Thursday, September 26, 2013

Last Track Workout & Accepting Taper(sort of)

The fact that I am officially in taper mode really hit me last night as I sat on the track stretching after completing my final set of yassos. I have never tapered the same way twice for the marathons that I have done so far, BUT I can pinpoint the exact moment in each cycle where it really hit me...THIS IS HAPPENING.


As for my final track workout of this training cycle....

8x800m, I thought about 10 (true Yasso's) but knew better. I set my watch to interval workout mode and didn't look at it until I was done.

The first few felt hard, as they usually do....but once I had a few done they started flying by and before I knew it I was onto my last one. I definitely had 2 more in me but I knew it wouldn't be smart. I was incredibly surprised, but happy at my paces for the intervals: it was definitely one of those boosts I needed. Even though my last track workout was different intervals (5x1000m, 4x400m) I definitely felt stronger and saw improvement with this one.

Yesterday was one of those days where all the little things were adding up- one of those days where I knew something was coming. I'm one of those people that pays attention to the little details, and I have learned over the years that those little things mean way more than the big things.

Some of the little things: ordering my marathon race day outfit from Saucony (like you didn't see that coming), talking to Heather about how we are going to put beer in our gear bags so we can  celebrate at the finish line together after we both PR, Chatting with Hollie about random running things, Finding out that my friend Joe is indeed going to help run me in the last few miles keeping me pushing, a few email conversations with some of my favorite inspirational bloggers, the fact that my trucker mouth was on overdrive, NAILING my workout.....you know those little things. Oh, and Bart Yasso RT me. THAT JUST HAPPENED.


All those little things made me feel like I got smacked in the forehead with a sign that says- relax, it's OFFICIALLY taper time. No more tempo runs, no more track workouts, only 1 more double digit run, this folks is what we call the home stretch.

Now it's time to remind myself over and over....AND OVER that the work is done and I need to take it easy. It's hard to take it easy. I know I am not the only one who struggles with this, Heather just talked about it yesterday. We both are aiming for PR's at Wineglass so as hard as it is, we KNOW what we need to do between now and race day.

I wrote a few posts about my taper emotions before Cleveland Marathon earlier this year, I went back and re-read them last night and found myself laughing. You can read "Lesson's From the Taper" and "Stages of Grief: Taper Edition" if you have nothing else better to do than laugh at the hot mess of things that go through my head while tapering for a marathon.


Officially hung the flats up last night, and they wont be laced up until 10.6.13.

It's time to relax and enjoy the parts about taper that you CAN enjoy (like the eating, sleeping more, general laziness, playlist making, etc.). Accepting the taper is not easy, but accepting defeat after a race you weren't rested enough for is harder. 

Oh and I highly recommend earlier fall marathons like this- because while you are being lazy in bed at night, all the TV shows are having their season premiers. Just throwing that out there. 


What fall TV show premiers are you watching?
(I can't describe my excitement for Scandal, among others)
[Did anyone else watch the series premier of The Blacklist the other night?]

Do you look at the little things for the signs, or does it take something big for you?

Have you ever met a famous runner/athlete?
[I have met Katherine Switzer before which was amazing, but I am really excited to meet Bart Yasso at Wineglass!]

32 comments:

  1. Ahhh taper... have such a love/hate relationship with it!! :)

    I have met Meb three times. It is getting to the point where I don't think I can meet him anymore without looking like a stalker... :) I also met Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and Kara Goucher. They all have such awesome personalities!!

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    1. Jealous of how many amazing people you have met--- hopefully when I get to meet you at Wineglass next weekend I'll feel all that damn speedy mojo they rubbed off on you!

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  2. I'm so excited for you! It's in the bad at Wineglass. Be confident! Taper is a mix of emotions and I never do it right or the same from one race to the next. For marathons I feel crotchety (uggh, I hate this word!) and anxious - like I want race morning to come but I don't. It's always a strange few weeks leading up to the big day.

    Haven't been watching as much TV and my attention span is about the size of a fly's so all these new shows are lost on me. As for famous runners, I met Frank Shorter at RnR NOLA. He was so great and I found out that he went to law school with Governor Pataki - my former employer. :)

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    1. It's definitely strange ups and downs- you want it to be here but at the same time you don't want it to!

