Img from flickr.

This was the first full week of taper.  I haven’t felt too much taper madeness, yet. This could be because life has been so busy.  I had to work late 2x’s and went to a community fair on Saturday. Yuck!! But I can’t really complain at all.  The morning temps were all great and I got rained on the one afternoon run – perfect!

Monday: 4-6 easy miles. I ran 5 miles this morning on a humid an overcast Monday.  I extended my downtown 4 mile loop to get closer to 5 and finished 5.1 miles in 38:47.  The run was pretty unexciting overall.  A good start to the week.

Tuesday: 5-7 miles at Marathon Pace. I had to miss the training class this evening because the PTA wanted me to talk about one of the programs I run at the school.  I had just enough time in between school and the meeting to sneak in a run, go home, shower, grab some food, and be at the meeting.  The sky looked pretty ominous as I left the school and headed to the river to run.  I made a big circle using the Ford Parkway bridge and Lake Street.  As I crossed the bridge about 2 miles in it started sprinkling. It wasn’t too much longer until I was completely soaked from the rain and it only got worse! The lightening started coming and I was one of few crazy people out there running/biking around.  I didn’t really like the prospect of running over an exposed bridge for 1/4 of a mile, but didn’t have much of a choice.  I got pelted hard on the bridge, having to keep one eye closed and just waiting to  get back to the West side. I made it back to the school safely and finished the 6.3 mile run in 45:40 (7:14) so pretty much right on for a marathon pace workout! As I was walking to my car, lightening hit the school and I later learned blew out our phone system.  I felt the electricity in the air and the subsequent BANG made me jump.  I didn’t waste anytime and jumped in my car. I really enjoyed this run in the rain and through muddle puddles – it was quite fun!

Wednesday: 4-6 miles easy. I felt pretty good for this easy 4 miler around Powderhorn Park. I finished right at 32 minutes so I stayed just under 8 minute pace! It was a very cool morning and felt great.

Thursday: Rest day. I enjoyed another great rest day!

Friday: Four miles. Another run downtown, this time I used my old 3 mile loop and extended it into 4 finishing in 31:12. It was another cool yet humid start to the day.

Saturday: 8-10 miles. I was able to make it to the group run today.  We met at Parade stadium to run some of the early miles of the marathon course around the lakes. A pretty perfect morning, except for some headwinds.  We finished a 9.45 mile loop in 1:13:04.  I think we all enjoyed the slower, no pressure run and had lots of conversation.  Our group got separated on the southwest end of Calhoun as a few of us stayed on the bike trail while the rest went on the running trail.  The bike trail makes a much wider arc and we got behind the others.  Someone decided we needed to pick up the pace and catch-up to the other group.  When we caught them I looked at my watch and we were at 6:22 pace.  That mile was the fastest of the day at 7:04 and it felt pretty controlled and almost comfortable for that short interval.  It was probably in the low-60’s and on the ride home I was riding through misty almost drizzle.  A great day for a run.

Sunday:Cross-training or off. I’m taking the day off!

Mileage Total

Running – 29 miles

Biking – 29.5 miles

Hal’s Tip of the Week: As you get into the final weeks of your marathon preparation, the most important thing you can do is rest, rest and rest. The hard work is over. You need to do some training, but not too much. My approach has always been to cut mileage, but maintain intensity. Continue to run somewhat fast on the “hard” days, but not so far. For inspiration, rent a video of the classic English movie, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

Week 17

[tags] Hal Higdon, Marathon Training [/tags]