Monday, March 31, 2008

time for a mini-taper

my 6 mile run yesterday was one of the hardest things i've done lately. forget about delayed onset muscle soreness, forget about the notion of running in a race, what brought home to me how beaten up i was from the 60k on saturday was standing alongside the high school track, unable to move, as the kids set off on their 4 lap fun run!

a very bizarre internal dialog took place in my head, "go on, jog it with them! no way, you jog it with them, i'm just going to wait here." no amount of motivational invective got me to move from that spot! i was sore, and i felt like reveling in it!

but a few of hours later, i dragged myself outside for a recovery run. the juxtaposition of "recovery" and "run" in that context sounds almost diabolical. after the struggling with the first mile, things mellowed out for the rest of the run. most of that time was spent wondering if i hadn't overdone it with the 60k. but, once home, things looked up again.

in fact, while slow, the 48:11, 8:02 pace for the 6 miles wasn't too bad. it made 65.2 miles for the week. in a reversal from the prior week - where i ran 7 days (5 of which included doubles), logged 76 miles, and had no long run - this week had 5 running days (no doubles), and more than half the weekly mileage came from one long run! hardly a consistent running pattern. but i've run out of training weeks and, for better or worse, it'll have to suffice.

the umstead 100 miler has arrived - and i'm actually very psyched about it! because of the horrible training month february turned out to be, i feel seriously under trained. but i bounced back with a solid march, so i 'm pretty optimistic heading into the race.

now, if i can just sit still long enough for this mini-taper to yield some dividends :)

5 comments:

A Plain Observer said...

when was the Vermont 100? this is not the same, is it?

Do you take days off? I feel that if I go over a week without a day off, my running hurts, maybe that is why it has been so difficult for me lately. Maybe I am just a different kind of animal.
I added my favorite movie to my blog!!!

Sub said...

Hey Frank,

It's a small world indeed - especially in the running community.

I used to live in Boston, which explains why most of my earlier races were on the east coast. My sister lives in NY state so I try to get in a race when I visit her. I'm hoping to get through the lottery for the NYCM this year...

Good luck at Umstead! Even thinking about anyone running a 100 miler makes my head spin. I'll be sure to check back for your report...

- Sub

TonyP said...

I love it. Slow...8:02 pace. You are a sick man !
See you at Umstead. My flight gets in about 3-4 hours after you start, so, I'll catch you coming around loop 3.

CTmarathoner said...

that 8:02 pace cracked me up also!! what kind of taper is that? you are so relaxed.....well, I am going to enjoy eating and drinking this week --going to have some expresso beans right now:)

Sub said...

Sure! It would be nice meeting up if I get in. Usually there is also quite a big group from the forums running the race.

I wish I lived in NYC. I'd probably end up running 9 NYRR races even it weren't for qualifying for NYCM...