THE TAPER...

Heidi

 

 

So we are four days out from my first half marathon and the nerves are starting to set in.  This is taper week.  I ran 8 miles on Sunday and was supposed to run 3 on Tuesday and 3 on Thursday.  I woke up Tuesday morning and decided Wednesday and Friday would be better days to run as my legs were still hurting from the 8 mile run.  No sense in pushing myself days before the race.

 

So Kristen's husband made a running plan up for me months ago.  I think I have looked at it 3 maybe 4 times.  You see, Brian is a serious runner.  His plan is pretty serious too.  Not that it isn't a good plan, but when you can really only run 3 times a week because of injures (and my weight), his five times a week running plan wasn't working for me. 

 

I also downloaded Another Mother Runner's Half-Marathon Finish It plan.  Although a little less ambitious than Brian's, it still wasn't working for me.  I just couldn't run more than three times a week, especially while training for my first triathlon. 

 

Just for fun I looked at both plans for the taper week.  Brian had me running 8 miles on Sunday (which I did), 5 miles on Tuesday, 7 miles on Thursday (yeah right), 3 miles on Saturday and then the half of Sunday.  WHAT KIND OF TAPER IS THAT BRIAN?????  (Kristen's plan from Brian was even worse.)

 

The Another Mother Runner plan had me running 6 miles last Saturday, 3 miles on Monday, 3 miles on Tuesday, 2-3 miles on Wednesday, 30 minutes of running on Friday (I like that one!!) and then the half on Sunday.  Not a good taper for me either but at least the mileage is less.

 

LET ME TELL YOU WHAT I HAVE DONE SO FAR...

 

8 very hilly miles on Sunday in my hood and it was awful!!!! Then on the same day I rowed 4 miles in a canoe (practicing for an upcoming triathlon) and then rode my bike for 5 miles to check out the triathlon's bike route.  A little ambitious a week before my first half??  Perhaps but it needed to be done. 

 

I thought maybe I should take a break on Monday but NOOOOOOO!!!  Kristen wanted to bike ride so we can maintain our endurance that we lost over the last month and a half.  So we rode 13 miles of hills.  (She really doesn't know what taper means.)  That's when she told me what her taper was and I laughed.  She needs to look up some running plans and work off of them.  Brian is just crazy. 

I ran three miles in the extreme humidity this morning.  My legs are now paying for it.  I am crazy stiff and my hip hurts too.  Not sure I recovered enough from Sunday's run.  Now I am debating my three mile run on Friday.  My legs and hip need to heal.  What to do?  What to do?

 

So that's pretty much it.  Hopefully I will get my last run in before the half.  If not, who cares right?  I have to run the damn race no matter what.  Three more miles isn't going to make or break my race.  However, Kristen might...

 

 

My friend Heather and I getting ready for our ride right after we rowed 4 miles.