Savoring the taper runs

I've started the taper - it's just what it sounds like, the runs get shorter, the mileage is less, there are more rest days. The hard work is done and now it's time to heal up, maintain the fitness, and mentally prepare.
One thing I've found in the past while tapering is that the runs get so much sweeter. After racking up the mileage for the past 4 months, running 12 mile runs here, 14 milers there, now it comes down to only having 11 more runs before the big day. Only 11 more times to run. As the nerves start to ramp up, running is the best way to calm them down.
I was pleasantly surprised last night to find my legs feeling fresh after a 35 mile weekend. I ran 8 miles which included 5 X 600 meter repeats at 5k pace. Tonight was 6 miles at a recovery run pace. That means very slow and easy.
Tomorrow is a day off, Friday is a 4 mile recovery run with some 100 meter strides thrown in and then my last tune up race. This will be a 10k race in Federal Way which I picked since I'll be in Seattle Friday night visiting friends.
One last semi-long run remains - that will be on Sunday at 16 miles. After that the runs get short and sweet, oh so sweet.
My fundraising took a drastic turn for the better tonight when my aunt sent a check for $1,000.
That takes my total from $6,000 to $7,000 in one fell swoop. Wow!
Also, apparently the local paper, the Bellingham Herald, is going to run a profile on me. Or at least that's what the phone message was from the staff photographer looking for photos of me running.
Things are coming together in a big way and April 16th will be here before we know it.
I'll keep savoring every run while I can.

The Hay is in the Barn

There were times it wasn't easy, but I always knew I would make it. Today's 20 mile run is the culmination of a hell of a lot of training over the past 15 weeks. Now it's on to the taper. After running near to, at, or over 50 miles a week for the past 8 weeks, now it's time to cut back. Next week will be 43 miles, the week after 32, and then 22. Or it might be less. The key to tapering is that, "less is more." I won't be afraid to take off an extra day if I feel like I need it. The work is done, now it's time for these nagging little muscle aches and pains to heal up and to get ready for the big day, which is three weeks away from tomorrow.
Today's 20 mile run was a grand affair, feeling good, holding my pace and running on a day made to order. This is the kind of day when nothing on earth would make you want to live anywhere else.
Mt. Baker and the Twin Sisters were out, the entire Olympic Range was out in full force, and the bay was absolutely beautiful.
Our college basketball team are national champions of Division 2, the sun is shining, the hay is in the barn, and life is good.

The Last Big Push

Week 15 panned out much better than week 14 ever could. Tuesday's run was a delightful run along the water with Rick and Paul. Wednesday's 10 miler included 4 X 1200 meters on the track and Friday's 11 mile run from work was very satisfying. Yesterday's 4 mile recovery run seemed so short it barely registered, except for being out at the beginning of a gorgeous day. My eyes have healed up well, my cough is still lingering but not affecting my running and I'm feeling good.
I'm just getting ready to head out the door to run my last 20 mile run of the training program. It's another beautiful day although it's only 35 degrees at the moment. That will warm up fairly soon though. This is the last big push before the taper starts. I'm excited, nervous, and ready to go. Wish me well.

What a Bizarre Week its Been

Well, they don't seem to come much stranger than this. Can't go into all the details but, Wednesday's work day didn't materialize when I was unable to sleep after 1:30am and then, by the time work rolled around, I was feeling sick again, never mind that the dog had gotten us up at 3:30 puking up chunks of wood that he'd snuck in before coming to bed. That is a life threatening situation for him since he's had two surgeries on his intestinal track for eating foreign objects.
So, no work on Wednesday but did have to take the dog to the vet and have him spend the day having tests done. He's OK
Thursday was a must go to work day because of a big reading promotion event. Had to make it. Felt good, but did wake up with an irritated right eye that was oozing a small amount of liquid. The eye got worse as the day went on as did the left eye. By the time I left work, I looked like I'd just come off of a big binge. What to do? Go for a run, that's what. 4 somewhat easy miles felt pretty good.
Thursday going to bed hoping that the eyes will clear up overnight. Knowing that they won't.
Waking up at 2:30 with it hard to open my eyes, looking in the mirror to see a terrible mugshot.

