Taper time...

The last 2 weeks of marathon training (or any major races) will include a taper. This, to a runner can bring on a variety of emotions and feelings, physically and mentally. The taper cuts back on mileage, but keeps the intensity at a level consistent with the trianing plan. This allows your legs, body, and mind to experience rest from the high mileage and allows proper preparation for the upcoming race. Unfortunately, not every runner or every taper that each runner experiences is all rainbows and lollipops. The taper time can cause an athlete to some difficulties mentally- feeling over anxious, nervous, and inconfident in his or her fitness. It is natural to feel anxious and nervous for a race, especially when you are used to running high mileage and have this extra energy when the mileage drops. Physically, the legs can go into a "confusion mode" during the ~ 2 weeks of altered workouts. Personally, I have had emotional breakdowns during some ponit of my 2 week taper with both marathons I have trained for in the past. It was a combination of fear, anxiety, and lack of confidence in my fitness as I thought about the upcoming race. I know, sounds a little loopy and crazy... I guess I truly cannot explain the feeling to someone who has not experienced it. The best attitude to have is to trust in the (last 18 weeks) trianing plan, to be confident in your fitness, to get adequate sleep and recovery between the workouts, and to not let yourself get to riled up about much as the race draws near. This week drops my mileage ~15 miles lower than last week, and next week will really drop my mileage to the point that I will almost feel guilty not running more than 40 miles in the entire week.

Monday
West Des Moines was not very friendly, with her 22 MPH winds yesterday and single digit wind chills. Luckily, Monday's are my "recovery days" and I had a short and sweet 6 mile run at an easy pace. I spent the remainder of my day with Justin, as he tried to savor every last bit of his final day of Christmas Break. We spent the afternoon at our favorite coffee shop, Smokey Row, where he graded papers and I researched wedding items and watched Olympic Trials videos :) Smokey Row was the site of our first date, in April of 2010. A rainy, Sunday afternoon, kept us from a run together and we sipped some joe and learned more about each other. I can still picture what he wore and how he sat next to me at the table (versus across from me). He told me about his family, his faith, his likes of dark chocolate and dark beer... we eventually noticed the sun had come out and we went for a 7 mile run around Gray's Lake, only to get caught in a monsoon. The rest is history :)

SUCH a fun coffee shop. You can also find Smokey Row's in Pella, Oskaloosa, and Pleasant Hill, Iowa...

http://smokeyrow.com/

Tuesday
Sleeping in until 9am was JACKPOT.  After pulling 4-6 hour nights of sleep for MANY nights, this past semester with school, my Christmas break sleep quota has sky rocketed and my legs suddenly feel like feathers. Lack of sleep was definately not the best move for the good of my training, but often I must remind myself that I am not a professional athlete and that my career as a physical therapist takes priority over workouts and crazy-early alarm clocks.

Today's workout was with the company of my trianing partner, Ashley, near downtown Des Moines. 11 miles with 8x2 minute spurts at our half marathon pace (5:50-6:00 minutes per mile) Since we had not seen each other since I left Tucson, December 22, we had a lot to talk about and 11 miles to fit it all in. The high 30 degree temperatures and clear, sunny sky made the noon hour run really nice. It truly is hard to believe it is January and Iowa has yet to see blankets of white.  I finished my afternoon at the YMCA, where I did some leg strength, core, short and sweet swim, and a rewarding 10 minutes in the steam room. The steam room has become my 10 minutes of visualization for Houston and the race.

A big shout out to my 2nd oldest bro- HAPPY BIRTHDAY RY! He was the first baby of the year, born in the Boone County hospital in 1983. Justin and I celebrated Ryan's birthday tonight, by drinking the wine (in the wine glasses) that he and his fiance, Michelle gave us for Christmas :) Along with some delish Chicken stir fry. YUM!

Have a great night,
DK