Marathon training

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Marathon tapering comments from other bloggers

I am getting ready for the Lehigh Valley Marathon on September 8, 2013 (I put the year in there for posterity sake). BTW, also the day of my mom’s 85th birthday!!!

My blog post on tapering created a great list of comments that I thought would be helpful, in and of itself, as its own post. So I am posting those comments with links to the sites of those who commented for everyone to read.

I really appreciate those who take time to help and encourage me in my quest. Even if you couldn’t comment on this post, know that I appreciate you and don’t take your reading my blog for granted.

Get Going, Get Running!

getgoinggetrunning.wordpress.com

Most marathon schedules would have a two or three week taper. As a weekly 50miler you shouldn’t need 3 weeks. Perhaps try to do 30 miles this week and about 15 miles next week, with 2 rest days before the marathon, with a 1 mile run on the day before to keep loose, with another 1 mile before the marathon to warm up and get your head right. All the best for your race!

Fluency’s Folly

annabellewinters.wordpress.com

First, congrats on the progress in your health and running! So great! Next, I love what Jay Johson, Jack Daniels, and the Hansons say about tapering, which basically boils down to a few things. 1) think about it not as “tapering” but as “peaking”…that is, you’re looking for that balance between getting a full recovery without loosing any of the physiological adaptations you’ve worked so hard for. Essential you want to cash in on as much of your fitness as possible 2) The 14-21 days taper concept is designed for elites who are training up to 12hrs per week or more and 100 miles per week or more, not us age-groupers, and three 3) don’t forget the mental preparation

From the studying I’ve been doing, talking to lots of experienced runners, and some self-experimentation, it looks like a safe combo for you would be something like a moderate decrease in mileage 2 weeks out (say from 50mi to 35-40mi) with your last hard workout/run (e.g. repeats, tempo etc) 10 days out from race day (that’s how long 100% recovery/physiological adaptation takes), and long run with some strides thrown in there (12mi?), then the last week 3-4 runs between 3 and 8 miles, again with some strides here and there to keep your turnover practiced, totally something like 20-25 miles for the week by the time you get to the start of your race.

The day before, I usually like to run an easy 3 miles, but you could get the same benefit more or less doing some leg swings and light dynamic stretched when you take pit-stops during your car journey…you’ll want to protect your back and hips nice from getting tight from all that driving.

And finally, visualize. Prepare your mind and expectations.

So, that’s the longest comment I’ve ever left, I hope there is something in here that will be helpful! Clearly, I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot this year! And, I’ve got a marathon in 8 days! Gah!

Best of luck!

mamagoforarun

(no link to site)

I’ve found that keeping legs fresh while tapering is strangely hard – so while I cut back on my miles, I’ll end several runs each week with strides/accelerations – I’ll do 4-6 that are between 50-100 meters long. These are not a sprint – rather a build up to a tolerable fast pace (thus the name “acceleration”!!)
And congrats to you and your wife on the massive changes to your health/life!!!!

EARLY TO RISE RUNNER

earlytoriserunner.com

Have to be honest – I SUCK at tapering. Mainly because I can’t taper my appetite to save my life so I keep running to keep the weight off. With that being said, since your body is feeling fatigued already, I would cut your miles down to 30 this week. And the next week I would run Monday and Wednesday – no more than 6 miles. When you get to your destination on Friday, go run 2-3 miles just to loosen your legs up. Saturday, I would probably do another 2-3 miles very EASY.
The key is this – at this point, you aren’t improving your fitness level. You are trying to rest your body and get your head on straight, while reminding your muscles of the job they have to do. Do what feels right for you – if you are fatigued, dial it back. If something hurts, stretch and take an off day. Now’s the time to begin fueling your body with good food choices and lots of water. And try to squeeze in some extra sleep (something else that is darn near impossible for me).
You can do this! Just think of that cooler weather you will be heading to!

sf road warrior

sfroadwarrior.blogspot.com

At some point someone I trusted suggested 80%-60%-40% (of peak mileage) for the last three weeks before the race, so that’s pretty much what I’ve always done & it’s worked fine enough for me. But I also think it’s way, WAY smarter to err on the side of tapering too much rather than too little — when I’ve had particularly sore or heavy legs during taper or something was hurting, I would take extra rest days without a second thought (since fresher legs are always better, & at this point missing one or two shorter runs is pretty much guaranteed not to affect your race).