Off to school at 3:45 in the morning to write sub plans and take care of things that had been put off all week. Came home at 5:15 in time to go back to bed.
Doctor's appointment at 10:15, visit to opthamologist after. Diagnosis of bacterial infection.
Several prescriptions but luckily they gave me a sample of the main one so I didn't need to be seen in public. Diane picked up the rest at 5:00. Nothing to do but put in eye drops every 2 hours and hope for the best. What to do? Run - easy 3 miles with some strides.
So, the big question:
Should I still go and run the 5 mile race on Saturday that I've already registered for and paid my $20?
I was determined not to let this thing distract from my training but I didn't know if, after being sick for 3 days, I should be doing this or not. Especially because the weather forecast was not that spectacular.
Got up Saturday to light rain, ate a piece of toast with peanut butter and half a banana. Standard eating fare at least an hour before running and headed downtown. My plan was to get there early, pick up my stuff while no one was around, go hang out in the car where no one could see me and run up at the beginning of the race.
One of those days - I couldn't find my keys, I couldn't find........
End result - I got there a half hour before the race just like everyone else. I was wearing a hat, so that helped hide me a bit. But I had to stand in a line for 20 minutes under the Market Depot coverage with a ton of other people. Head down staring at lots of people's shoes not wanting to be recognized. Weird feeling for sure.
Got my bib and chip - time now 9:50. Big line of people behind me still. Off to car. Weather now turns to heavy rain, snow, and then chunky rain. I'm thinking, "I'm crazy and I'm going to end up getting sick again." I actually closed the car door and was ready to head home. Then the rain lightened up just long enough to get me a couple of blocks into a warmup run and then in it started up heavy again. I was committed by then.
The race didn't start until about 10:20. The people that I saw, I was able to say hi and avert my eyes so it all worked out.
The good news was that the race actually went very well. I was hoping to hold 7 minute miles on a deceptively hard course but wasn't sure I could do it, especially after being in bed for three days this week.
End result - 7:05 pace and it felt quite good. A real confidence booster indeed. No need for after race food and socializing for me. A mile cooldown run to the car and then home.
Sunday's run was scheduled for 17 fairly easy miles. It was actually a very good run, a little hard in parts but pretty good overall. At about mile 10 I remember thinking that it felt like I was getting stronger as I went then I thought, "It's the caffeine in the Perpetuum drink, you dummy." Oh well, whatever. I felt like I finished strong.
Only two more long runs left. Next Sunday is the last 20 miler and then the following week, I'll do a 10k on Saturday and then 16 on Sunday, 12 the following Sunday and then it's off to Boston.
Good news is that my eyes are getting much better and by tomorrow I expect I'll look halfway normal.
What an interesting week this was, and there's other stuff that happened too.
Nice to put the week to bed.
We'll see what week 15 brings.
All's well that ends well, but

The Writing Was on the Wall

Well, the writing was on the wall. It seemed as if Sunday's run seemed harder than it should have.
Saturday, I slept in and then went back to sleep.
So Monday, when I woke up early and dizzy with a thick coating of mucous in my sinuses, it shouldn't have been totally unexpected. So many people have been so sick this year, I guess it was just a matter of time. I'm so happy to have this happen now and not the week of the race. That would really put me on edge.
So, no work on Monday, no work on Tuesday, and probably a half day tomorrow. When will I run again? Maybe Thursday. I will have to play that one by ear. It did feel good to take the dog for a walk today. I'm trying to remain positive knowing that this will pass and my legs have been given a break because I've been flat on my back until this afternoon when I've partially rejoined the living. The trick now will be to not go out too fast and try to do too much. Saturday's 5 mile race is questionable but I think I should be OK by then. Maybe not with a world record performance but still with a good effort. Fingers crossed.

