easy, but negative split and enjoyed the run, and now I feel like the taper is really kicking in. I never did drink anything I had carried with me, and as soon as I got home I fixed myself another cup of coffee. Hot coffee after a cold run is the best!

Tomorrow I will only swim 3000 yards as my long swim (ha ha like 3000 is long), a short run, nothing on Tuesday, a shorter swim and run Wednesday, and that's all she wrote. I am just hoping it doesn't rain on race day, but if it's in the 30's when we start, no problem.

Fill in the blank: The thing that helps me recover the most is _______________.




The correct answer is SLEEP! I have been sleeping like a champ since June, and my training and racing has reflected it. In registering for Ultraman, I know that it is critical that I get as much sleep as I possibly can, even if that means I have less of "a life" than I did before. So this coming week I will continue to get 8.5-10 hours a night, knowing that the night before North Face I may not sleep too much, but that's OK.

I am oddly calm about all of this, but I remember feeling the same way before IMLP this year. I think that's a good thing.