I’m Going Slightly Mad

soveryslightlymad.wordpress.com

I’m sure it’s different for a full marathon vs a half marathon, but I did 48 miles this week and for my last two weeks of tapering, I’m supposed to do between 30-33 miles each week. (This week, my third to last, is about 36 miles to run). You may need to recover more for the much longer race.

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My altered running plan

I’m walking slowly today.

I’m sore from my weekend runs and I’m also glad that I am beginning my taper this week.

I started thinking (worrying) about my weekday runs this week.  I am only averaging between 5 – 6 miles a day during the week. I hear from others that they run 8 – 10 miles a day and I started freaking.  Finally I brought myself back to reality.  I just don’t have the time or ability to run more than 5 -6 miles a day during the week.  I get up around 4:00 AM and most days can’t begin my run until after 4:00 PM.  By then I am tired and it is usually about a million degrees outside (okay, that is an exaggeration).

So without really thinking about it, I’ve created my own running plan.  I run about 20 miles during the week and 30 on the weekend.  I think this will work for me and even if it doesn’t, I have no choice.

So this weekend I got to run Saturday with Neill (and a little by myself) for a total of 13 miles.  Then Sunday I ran by myself for another 15 miles.  So for my 50 mile week, I ran 22 during the week and 28 on Saturday and Sunday.  Hopefully the longer mileage weekend will benefit me during my marathon in 2 weeks.

I plan on running about 35 miles this week as my taper begins.  I hope to run 25 during the week and on Sunday and if Neill is running a long run again this Saturday, 10 miles with him.

All in all I don’t think I could have worked much harder to prepare for this marathon.  I hope to never run a marathon in September again as it is way to hard to prepare in the heat of the South, especially since I have to run in the afternoon.  I really think TJ and I are ready for the race and I look forward to finishing it… hopefully in 3:29:00.  🙂

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Hangin’ with the dog before my long run…

Great run yesterday with Neill (@BigBigGeek, bigbiggeek.wordpress.com).  We got to run the same route as last Saturday, but I was a bit early, so I ran 3 miles ahead of his arrival.  So all in all I made 13 miles on Saturday and had great conversation and company.

Today is my long run, but I am not going for 20 miles since I am 2 weeks away from my marathon and I did 13 yesterday.  I am going to try for 15.  I am sore, but I had a great night sleep so that will help.

For some reason I’ve noticed that I am usually in a bad mood during the day after my long run.  I don’t know why other than maybe I’m tired?

photoHere is my Hangin’ with the Dog pic for this week.  I cheated and took it yesterday (but I am hangin’ with her this morning).  I think it is funny how she likes to “sit” on the stairs.

Have a great Sunday and thank you everyone who gave insight into tapering yesterday.  It was great help.  I will post my ending thoughts and tapering plan sometime this week.

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How much do I taper for my marathon in 2 weeks?

Yesterday I had a much needed day off.  I took a vacation day from work and slept until 7:30.  Of course today I’m back up at 3:45 AM, but I am feeling more awake and less run down.

This leads me into a question I’ve been dealing with and if you marathon runners would like to help, I’d appreciate it.

Tapering.

I know tapering is a difficult thing.  My question is, how much and when.  I am 50 years old and have been running since March 2012.  I’m averaging 50 miles a week.  I want to run this marathon as well as I can and don’t want to under or over taper.  My marathon is 2 weeks from tomorrow.  Also I am physically tired from the workouts and long runs (as I assume everyone is at the time in training).  My hip is still bothering me and my right achilles isn’t doing that great.

So any ideas on tapering for an old guy?  🙂

On to a few other things since I missed my post yesterday.

I went to pick up some vitamins from the doctor that helped my Lovely Wife and me lose close to 100 lbs each.  I hadn’t seen his receptionist in a couple months and I was in my running clothes as I wanted to run a bike path near work.  As I walked in and she saw me, her first comment was, “You are virtually unrecognizable”.  The weight loss and the running seems to have made a big difference.  It made me feel good.

