I'm sure it's been much harder partly because I'm extra nervous about this race. I really have resolved that the 32 or so miles don't bother me, the 2 2500-foot mountain ascents don't bother me, but the time limit of 9.5 hours makes me genuinely nervous. Sticking with the mantra "Seeing some of this amazing course is better than seeing none" for the chance I'm yanked off the course.
Taper's also been rough because sickness, both mine and the family, non-stop for several weeks means that I did not get that last really big set of back-of-back long runs, of a 20 miler with a 10 miler the next day. So in honor of my taper madness...
THE TWELVE DAYS OF TAPER
On the First Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... two weeks of no Starbucks mochas. (I like to cut these out as I approach race day. Easier on the waistline and no caffeine headache when I go without on race day)
On the Second Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... trying to "cram for this test" (Last week was the overwhelming feeling of "OMG, what more workouts can I do to physically get ready?!?")
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Third Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... a focus on hydration (every time I don't have a bottle or glass in my hand and realize it, I go get another one)
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Fourth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... training log review to see progress (what a nice reassurance, and a call back to the mantra "trust the training")
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Fifth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... race strategy planning (nothing calms me down like understanding the course the best I can, planning out my paces and strategies)
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
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| No Race Strategy Band this time! But lots of planning & course learning/review |
On the Sixth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed (no, stay back, vile creatures! I WILL not get sick this close to the race.)
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Seventh Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... calorie tracking (taper crazy people tend to be hungry all the time and some eat eat eat. I've been craving sweets bad. So 9 days to race day I started tracking all my calories so I don't add 5 pounds before I get to the starting line.)
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed
... race strategy planning
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
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| This is the app I use for tracking calories. Super helpful! |
On the Eighth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... Garmin screen changes (I have certain data I want easily available race day for a trail race. I also turn off my auto-lap each mile since that's not terribly helpful or always accurate on a trail race)
... calorie tracking
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Ninth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... Lots of extra sleep (I normally function on 6-7 hours a night. I'm a night owl and like to stay up late. But I've been doing 8-9 hours through the taper. Taper's about getting well-rested for the race day!)
... Garmin screen changes
... calorie tracking
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Tenth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... No alcohol race week (calories and dehydration that I don't need!)
... Lots of extra sleep
... Garmin screen changes
... calorie tracking
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Eleventh Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... Very reduced race week running (like zero! Steve's out of town so there's no opportunities for me to run this week.)
... No alcohol race week
... Lots of extra sleep
... Garmin screen changes
... calorie tracking
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
On the Twelfth Day of Taper, my training gave to me...
... Packing and repacking and repacking (getting prepared for the exact race day gear, apparel, and supplies I will need. Visualizing each part of the race start to finish in relation to those items)
... Very reduced race week running
... No alcohol race week
... Lots of extra sleep
... Garmin screen changes
... calorie tracking
... many sick friends across my Facebook newsfeed
... race strategy planning
... training log review to see progress
... a focus on hydration
... trying to "cram for this test"
... and two weeks of no Starbucks mochas.
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| I needed so little at my first marathon. The packing for this race feels so big next to it! |