      Frank Shorter would definitely be a cool one to meet! Do you still work for the state?

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  3. SO excited for fall premieres! Can't wait to see Scandal, Parenthood is back on tonight, and I still watch Grey's occasionally, and really want to see who is going to die next. Enjoy your more restful days!

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    1. Scandal is #1 on my radar right now but grey's is up there, I just rewatched season finale last week again and I can't decide who is going to be going 6 feet under. I feel like It could be a number of people regardless of the obvious Dr. Weber laying on the ground at the end of last season.

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  4. Survivor, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest, CSI....you're right you picked a good week to have to taper :)

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    1. Exactly! Did you watch criminal minds last night? I was laughing at the end with the closing quote "something the world is never ever prepared for...TWINS"--- just at that moment my fiances twin brother (who lives with us) popped his head into our room and yelled. It was perfect timing!

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  5. Good luck tapering! Mine is almost over and I'm hoping to do well this weekend in my marathon, and can't wait to read about yours next weekend (I also have a friend named Jessica who is doing the same one and training with me which is so cool). And yeah, lots of awesome TV is on this week, Modern Family started back last night and that's one of my favorites.

    I haven't really met any famous runners or athletes :(. Maybe someday at a race I will get to!

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    1. You are going to do awesome this weekend, positive thoughts chicky!

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  6. Can I have your autograph now. That is is so awesome that Bart retweeted you. The more I read about your training the more excited I get. I feel in my long run next weekend (if it's on Sunday) I'll bring my phone just to get updates. You know because I'm a stalker and that's what I do.

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    1. I'm still working on figuring out if there is athlete tracking. Lame. I need someone to ride next to me in a car and tweet the whole way for me. So every time I drop an f bomb (which will be frequent) the world will know.

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  7. I need to add track works out to my training, I have never done a yasso workout...

    Good Luck
    Brian

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  8. Thanks for these resources! As a working mom, it's especially challenging finding the right amount of motivation to workout regularly. This is why I decided to hire a personal trainer to push me to stick to an exercise regimen and achieve my fitness goals. Fortunately, there are plenty of professional personal trainers in New York City that can get me back on track to a healthier lifestyle. It's one of the many benefits of living in a big city!

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  9. Enjoy the taper! Those last splits of yassos look awesome. Excited to see what you do in Wineglass (tell Bart hi! dying to meet him!) Also there is a really good pizza place on the main street. Anniello's or something like that. Also a candy/ice cream place is close to the finish line.

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  10. Ah the taper! Enjoy it girl! And I'm with you...I cannot WAIT for Scandal!!!! And Once Upon a Time, Revenge, and The Vampire Diaries!!! ;-)

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  11. My idea of a taper is to just stop! :) Sorry I'm just not there in my running career. Or lack thereof.

    I don't watch much tv but I am going to watch Big Bang tonight.

    When I was in my 20s I met most of the Dallas Stars hockey team at a restaurant in STL after a game. They were super nice even though STL had just kicked their butts. I still have their signatures.

    I love it when I get RT by awesome people like that!

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  12. You straight up killed those Yasso's. Now sit back, relax, and get ready to run hard and celebrate harder with me :D

    I'm starting to get really, really excited. Like, really. excited. !!!

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  13. I met Kara Goucher and may or may not have accidentally told her she was my girl crush. I was a bit overwhelmed.

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  14. It's so close- so excited for you!! Awesome 800s, too. I'm so glad you got a solid confidence-building workout in during taper!

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  15. Tapering is so hard! But you know what you need to do. Your legs will thank you for the rest on race day! Great job on the Yassos! I've found they're not a great race predictor for me. I'm much more of a speedster than endurance monster, so my marathon PR is waaaayyyyyy slower than what Yassos tell me I can do. But for you I suspect they will be right on! So excited for fall TV. Can't wait for Homeland to start. Also watching New Girl, Modern Family, Nashville, so many shows.

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  16. hahaha your mind is a terrible thing.
    I LIVE for a RT.
    do you really listen to music while you run? or is your bra just spewing cord...
    just sayin' ;)

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  17. Good job getting those 800's done. Going for 3:05 at WG? Enjoy that taper, (blah, tapering sucks).

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    1. Thanks, definitely not shooting for 3:05 for Wineglass...maybe someday!

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