Saturday, May 14, 2011

Hope I Didn't Just Run My Marathon!

Happy Anniversary Baby!
Before I write today's post, many of you know today is Michael's & my anniversary.  I love this woman ... and I'm very lucky that she's in my life.  She deserves an award for putting up with me!  She could obviously do a lot better ... but I'm thankful for her.  I love you sweetie!

Speaking of Michael ... she wanted me to let you know that she is having an AWESOME GIVE AWAY on her blog           Slowly Tri-ing.  I'm not a huge fan of give aways ... but she has a ton of stuff in this one!  Our dog Jack even included a few items I think ... please check it out if you have a few minutes.

Next Saturday, I'll be running the Scheels Fargo Marathon in Fargo, North Dakota!  I'm really excited, but there are of course a few things running through my mind about what will hopefully be my 11th marathon completed. 

Back in December I planned out my race year and decided to do 10 marathons in 2011.  I had targeted Fargo for a PR because it is sooooooo flat ... literally the elevation changes like 50 ft twice and that's it!  But at this point I don't think I'm ready to PR again.  I failed to realize when I scheduled it that it was so close to the Boston Marathon.  And even though I feel healthier than I have in a long time, I just don't know if I have it in me next weekend ... but we'll see.  It should be awesome regardless of my time!

I ran 20 miles today.  Now that's a little bit of an issue for two reasons.  I've only ran 20 miles the week before a marathon once before - but today was a little faster than I would have liked.  And that's the potential issue.  I just kept cruising along at a comfortable speed and ended with 20 miles at 7:45/pace.  That's not burning up the track or anything, but I probably should have taken it slower, maybe closer to 8:00/pace the week before a marathon.  So it'll be interesting to see how my body responds next weekend.

But I didn't do this by accident.  Sometimes I feel like I taper too much, and too long before a race.  It amazes me that during a training cycle I can go out and put up a 22, 23, or 24 miler 10 seconds below my PR, but then on race day - after 1 or 2 weeks of tapering, just not respond like I want to.  So for this race, I am treating it like a training cycle.  I ran 70 miles last week and this week I'll probably do about 55 including the race.  I'll also workout as usual, but probably go a little lighter with less reps.  If I run well, this might become my standard. 

I you are running 1 or 2 marathons a year with 14-16 week training cycles, and are not used to the running load - your body probably needs the break during taper.  But I feel like I'm absorbing the miles just fine, and I'm probably more in-tune with my body than some people.  Tapering seems to make me soft and I've never really felt like I got everything out of it I should.  But that being said, I hope I didn't use up all of my performance on today's run ... we'll see I guess!
... be great today!

12 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary to you guys! That's a great pic above. My husband and I are getting ready to celebrate 10 years of not killing each other in July. He's a cheerleader, not a runner and he puts up with massive amounts of garbage from me.

    I can't wrap my mind around running that many marathons in a year. I'm sure I'll have a year where I'll run that many, it's just I havent hit the point I'm training up to 20 miles on a regular basis. That's my dream scenario :)

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  2. Jim, you are a rock star. Period.

    Happy anniversary to you two great people. I love both of your blogs and I love how you guys say stuff to each other in your blogs like "I love you sweetie." Makes me smile.

    I LOVE LOVE your blog header. SWEET!

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  3. Happy anniversary to you!!! this thursday it will be 10 yrs for us!

    I LOVE the new header on your blog! it is great!

    that is a lot of marathons! when is the California one? how about Long Beach? you could run with Chris? Michael could run with ME!! (the Half!)

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  4. Happy Anniversary! You guys are a very cute couple!

    I can't believe you are running so many races in 2011. That is awesome and I wish you the best of luck in Fargo.

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  5. Soudns like a great day and seriously best of luck w/ Fargo! You are a champ, and very inspirational!

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  6. Happy anniversary sir! Great looking couple.

    I think you did exactly the right thing with your training. I'm not anywhere near the same stratosphere as you running-wise, but I can see your train of thought, and I would be thinking the same thing. Very interested to see how it works out for you, and to read your thoughts after Fargo. Best of luck to you.

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  7. I've never run 20 miles the week before the marathon, but I have felt like I've tapered too much before. I think you'll do fine. You can't PR every race, but it sounds like Fargo gives you a good shot at another.

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  8. Happy Anniversary you two! I love how you two support each other. :) Read your latest post. Love how honest you are in your fierceness. :)

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  9. Happy Anniversary! You guys seem to enjoy each other so much, it's fun to read. Good luck with the race.

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  10. Congrats on your anniversary. It's the first time I've stumbled on your blog but it is a great read and wish you all the best on your efforts to finish 50 after 40!!

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  11. Happy anniversary!
    You must have a great amount of experience under your belt. Maybe you could write on this forum for runners...
    Your efforts and experience would be appreciated.

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