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!

Terry Fox Run Day, is also My Birthday!

Sept 19th is my birthday.  It is also Terry Fox Run day, the 30th annual.  Terry Fox is a hero to Canadians, who after losing a leg to bone cancer, he set out to raise money and awareness for cancer research by running across Canada.  He died on the way, in Ontario Canada in 1981 after completing for 3,390 miles (5,373 km).  Daily, he would set out and run the length of a full marathon, The Marathon Of Hope, which is was called.  

I was 7 years old when he died, and I have always felt, as many Canadians do, a connection with this person, this hero.  He did what was unheard of, and connected a face to a horrible disease, giving his life to make a difference.  I have felt a connection to running from a young age and he was one of the reasons.  Assemblies each year, along with a Terry Fox run made us all aware of his heroism.  

I have been to his monument Near Thunder Bay, Ontario.  I also had a chance to meet the actor who played him in 1983, Eric Fryer, who I will look for my picture I got with him to post if   I can find it!  As a kid that was a thrill!

If you have a chance, think about whom you have lost to cancer, about Terry Fox, and about the changes you can make my just getting out and being healthy while you are training!  Happy Terry Fox Run day!

37 on my 37th

Training Has brought me to my 37th birthday.  I will be running probably more than 37 today or tomorrow. :D  Just thought that was a neat number for some reason.

I am finding getting out before 6 am quite challenging, because of how tired I am for the rest of the day after my long runs.  Does anyone else get wiped?  I really cannot justify too many 3 hour plus chunks during the day away from the family on my days off.  I only have a couple left, then tapering will commence.  So crazy to think after all this training for one marathon, its almost here!

Beating My Body , and Other Reflections

So far so good,I seem to be holding up pretty well.  I have had a very busy and draining week, exhaustion has set in every day as i have started a new position.  An update on the ol' bod...

my feet hurt!  The bottoms!  It could be the distances taking the pounding.  It may be the silly shoes i have been wearing in my new profession.  The bottoms feel bruised!  Morning hurt the most as i roll out of bed.  Feels like I have been walking for hours on really rocky shores in bare feet.

My piriformis and my ITB are holding up remarkably well, which to me is such a joy and I am experiencing much less hip stiffness than I previously did.  Today my right calf hurts.

So all in all, my training is goin as planned.  I am not following to the letter any runner'sworld for newbies on the first marathon plan, but in my head I know my goals.  I am pushing the distance per week less than 10% each time to get to just below 42 km.  I have edged up and backed off a couple of time s to give my bod recoup time.  I am letting recovery runs be just that.

It is getting colder in the mornings.  Almost time to break out the winter gear, I would say, which is a pain since all the training I have done is in summer garb, so hopefully no huge amounts o chaffing wil happen.  Just in case, I have bought my first "glide" stick.

Some reflections.  I will be emotional for this race.  The half last year was emotional for me.  It represented so much, was very personal.  I have put a lot in to my training.  Not jsut physically,  but spiritually and emotionally as well.  All this year's challenges seems to be in the training.  From a new home to a family trial to a huge change up in career and all the uncertainty that came with it, my running times were the bread and butter of my coping, of reflecting, of problem solving, of coming "unravelled", of my being in the moment when I was feeling anxious, and my prayer life, my sweet worship times.  So this race in Oct will be like the expression of all that investment.  Which gets me thinking about beyond that, how the winter will be, I need to have some goals over the dark winter months.  Maybe not such lofty ones.  I have one month to gear up, taper and prepare for this race.  tIt will hopefully be the first in many, but I like to start with a bang!  My friend Jeremy will not be joining me this time.  This was a nice distraction last year,  Maybe Not having him might keep me more in the moment. Who knows.

I am thinking now of a word from scripture:

 1 Corinthians 9

24Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

I know th point of this script is not about running but metaphorically about seeking to love on God with all we have for a crown you can't receive here on earth.  But to appreciate the metaphor, it is so enriching to understand what the author is talking about in the discipline of running a race, the effect of things that hinder on your training and being purposeful.  those who win arent just kidding around, they are focused, they say no to  things others may not understand because they are saying "yes" for so long to the prize they envision.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

When I look at this last scripture, I think of my father., Terry Teigen  Since he passed away, I have wondered what those who are with Jesus in glory get to see of our world once gone.  This scripture makes me think that I not only have him as an example, but as one who is allowed to rejoice with me in victory, to pray for me in trial and hardship, and to be a witness to God's work in my life.  He left a legacy, spiritually that continues in me.  One for running, especially, I think of him a lot while I run.  More on that again soon, me thinks. Sometimes, although i know I can't talk with the dead, i ask Jesus to give my dad a hug for me or to give him a message of love.  The veil is up, but it wont be forever, what a  day that will be!  So I run in the meantime.

How do you prepare for races?  What do you think about , especially on your firsts?  Let me know.

 Cheers!