Also, I had a great run on the bike path.  I ran 5 miles, 4 of which were under a 7:45 pace.

That is about it.  I’ve got to get ready to meet Neill (@BigBigGeek) at the state park to run with him on his long run.  Last week it was so nice to run and talk.  I’m looking forward to doing this again.

2 weeks from tomorrow is the Lehigh Valley Marathon.  I can’t wait!!!

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Run around life

Yesterday was pretty much an insane day.  Here is how it went…

  1. 1:30 AM Get up
  2. 3:30 AM Dr. Appt.  (Yes that is correct)
  3. 4:45 AM Pick up daughter and take to work
  4. 5:20 AM Arrive at my work
  5. 1:30 PM Leave work
  6. 2:00 PM Find out upstairs heat pump isn’t working
  7. 2:10 PM Take Lovely Wife to our Chiropractor Appt.
  8. 4:00 PM Arrive home and work on getting air conditioning back on
  9. 4:30 PM Run 6 miles
  10. 5:30 PM Finish run
  11. 7:30 PM Get in bed for the evening
  12. 8:30 PM Sleep

Wow, I look at that and wonder how I got through the day.  I almost gave up my run.  I was tired and still sore from workouts and the weekend runs, but I thought that I really don’t have many more runs before tapering and I hate to miss one this late in the game, so I decided to run.  I told my Lovely Wife that I was worried that being tired I might get hurt and she made me promise to run SLOWLY.

So that was my day.  Today I’m still worn out and have a steady state run this afternoon.  I am going to try something different in my quest to run somewhere other than my neighborhood.  I am going to run a bike path near work that is about 2.5 miles long.  It is much flatter than my neighborhood and somewhere different to run.

Just over 2 weeks to go before the marathon.

Have a great day and if your not training for a marathon, get some rest.  🙂

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Running Super Juice

Fresh from my confidence building weekend, I actually ran a hill workout yesterday.

I haven’t run a specific hill workout since the half marathon we ran in February. I have run “improvised” hill runs just during my regular runs.

I guess I have some hope of not only trying to finish but also getting into the 3:30 finish for my marathon. Thus it makes it easier to suffer the pain of a workout rather than just trying to rack up the mileage.

Beet Root Juice

Beet Root Juice

One thing I have been doing that I think really helps is drinking beet root juice. I read about this a month or so ago and so I set out to try some. Publix has it in stock in their juice section. It comes in a 500 ml bottle and so I just drink a whole bottle down at one time. The taste isn’t bad. It tastes sweet, but has a beet aftertaste (I wonder why).

I realize psychology has a lot to do with performance in running, so I have given it some time before I wrote anything. I have some 3 out of 4 weeks (about 2 bottles a week) and here are the results:

  • Week 1 – Drank beet juice – Ran a 5K in 22:08 and then the next day ran 17 miles at a 9:15 pace.
  • Week 2 – Didn’t drink beet juice – Ran 16 miles in 9:30 – crashed – jogged/walked 2 miles – walked 2 miles.
  • Week 3 – Drank beet juice – Ran 10 miles on Saturday and 20 on Sunday (Sunday’s pace was 8:53).

Of course these are my own observations and correlations, but I do feel a difference with the juice.

Yesterday I was dragging. I didn’t recover properly from my run on Sunday. I came home from that run and eat popcorn and oatmeal cream cookies. I paid for that indiscretion. Mentally and emotionally I was a mess after my run and into yesterday. I was grumpy and in a fog. I decided to go out and get some beet juice as it also has a kick after I first drink it. It did help, but I was still dragging. By the time I got home though, I got out to run in 95 degree real feel temperature and had a great workout. 10 repeats up the hill and 6 miles overall.

The beet juice has nitrates that help with performance. But for me, it seems to stop “The Voice” that tells me to stop. I didn’t hear that voice at all on Sunday and I didn’t hear it yesterday either. I was tired and thirsty after my repeats and my running slowed down, but I could have gone further if I had some gatorade available. As it was, I thought it better not to overdue it and take a chance of getting hurt.

So that is my “unsolicited review” of beet root juice. I write from experience and I have no health degree, so take it for what it is worth. As for me, I’ll be drinking beet juice at least for the next 2.5 weeks. 🙂

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Everyday running is a new day!

