I Love to Taper!

Next week is the Top of Utah Half Marathon. I know for so many runners a half marathon ain't no thang. But for me it's huge. I ran my first half ten years ago. And HATED it. HATED! I didn't want to run again after that experience. EVER. After struggling through 13.1 miles at a slow (for me) pace of 10:30 I felt defeated when I arrived at the finish line about ready to heave. I thought maybe running wasn't for me. It took years for me to realize that not all races are the same. This particular race was 100% uphill, ever-so slightly, but up hill just the same. Who does that? Who creates a race that's up hill the whole way? Needless to say, this race is no longer in existence. Also needless to say, I am exited to run a half in which the first 7 miles are downhill.

Also, in my obviously inadequate training for that first half marathon, I failed to taper, running hard (for me) up to the day of the race. I didn't understand training, thinking I just needed to run more miles. Now I get it. I've felt the results of appropriate training and learned how vital the taper is.

The idea of reducing mileage leading up to a race is a hard one for many runners to get their minds around. It can play games with your head when cutting a regular 40 mile week down to 25. But it's important to let your muscles rest, rebuild glycogen stores, and mentally reboot. I appreciate running so much more when I'm not worried about getting in all the workouts prescribed on a training schedule. By the and of most weeks I feel slow, heavy, and inflamed. At the end of a taper I feel energized, light, rested. And let me tell you, that is exactly how you want to feel going into a race.

I also have more time. And that is one thing everyone can appreciate. Am I right?

Just this morning, I took the kids to the dentist. NO CAVITIES! YAY!

Then we took a jaunt to the farmers' market

Peaches are the best this time of year. I can't wait to sink my teeth into these beauties.

Then we diverted to Fiiz for a treat because NO CAVITIES!

The Dirty Diet Dr. Pepper tasted sooo good!

And now I get to re-energize my afternoon with this routine:

I love tapering! 

I'm off to Cache Valley again for the weekend where I will do just one easy run with hubby for fun!

What are you weekend plans?

What's your favorite thing to buy at the farmers' market?

Ever been to Fiiz or Swig or something like that?

When Running Seems Too Hard

Some days running just seems too hard. I've been running for 20 years. You'd think it would be like breathing for me at this point. And it is, to a point. 

Pretty much a day without running is like a day without brushing me teeth. Yuck. But somedays running just seems too hard. Then what do I do?

1. Crosstrain. I'll be honest with you. I'm not going to NOT exercise. Running is by far my fave workout, but on the days when my body says "nah,"  still going to move. Elliptical, cycle, spin, swim, kickbox--heck, pole dance if that's what gets you going. Just do something other than running.

2. Take it slow. That's right. Take it down a notch. Chances are if your body is telling you it doesn't really want to run you might just be hitting it too hard. If I'm not scheduled to do a speed workout or a particularly hard workout I pull back on my pace until I feel in control and comfortable.

3. Do intervals. This happened just today. Running felt awful but I was still 3 miles from home. I switched things up a bit by running hard for 1 minute then walking for 30 seconds. I finished my run and didn't barf. Hooray!

4. Rest. Evaluate your body and think about your training. Are you feeling achy, fatigued, depressed. Have you recently increased your mileage? Have you been stringing together several consecutive days, weeks, months of running? You might be overtrained. Stop. Rest.

5. Embrace the suck. You know what? Sometimes running just sucks. It's called homeostasis--the body resisting change. Running is work; it promotes change. And your body will fight to maintain homeostasis. Embrace the battle within. Push through those tough miles and reward yourself for a job well done. Sometimes it's all mind over matter.

Bottom line is this: at the end of any run you should be thankful for the opportunity to move, to breath hard, to run.

 

Take on the climb!