One mile warmup, then four miles in 6:12, 5:40, 5:38, 6:09. Recovery to 120 in :35, 110 in :46. Just wanted to get out and spin the wheels at MP a couple of times and get some light work in. Standing HR was 44(!) this morning, which is crazy. I couldn't be more ready for this thing. Good run.
Run Two | Weather | Supplemental | Nutrition | Sleep | Injury
Ni!
4 comments:
I found your blog via the center of the running blog universe (Mike).
Looks as if things are coming together at exactly the right time. This is an impressive build, and it looks like it's going to yield impressive results.
44 bpm, nice, no rest up!
What are you going to do re: taper next week? The reason I ask, is that when I look back at some of my training (perhaps over-training) by best run/workouts were with a minor reduction in distance, i.e., the Comox half was on a 3 day taper. I'm considering going into Ottawa with less of a taper then I did in London.
Mike is the center of the running blogoverse, isn't he? I hope he doesn't get a big head over it. haha! Thanks, Ian. I suspect you are right.
What has worked best for me is a gradual reduction in mileage over a period of about two weeks, with a reasonable amount of intensity to keep all of the systems in a ready state.
The overall mileage reduction helps the leg muscles completely regenerate and repair any of the damage that has happened in the course of training.
The intensity maintains the efficiency of the systems and keeps you sharp and race ready without tiring you out.
As an example, over this last week, I will be doing a schedule something like this:
Sat: 12m easy
Sun: 6m easy
Mon: 6m easy with 2-4x400@~5:20
Tue: Taper workout
Wed: 4m easy
Thu: 4m with 2@5:40
Fri: 4m easy
The taper workout is something Mystery Coach came up with, and it seemed to work very well when I tested it three days before the half marathon.
I think the important thing about the taper is that you don't stray too far from your routine, but at the same time, you must really focus on being lazy, efficient, and allowing yourself to hold back without guilt. The 'losing fitness' idea is a total myth and it wastes a lot of mental energy to concern yourself with it.
Some of my best testing with tapers has come during periods of injury where I've been forced into the pool for 8-10 days. Following those periods, I've experienced some very obvious breakthroughs.
I've also had the opportunity to test some really stupid hard workouts during a taper, which were a total disaster for the goal race.
You can do too much, but it's fairly hard to do too little during a taper. Always better to err on the side of caution. Good luck, and thanks for the comment.
Neck...shoulders...so sore. Head so heavy, it's hard to move.
You're not doing the 14 mile version of the taper workout Tuesday, are you?
I like the look of the last week. The easy looks really easy, which seems to balance out the intense sections. I believe you speak the truth when you say "...you must really focus on being lazy, efficient, and allowing yourself to hold back without guilt."
Good luck man.
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