Everyday running is a new day!  

That is the great thing about running.  You can have the worse day running of your week, month, year and then go out one day and suddenly you have a PR.

Friday I had probably the worse day running in months.  No storms.  No heat.  Lower humidity.  But I got up at 3:30 AM, worked until 2:00, went to the Chiropractor and by the time I went out to run, it was almost 5:00 PM.  I was tired, hungry and not in the mood for a run.  I ran 3.33 miles and stopped.  I was disheartened and depressed about my upcoming marathon.  Then Saturday I ran 10 miles and Sunday I ran 20 miles.  Bam!  I was back!!!

Everyday running is a new day!  

That is the hard thing about running.  You can set PRs, you can run almost 5 hours in 2 days.  You put your blood, sweat and tears into your workouts and go to bed proud, excited and content.  Then you wake up and it is a new day.  Of course you have your base, but today… you start all over again.

I confess that I am tired.  I have been training for the Lehigh Valley Marathon for months.  I haven’t slept past 5:00 AM in over a month, in fact most days I get up at 4:00 AM.  All I seem to do is wake up, go to work, do errands, go to doctors and then run.  On the weekend, it is different.  I wake up, run, do errands and go to bed.  Now that is a nice change of pace.  🙂

Everyday running is a new day!  

Today is a new day.  The weather is still moderate, not as nice as last week, but not HOT.  I have new confidence after my fantastic weekend of running.  Yes, I’m tired, but that will end in less than 3 weeks.   I have a very supportive family.  They know I’m tired and they really try to help.  My Lovely Wife has been awesome to me and understands what I am going through.  I’m very fortunate.  I have good kids, a blog I love writing and “a hope and a future”.

In the end, I’m glad that…

Everyday running is a new day!  

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30 mile run weekend. Where did that come from?

I needed 20 miles yesterday.

The Lehigh Valley Marathon is in 3 weeks.  I hadn’t run over 17 consecutive miles in one run.  My awesome fellow bloggers and my family keep telling me that I have the base and will do fine in the marathon – But I needed 20 strong miles… for me!

I got them!!!

Here is the breakdown:

  • 20:02 miles
  • 8:53 pace
  • 1659 elevation climb
  • 1 excited runner

I ran at the same park my friend Neill and I ran 10 miles the day before.  It was raining and in the 70’s  when I started at 6:30 AM.  I ran a 5 mile stretch of road that allowed me to hit the “zone” and be back at my car for a gel and gatorade.  I took some advice from comments on this blog last week and muted my iPhone.  No coaching from my app.  No mileage.  I just ran the way I wanted to run.

Other than the fact never walked, I am encouraged that I finished strong (last mile was an 8:35 pace) and my elevation climb was almost 3 times my previous high.

So I now look toward Lehigh Valley Marathon with a bit of excitement rather than dread.  I wonder after yesterday, might it be possible for me to qualify for Boston at this marathon?  I had let that thought go a couple of months ago as the heat of the summer set in.  Now, maybe…

Finally, THANK YOU.  Outside of my family, this blog and you who choose to read it each day is what keeps me going in this journey.  I am so glad I started it 8 months ago.  Your comments, suggestions and encouragment means so much to me, you will never understand.

3 weeks to go.  It isn’t over yet.  But I am looking forward to my race for the first time.

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The ups and downs of running this week

It has been a very strange mileage week for me…

Here is a basic look:

  • Monday – OFF
  • Tuesday – 2 miles
  • Wednesday – 9.5 miles
  • Thursday – 4 miles
  • Friday – 3 miles
  • Saturday 10 miles

I have never had a non long run over 8 miles and I had two this week close to 10.  I felt great about those days.  The other days… Ugh.

  • Tuesday we had storms and I had to stop.
  • Thursday I did steady state workout but had to stop because of a muscle cramp.
  • Friday I felt horrible.  I didn’t get to run until nearly 5:00 PM and was exhausted before I started and hungry.  Not a good combination.