Week 13 is a wrap

Today's 18 miler was a hard run. The first 4 miles were but a warmup and then the fun started.
14 miles at marathon pace. My goal was to run 8:20 per mile and I ended up at 8:19, so I nailed it but the last several miles were harder than I would have thought. It's always tempting on a "pace run" to ask yourself, "could I keep going for x number of miles more?" The answer today was pretty obvious. Did I need to go x number of miles more? Not on this day.
Looking ahead, Daylight Savings Time will be a big help in getting the afternoon runs in this week.
The schedule for week 14:
Monday - rest
Tuesday- 8 miles with a track workout 5 X 600m at 6:40 pace
Wednesday- 11 miles
Thursday- 4 mile recovery run with 6 x 100m strides
Friday- rest
Saturday- Runnin' of the Green 5 mile race, plus I hope to run the last 6 miles with Mike Finger as he finishes the Chuckanut 50k.
Sunday- It's supposed to be 17 miles, but I'll see how I feel after Saturday and adjust accordingly.
Week 14 out of 18 WOW! We're running out of weeks. The big day is 5 weeks from tomorrow.

Wearing down?

At this point in marathon preparation, 12 + weeks of toiling away can take a toll on a body. It's hard to get up for every run. The running week started off great with Monday off and Tuesday a chance to run with Rick and Paul on a sunny afternoon down along the bay. I'm glad that I could make that work. A ride downtown with Diane and then 5 miles with them and a three mile run back home along a rushing and roaring Whatcom Creek.
Wednesday was a different story. The plan was to run 9 miles which included 5 X 1,000 meters at 6:40 pace. I did it, but it was pretty uninspired and felt like I was going through the motions.
Thursday was a rest day which helped greatly for Friday's 12 mile run after work. It was a very good run although it started raining halfway through and I came home drenched.
Saturday was supposed to be a 5 mile recovery run but I ended up bagging it and sleeping most of the day. I was planning on getting up early and getting the 5 miles in, but it was still raining from the night before so I slept in and then ended up falling asleep on the couch until 1PM more or less. Too late to run then with a 18 miler coming up tomorrow. That should be a big run. 14 miles at marathon pace (8:20 per mile)
The body is telling me to take it easy a bit. Time to listen.

We're Going to Fenway

We're heading to Fenway for a day game. Does it get any better than that? Well, actually we'll miss the Yankees by 4 days, but oh, well.

Today's 12 mile relaxing run was very nice. It was nice to loosen everything after yesterday's barnburner of a half-marathon into the biting wind.
I've finished 12 weeks of an 18 week plan. 2/3 of the way there and feeling good.

A Honeywagon of a run

Well, the Honeywagon Half-Marathon is in the books. This year they could have called it the Wind Tunnel Half-Marathon. It was really windy out there on those county roads and was a very tough run. I never really got anybody to draft off of except once. Reason being, when I would catch someone, then I'd pass them. I managed to pass quite a few people in the middle of the race. The last two miles were straight into the teeth of the wind which had been building all morning. I thought I had someone to work with for drafting, but he waved me on and told me, "it's all yours now buddy."
I'm not sure if that wind was blowing 20mph, 30mph or what, but what I do know is that it felt like 100mph. Straight into it, nowhere to hide. I swear I don't think I could have bent any farther forward if I tried. My pace up to the 11 mile mark was right where I wanted it to be (7:33) but with the wind, it was a matter of survival.
All in all, it was a good preparation race, as it was meant to be. It was really hard to keep pushing it and my mind had to will my body to keep it up. Similar to the later stages of a marathon. I know I sure was glad to see the finish line. That was tough.
So tomorrow will be an easy run of somewhere between 10 and 13 miles and then I can call week 12 complete. If my math adds up, 12 weeks out of 18 weeks equals 2/3 of the way done. My-O-My-O-My

A Big (kind of) Test Tomorrow

Tomorrow will be my first race since starting this training program. Even though it's a small half-marathon out in the town of Everson, in Whatcom County, I'm still nervous. Pretty weird because I shouldn't be, but I am.
This is the first of three tune-up races before Boston and the first time I've raced since the Cross Country National Race in Seattle in early December.
I'm looking forward to the challenge, but I'll be happy to be running too.
Fundraising checks continue to come in, even from people that I solicited in early November. $135 has come in this week. Surprising but good.
Hoping for good weather tomorrow!