Showing posts with label taper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taper. Show all posts
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
MARATHON TAPER DIET, Cinco de Mayo Edition
Mmmm...chicken enchiladas & beer! ¡Bueños noches, amigas y amigos!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Week Review / Back in the Saddle / Taper Time!
Boy, last week was a roller coaster for me. I started the week with a horrible 22-mile run (documented in a previous post), followed by two days off to recover, two easy runs (one with a fast mile thrown in), then a strong 8-mile run on Saturday morning at a 7:16 clip.
Here are last week's numbers:
Runs: 4
Miles: 40.3
Time: 6:08:00
Long: 22 mi
Today, I ran my final long-ish run of my marathon training plan - 16 miles. After last Monday's fiasco, I wanted this run to end on a high note. It was warm (70), humid and windy! This was a tale of two runs. Basically, it consisted of an 8-mile warmup leading into an 8-mile tempo run. For the first 8 miles, I decided to keep my heart rate below 130 bpm. That necessitated a painfully slow 9:21 pace. However, that set me up for a fast second half...assuming I had anything in the tank. My legs felt a little flat, but I thought I'd transition into a faster pace with an 8:14 mile 9. The remaining 7 miles were as follows: 7:55, 7:46, 7:35, 7:36, 7:37, 7:27. So, out in 1:14:52, back in 1:01:36 (7:42 avg). While it wasn't easy, it didn't wipe me out, and it restored some confidence. I followed the run with the traditional 15-minute ice bath.
Something I really should have been doing all along is weighing myself before and after long runs. I did that today, and was shocked to see I was 4.6 lbs lighter after my run! To be fair, I ate pizza last night and was probably retaining a good amount of water, but that really opened my eyes to how much fluid I'm losing out there.
Now...bring on the taper!
Here are last week's numbers:
Runs: 4
Miles: 40.3
Time: 6:08:00
Long: 22 mi
Today, I ran my final long-ish run of my marathon training plan - 16 miles. After last Monday's fiasco, I wanted this run to end on a high note. It was warm (70), humid and windy! This was a tale of two runs. Basically, it consisted of an 8-mile warmup leading into an 8-mile tempo run. For the first 8 miles, I decided to keep my heart rate below 130 bpm. That necessitated a painfully slow 9:21 pace. However, that set me up for a fast second half...assuming I had anything in the tank. My legs felt a little flat, but I thought I'd transition into a faster pace with an 8:14 mile 9. The remaining 7 miles were as follows: 7:55, 7:46, 7:35, 7:36, 7:37, 7:27. So, out in 1:14:52, back in 1:01:36 (7:42 avg). While it wasn't easy, it didn't wipe me out, and it restored some confidence. I followed the run with the traditional 15-minute ice bath.
Something I really should have been doing all along is weighing myself before and after long runs. I did that today, and was shocked to see I was 4.6 lbs lighter after my run! To be fair, I ate pizza last night and was probably retaining a good amount of water, but that really opened my eyes to how much fluid I'm losing out there.
Now...bring on the taper!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Bike Training is Complete
Did an "easy" 20 mile ride today. "Easy" is in quotes because I can tell I'm right on the edge of overtraining and really need a break. Hopefully I didn't overstep so much that I'll still have dead legs by Sunday. I've got 3 days to rest up before the race. I totaled up my cycling mileage so far this year and here it is: 719 miles on the road, plus the equivalent of 366 on the trainer. Not that much by cycling standards, but a good bit of that was pretty hard training (and...hey...I'm a runner!). Now it's time to sit and wait...then leave it all out on the course on Sunday morning.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Last Hard Ride
This morning I did my final hard bike ride before the Whisky Dick triathlon next Sunday. 26.4 miles, including 16.5 miles of hard hill repeats (12 total). This is the third time I've done this ride in as many weeks, and I wish I could say it felt easier. Today, for some reason, it felt pretty frickin' hard! My legs might be a little spent after Friday's run/hike in the mountains and Saturday's hard interval ride...both of which felt great. I'm actually looking forward to an easy 20-miler (or so) on Wednesday, then nothing until the race. Right now, a taper sounds great, but I know I'll be getting antsy a couple of days before the race and second-guessing my preparation & fitness level. Don't most of us do that? Having never raced on a bike before, I have no real time goal. I can't really go by my training times, since this course starts off with a 12-mile uphill section. I guess my goal would be to survive the hill and race the rest. My teammates (David Dick and Arthur Martineau) will be well prepared, so unless I suck the gas pipe, we may have a shot at placing well in the team category. Should be fun.
Oh, one other bit of trivia - I finally hit 40 mph on my bike on this particular training route (downhill, of course). I always try to hit that every time on one particular hill, but before today I could only reach 39.5. So that was kind of cool.
Anyway, after the race, I'll (happily) transition back to running. I'll be training for a September 10k and an October half-marathon. I'm really itching to run again! It'll probably take a week or two to get my running legs back.
Oh, one other bit of trivia - I finally hit 40 mph on my bike on this particular training route (downhill, of course). I always try to hit that every time on one particular hill, but before today I could only reach 39.5. So that was kind of cool.
Anyway, after the race, I'll (happily) transition back to running. I'll be training for a September 10k and an October half-marathon. I'm really itching to run again! It'll probably take a week or two to get my running legs back.
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