Yesterday I had what I would call a much needed run.  I met Neill at the park and we ran.  We ran at a slower pace which I really needed.  The weather was perfect around 70 degrees.  We just ran and talked.  The whole run was just easy and fun.  Finally we ran our last couple miles.   Neill was going to stop at 9 miles total, but as we hit 8.5 he decided to keep going!  We got to 9 and began our run back to the cars and he picked up the pace.  We did that last mile near a 9:00 pace!! He really ran well and I really enjoyed it.

I needed that run.

So, today I am heading back to the park and going to run my long run.  I was all messed up on training for the next couple of weeks.  This week is my last 18 – 20 mile long run.  Next week will be about a 16 mile run and then a 12 mile run a week before the marathon.  I don’t know what I was thinking when I said that today was my last long run.  I guess it was wishful thinking.

I will say that after yesterday I am not dreading today.  In fact, other than the rain outside, I am looking forward to it.

I had better get going.  I really want to be in the park and running by 6:30.

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Hangin’ with The Dog and then Runnin’ with Neill

Sitting here before dawn about to go to breakfast with TJ and then meet Neill  (@BigBigGeek, BigBigGeek.wordpress.com) at the State Park and run 9 miles.  Should be a lot of fun.

When I first started running with Neill, 5 miles was his longest run and 11:00 pace was pretty fast for him.  Now he is below 10:00 and running a 9 mile long day.  He has a Half Marathon in September two weeks after my Marathon.  It is so much fun watching someone really push forward and, as my friend RunningToHerDreams would say, “run like a boss”.

"The Dog" waiting for me to throw "The Stick".

“The Dog” waiting for me to throw “The Stick”.

So I sit here with “The Dog” and wait for the sun to rise to start my day.  I must post a picture (my Lovely Wife insists on it 🙂 ) each week.  This one was actually from yesterday after my (not so good) run while throwing “The Dog” “The Stick” in the back yard.  The stick is in the upper left corner of the picture.  She is so intent on that stick… Sort of like me at the start of a 5K (ha!).

Have a great weekend and, as my Lovely Wife says to me everyday before I leave for my run:

“Run fast, don’t get hurt, have a good run”.

Tomorrow – the last long run day before my marathon…

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Aches and pains and the coming taper

I don’t have a body made for running.  I realize this and I wonder sometimes how I do what I do.

I was born with hips that turned inward.  They turned in so much that I had corrective shoes and a bar to hold my hips outward.  To this day if I’m tired my feet turn inward when I walk.

Most days that I run I am in pain.  It got better after my rest weeks following my half marathon, but as I built up mileage for my upcoming marathon the aches and pains returned.  I know, I am 50 after all and I have only been running for 17 months, but I face the fact daily that moderate pain is something I have to deal with.  At least it is pain I voluntarily inflict on myself, unlike so many people who are in pain that they have no control over.

I say all that to say this.  I HATE WORKOUTS.  I am not one of those runners who run a tempo, steady state, or hill workout and think, “wow, that was fantastic.”  Maybe no one likes workouts, but they hurt me physically.

I have used the heat of the summer to avoid workouts before this marathon.  I know, not a good idea.  Well the weatherman laughed in my face this week as the temperatures in the mid afternoon have been in the high 70’s.  Okay.  My excuses are now gone.  I know what I have to do.  Hmmm…

So yesterday I did a steady state run.  I warmed up one mile and then went into my run.  I probably should have warmed up two miles, but I didn’t.  It didn’t go badly.  I got 3 miles under my belt and only had some slight pain in my inner thigh.  My achilles has been acting up also.

So after the 3 miles under 8:00 pace I stopped for a break.  I went inside my house and drank some water and used the bathroom and went back out.  More pain in my inner thigh.  It was to the point that I could have pushed myself, but what if I really pulled something that would affect my upcoming race; so I stopped.

I know tapering is called one of the hardest parts of training for a marathon, but I’m looking forward to it.  I run so much better after an off day.  I assume tapering will help also.  Tomorrow is 3 weeks until the marathon and so I really only have another week or so of pushing it.

Today, hill workouts.  Tomorrow, running with Neill (@BigBigGeek, BigBigGeek.wordpress.com) and Sunday my long day.  I probably won’t have much time to write this weekend, but I will try to “Hang with the dog” at least one day.  🙂

Have a wonderful (pain free) weekend!!!