THREE BRIDGES RUN RECAP & IT'S TAPER TIME

Greetings from TAPERville! The bulk of the marathon training is officially over after this weekend’s grand finale long run.  

In preparation for my long run on Sunday, I stayed home Saturday and sat with my feet up while nutritiously fueling my body.  

OR NOT… I made a trip to Philly for the day to cheer on my brother (or rather his team) in their third home game of the season.

Smart move?

Sunday’s run was a success and I had a lot of fun on Saturday so I am going to say YES! Can you tell I am not one for moderation?

I woke up Saturday morning before the sun (theme of my fall weekends) and made the trip to Philly. My brother wasn’t cleared to play yet after last week’s injury but I still went to the City of Brotherly Love for just that. Dad made the trip up as well because Florida is SO close to Pennsylvania. Neither of us could stand the thought of missing out on some football fun.

I spy an injured BroMan

The game was painful and we were losing until the last minute when my brother’s best friend caught the winning touchdown. We spent the remainder of the game chanting and cheering while jumping up and down.  My legs and feet really appreciated that.

We dipped out of the tailgate early and went for a family dinner. I needed a real meal besides cheesesteak calzones and the boys wanted to chill. I treated myself to my only glass of the wine for the day (pat on the back) and after dinner got dropped back at the train station to head home.

After the train fiasco of last weekend, I am happy to report that this ride was smooth and break down free. Thank you Amtrak! I was in bed by 10:15 pm and got a great night of sleep.

OR NOT… I woke up multiple times before my alarm went off with night sweats and couldn’t fall asleep even though my body was fatigued. If this was any indication of the night of sleep I will have on November 3^rd, I can’t wait!

I woke up Sunday before the sun (told you it was a theme) and  dragged myself up to Jack Rabbit’s West Side store to meet the rest of the marathoners participating in the NY Flyers Three Bridges Run #2.  Originally I signed up to run with my *GOAL* marathon pace group. After consulting my closest marathon advisors, I decided to run with a slower group for the final long run of the training cycle. I wanted to get a good workout and prepare for race day but I also didn’t want to overdo it. I was relieved to find out that several others in this new pace group made the same last minute move.

The Route

Our pace group split up and set out for the West Side Highway. We had one (or two) pacers leading the group of eager runners. We were all ready to go and more importantly read to get this over with.

We took the West Side Highway all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge. We don’t actually run the Brooklyn Bridge in the marathon but it was our first bridge of this run. Luckily it was early enough in the morning so the bridge was empty. It was a pretty serene New York experience to run over this bridge while marathon training.



Action Shot! The picture is tilting but we were not...



After crossing the Brooklyn Bridge we exited at Prospect Street. We worked our way across Brooklyn and into Queens where we then crossed the Pulaski Bridge.  We’ll face the Pulaski on race day so it was great to physically test it out.  

From there we headed to the 59th Street Bridge and crossed it at mile 16, similar to the time we will face it during the marathon. I SO am glad that I got to test out this bridge before race day because it had some serious elevation. While crossing the bridge I kept imagining November 4^th and hearing the Manhattan crowds waiting on the other side. I think the anticipation of entering MY borough to see family and friends on the sidelines will get me over this hump, literally. On this particular Sunday with no friends and family waiting, it was a struggle. I felt fatigued at this point in the run and the bottoms of my feet were really killing me. My new running BFF (as of mile 10) and I pushed each other over it and finally hit Manhattan, a relief.

Once over the bridge we headed crosstown and entered Central Park. I split off from the group and planned to add some extra mileage because my training scheduled technically called for 22 miles and the run was only 20.

On this particular Sunday, Central Park resembled an ant farm. This place was a madhouse thanks to the runners in my training group, a NYRR half marathon, and the rest of the weekend crowds. I tried to jump on the Bridle Path before heading back to the store but the whole park was really a mess and annoyed me. I ran back in the direction of Jack Rabbit and figured I would circle the store until hitting the full 22. I returned to the store at 21.25 and instead just called it a day. The crew of runners stretching while enjoying the post-race fuel was much more appealing than circling three loops around the store.

Also, I was in some serious pain. My IT Band, feet, calves, and overall legs were screaming at me and I figured that I was saving myself an injury? Who am I kidding, I simply had enough.

