End of Week Nineteen (3-14-08)

End of Week Nineteen

My recovery from this 20 miler was better than last time. After the long run, I managed to get out and cross train the following day to loosen up the legs. The following day was Tuesday, and I got in my 6 miler, but I took it real easy. I think it would have been a mistake to either skip the day (which I was tempted to do), or to attempt anything even moderately hard. My legs felt good for the rest of the week and I ran progressively faster for my runs on Wednesday and Thursday 6 milers.

I finished the week, with a plan high of 40 miles. My gradual increase in pace over the past couple weeks came to end with a week of relatively slow running.. But that was necessary due to the 20 mile long run and my careful attention to recover safely from the long run. I’m not sure if a touch of paranoia has settled in, but I iced my feet, Achilles and calves every night. They didn’t hurt much, but there was some stiffness and aches. In the end, I think it worked out well. At the end of the week, I feel fresh and fast for the taper.

The notion of a full out taper is feeling odd right now. I have two weeks until the race and I don’t feel as if, I ran enough miles or suffered enough to justify a big reduction in training. But I will cut back some and try to focus on the race.

In addition to my focus on doing the best workouts that will bring me to start line feeling fresh, fast and strong, I need to turn my attention to the days before the race and the actual race plan. I need to nail down my specific plans for:

Diet for the week before – carb depletion, then carb loading
What I will wear – should be easy because I don’t have much to choose from
Logistics – getting to the race and shuffling my support team about
Music – Should I wear the Ipod or not? If so, I’ll need some long playlists
Race Day Prep – I have this pretty well rehearsed from my long runs in terms of eating and hydration
Race Pace – An endless controversy in my head that will not likely be settled until the gun goes off.