Black Toenails and Other Bodily Whinings

http://runningfool-ootaynee.blogspot.com/search/label/taper%20tantrums

I kinda love myblack toenails.  They hurt a bit, but they are like my badges.  Little black ugly badges.  I am tapering now, and now is when I feel the most like, am I really ready?!!  Trusting the taper, which many with previous experience have echoed to me, is difficult.  Rest feels wrong!I was due to have a  light run today, but it was a bit iffy on my piriformis, so I rested instead and trusted my training to be there as I massaged my glute.  Recovery is painful and feels unnatural at this point. 

I have also had a couple of days of allergic reaction to something, causing me to need my inhailer for asthma and I have been sneezing.  

Here we go... taper tantrums!

The Big Taper

So Taperingsnuck up on me.  Here is where you feel like you did everything wrong, like you are now coasting, where you start to get nervous, where you wonder where all the time went!  I am hoping for a sub 330 time.  I recently blogged that I may even break the Boston Marathon qualifying time.  My mistake, I think I was looking at the wrong sex or something, because i would have to shave off 15 minutes off my best time of my long run to accomplish that.  Unlikely.  O well, what was I expecting??? My age bracket for that would be 3:15.

I will be running for 40 % of my longest run this week, and then I will be in full rest!  Crazy.  Any advice for this taper from the experienced marathoners.  One thing I am nervous about is that last year, there was a cold snap for my half, and i got too cold to wear what i usually wore.  If i have to wear long sleeved, it will not be good as I will probably chaff!  Hmmm.
Also, an update on my arse (gluteus minimus), it is going well.  I used my foam roller after my last long run as I felt it tightening up.  It felt better after , with some stretching.  Seems my running technique having changed ( I am using shorter strides when i accelerate more often) has helped ward off this problem for the summer!

Half Marathon , A Personal Milestone

3-2-1Go.  My count down is on for the first longer race I will have ever competed this Sunday.  Am I nervous?  Yes!  I'm getting butterflies.  But like anything, I am prepared and I am excited to see what comes out of it.  Although I have had some very slow times lately, I know that there is lots to pour out on race day.  The race is in Kelowna, 1.5 hours away, so it is not a terribly far place to go.

What I am most nervous of is getting in my head too much, letting the race become more about other people than about me.  It is my nature to back off of competition and let others battle it out.  THis is good for me, I keep telling myself.  I am a champion!  I am on FIRE!  Mentally, I will need to get in the game by mapping out the distance and my goal times to keep me on track and out of the turmoil around me, as it will all be nw, from the aid stations to the crowds to the intimiation of the other athletes who obviously dressed better than I.

I am nervous also of the weather's sudden drop in morning temperature, which is approaching freezing levels here.  This makes for a different cardio for me. 

I am also wondering if me not doing my longer runs in the last three weeks as I taper will throw me off my ingrained pace.  This concerns me as I have had terrible slows runs as of late.  I have two runs left this week that will be short but zippy.  Hopefully this will boost my confidence for the big day!

One Foot In Front Of The Other

8 km todayStill Tapering.  The 1/2 marathon is in 6 days, and I have battled nervous thoughts lately.  I started the day with a pounding headache, which made for a terrible feeling run.  A severe cold is going around.  Yikes!  Excruciatingly slow run for me, an average time of about 5 minute km.  But that is where my complaining stops.  Watch this, I found it very encouraging and inspiring.  Eddie Iz Running . He is not a typical runner in the way of body, habit or anything but he faces a challenge I couldn't imagine.  A marathon a day!

What I see in me now is the will to keep going.  I have had a very difficult year personally.  Sometimes running is all I have had to keep me sane and healthy, and it turns into a deep prayer, a place to commune, to intercede.  Not everyone gets this, but I have been supported immensely in key ways but those that matter most.  Namely my beautiful wife who has been my cheerleader, my friend Jeremy, and a handful of others who I realize were engaging this part of my life.

So with every heavy footstep, I am thankful.  I am grateful for this day, for this step, for this road for this life.  I will get through the hard runs, have fast ones, slow ones, heavy and light ones.  What is important is that I keep finding joy in the moment, engage my spirit and praise God every time I draw a breath.  This is good.  As for the hard times, they too will pass, and like a good taper, I will heal and keep running that good race to the end.

Taper Tantrums

First time I have been to a sports massage therapist, and it was totally enlightening.  I had to get past the nudity under the blanket, but that was quickly overcome.  I was feeling anxious about my tight piriformis, and its effect on the coming race, so this is what most of the conversation included.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear that most people in training just before the race go through some breakdown.  The therapist calls it Taper Tantrums!  Taper Tantrums refer to the visits frequented by those preparing to race in long races, and because of the intensity peaking just before the race, the body kind of goes into shock, preparing to mend and heal based on the fact that there was breakdown for a long period.  Rest now and recovery is paramount to a good performance.  If the work has been put in, then the race just needs the focus and trust put in as we rest.  Thissettled me, and i was given a clean bill of cautious health for the coming weeks.