If you are wondering if I feel slightly guilty and overall uneasy about only doing 21.25 instead of the full 22 then the answer is YES.  I thought about doing the last .75 when I got back to my apartment but again a shower was more appealing.

Is this really going to make or break my marathon? No. Well, I hope not.

Do I wish I finished the full 22? Yes.

Did I lose sleep over it last night? Absolutely not.

I’ve been following the “Intermediate” TFK training schedule even though this is my first marathon. I feel confident in the last 2 years of my running and wanted to challenge myself. Technically, the “Beginner” schedule called for 20 miles so I found a happy in between?

Over it... After the run I felt like a million bucks mentally even though physically I was NOT well.

I met M for a much needed post run lunch after showering and getting myself together. I spent the rest of my Sunday icing my feet while sprawled out on the couch. The weekend exhausted me in more ways than one.

How do I feel today? I think fine but we’ll see how the rest of the day goes. My bag is packed for TFK practice tonight but it will be a game time decision. Part of me would like to shake out my legs and the other part of me just wants to go home and crash. We’ll see what 6pm brings.

I STRONGLY recommend this run to anyone marathon training, especially for NYC!

I can't even express the confidence boost that Sunday gave me. I know that I just did 20 but I wanted to see if that was just a fluke or a testament to my successful training. I am happy to report that it’s a testament to my training. I am physically ready for this race. On that note, I am also physically ready to TAPER.

What is tapering? Well my friends at TFK laid it out for me in this week's email…

“After last week's long run, we are now in the taper phase which is defined as the last three weeks of training, with lower mileage. By now, your training is done and your body needs to rebuild to peak strength after the intense effort of the past 20 weeks. It's time to rest and recover, but don't worry, you won't lose fitness in three weeks. In fact, studies show that your aerobic capacity, the best gauge of fitness, won't change at all. Instead, tapering will allow your muscles to repair, your body to store up glycogen, and some of the ongoing aches, pains and soreness to finally go away. Tapering should be a simple and welcome relief period to all the hard training, but many runners find it frustrating and difficult not to keep running at the same high intensity.  Read below for some tips and tricks to keep you sane and focused through the next few weeks!”

“It’s time to rest and recover…” – AWESOME!

“Instead, tapering will allow your muscles to repair, your body to store up glycogen, and some of the ongoing aches, pains and soreness to finally go away.”- Aches and pains go away? That sounds divine.

“…to keep you sane and focused through the next few weeks!”- Sane? So you are saying the taper crazies are true? Well, I’m screwed.

All joking aside, many of my marathon friends warned me about the "crazies", the only downside of the taper period. As your body recovers and rests, apparently the mind does just the opposite. It’s my first day of taper and so far so good? I know, I can’t really judge but I can anticipate. Luckily I started this blog and can share all the crazies with you when they hit in the next three weeks! Who’s excited?!?!!?!

Here is what the beginning to my taper looks like…

THIS WEEK

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday (flex)	TOTAL	TOTAL (w flex)
TFK Plan	6	REST	7	6	REST	13	6	32	38
LA Plan	REST? Or 6	Strength (or 6)	7	6	REST	13	6	32	38

LAST WEEK

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday (flex)	TOTAL	TOTAL (w flex)
TFK Plan	8	REST	7	6	REST	22	6	43	49
LA	8 & YOGA	Strength	6	REST	8	REST	21.25	43.25

Look who did yoga AND strength in addition to of all her training last week?!?!?!

Must. Stay. Motivated.

Repeat. This. Week.

I actually did hit my overall mileage goal for the week even though I skipped on the .75 Sunday. Also, I think I ran 8.25 on Friday so maybe that helps too?

Okay I am over it now. I promise.

The Team for Kids fundraising deadline is behind me and my goal was met, but that doesn't mean it’s time to stop fundraising!

With every dollar raised or donated, more kids get access to NYRR's youth health and fitness programs. More kids than ever will experience the benefits of living a healthy and active lifestyle thanks to all of you! Although I have already fulfilled my Team for Kids pledge, by continuing to fundraise we can make an even greater impact on the kids in the programs around the world!

The official marathon countdown… 19 days

See you at the finish line!

XOXO

LA

LA's Team for Kids Homepage