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Thoughts on Tapering; Losing Jim.
Oct. 3rd, 2012 12:59 pmI am now in the midst of that horrible confusion known as "tapering." Basically, last weekend I did my final LONG long run -- 22 miles! -- and now I am supposed to back off on the training til the marathon, which is 31 days away.
I might have started tapering a little bit too early, actually; most people start their taper around 3 weeks or so before their race. I started mine 5 weeks before, but I really had no choice because of how the last two ECTA races were scheduled and due to the fact that I am going to visit my parents this weekend. Much as I love running, when I am down there I would rather do other things, like hang out with my family.
So the mystery of tapering for me is knowing exactly how much to run and how much to rest. And how much to eat -- I seem to be starving ALL THE TIME, lately! Starving and exhausted. Maybe this is because I have upped the cross-training a lot. The key now is to eat right and sleep as much as I can.
Rowing about 5 hours/week on the Concept 2 erg at the gym has become my preferred cross-training regimen, though I am still doing circuit runs. I'm pleased with how well my strength training has gone. A half year ago I could do about 20 pushups. Now I regularly do 120 on my twice-weekly circuit runs. And I'm up from 100 crunches to nearly 500 per session. The core strengthening has made me feel better overall and, I think, helped me balance out my body so as to avoid injuries.
The Hamilton 10-miler was my best race yet, at least according to the statistics: I finished in over 76% of the winning time. SOMEHOW I AM STILL IN SECOND PLACE IN MY AGE CATEGORY.
There I am, #70, acting like a goofball.
I think it should be said, though, that I talked during that entire race. Nonstop chatting to my friends Kitty and Tom, both also pictured there. When it was over I still felt good and wondered how much faster I could have run if I'd shut up for five seconds. However -- I had FUN. And that is the most important bit for me, period.
Now, sad news: one of my running buddies, Jim, passed away the day after that race. His obit is here. He and his wife, Deb, ran that race with me last year, and we have since run many races together. Jim was a lovely person and will be sorely missed. It was a shocking thing, really: he appeared in excellent health and ran in that race the day before he died. His death occurred while he was volunteering at a 30k road race in Nahant. He was a gentle, encouraging soul and I often think of him when I am out on the trails. Jim's mantra? "This sport is not about speed. Not about speed at all." I think for Jim, as for me, the sport is about the enjoyment of being outdoors and being with friends.
I might have started tapering a little bit too early, actually; most people start their taper around 3 weeks or so before their race. I started mine 5 weeks before, but I really had no choice because of how the last two ECTA races were scheduled and due to the fact that I am going to visit my parents this weekend. Much as I love running, when I am down there I would rather do other things, like hang out with my family.
So the mystery of tapering for me is knowing exactly how much to run and how much to rest. And how much to eat -- I seem to be starving ALL THE TIME, lately! Starving and exhausted. Maybe this is because I have upped the cross-training a lot. The key now is to eat right and sleep as much as I can.
Rowing about 5 hours/week on the Concept 2 erg at the gym has become my preferred cross-training regimen, though I am still doing circuit runs. I'm pleased with how well my strength training has gone. A half year ago I could do about 20 pushups. Now I regularly do 120 on my twice-weekly circuit runs. And I'm up from 100 crunches to nearly 500 per session. The core strengthening has made me feel better overall and, I think, helped me balance out my body so as to avoid injuries.
The Hamilton 10-miler was my best race yet, at least according to the statistics: I finished in over 76% of the winning time. SOMEHOW I AM STILL IN SECOND PLACE IN MY AGE CATEGORY.
There I am, #70, acting like a goofball.
I think it should be said, though, that I talked during that entire race. Nonstop chatting to my friends Kitty and Tom, both also pictured there. When it was over I still felt good and wondered how much faster I could have run if I'd shut up for five seconds. However -- I had FUN. And that is the most important bit for me, period.
Now, sad news: one of my running buddies, Jim, passed away the day after that race. His obit is here. He and his wife, Deb, ran that race with me last year, and we have since run many races together. Jim was a lovely person and will be sorely missed. It was a shocking thing, really: he appeared in excellent health and ran in that race the day before he died. His death occurred while he was volunteering at a 30k road race in Nahant. He was a gentle, encouraging soul and I often think of him when I am out on the trails. Jim's mantra? "This sport is not about speed. Not about speed at all." I think for Jim, as for me, the sport is about the enjoyment of being outdoors and being with friends.
