Taper week defined

Taper week: (Tay-pur week) Noun

Def: The week leading up to a race where the runner develops illness, phantom pains and progressive injury. A week where his legs feel like tubes of concrete and lungs feel deprived of oxygen. Where heart rate escalates above anything he has experienced in training. Where appetite is maxed and work load decreased. Where a lock needs to be put on the fridge and pantry to avoid eating the entire household food supply. Where weight gain is inevitable. A week where the runner forgets about the hundreds of hours and miles he has put in and only focusses on how crummy he currently feels. Where the runner worries incessantly about the race forecast. Where sleep is reduced to mini naps throughout the night as the mind obsesses about the race.



At least that defines my taper week thus far.



Hopefully things will look up. For now, I am having trouble explaining why I feel so lousy. I

guess all I need is one good day, Sunday. The rest of the week doesn't matter. As many have told me, "the hay's in the barn." Time now to focus on the mental aspect, which is fooling myself into thinking I can run a sub 2:30:00. I actually have somewhat readjusted my goal and will be happy with a new PR (sub 2:36:00). The closer to 2:30:00 the better.

Man I'm hungry. Time to go eat something.

jc

Bigfoot/Littlefoot 2009

The last day or two have been a bit rough. I've had some nausea and dizziness and was not quite sure how I'd feel today. I rolled out of bed at 7 AM, put on a pot of coffee and hoped the caffeine would be enough to get me going. Andy Martin showed up at my house at 8AM to run to the start of the Bigfoot 10k, approximately 3.5 miles up the road. After struggling to run 8 minute pace on the way out, I checked my pulse and was concerned that it was already running in the low 150's. Typically I am closer to a 6 minute pace with that HR. I figured I was in a bit of trouble for the race. I nonetheless went through some prerace strides and stretches, then with little warning, SuperDave started the race and we were off. I quickly took my spot in second place behind Martin, running the first mile at 4:59. I wasn't certain who was with me, but I heard some footsteps close behind that I think belonged to Brian Gingerich. Mile 2, a gradual uphill, is where I thought for a moment about trying to close the gap with Martin. After picking it up for a few strides, I realized it was a poor decision. I settled back into my pace and crossed mile 2 at 10:29. The course flattens out for the next 2-3 miles and I was able to run fairly consistently in the 5:15-5:19 range. This kept me safely in second place. I wanted to run sub 33:00 for the race and by mile 5 I was pretty close to pace. I pushed the last 1.2 miles and was able to finish in 32:46, a new PR and good enough for second place. Martin was best in show today and was appropriately awarded the big blue ribbon. I got the little blue ribbon for age group winner.

The cool thing about finishing the race towards the top is that you get to watch the other racers finish. I'm always impressed by the grit that everyone has as they approach the finish line. Props to all Bigfoot finishers today. Also props to the Ray family, who traveled from Medford to race today. We had the pleasure of hosting them for a night. Bree, Mercy and Suzanne all rocked the course. Nice job.

As much fun as the Bigfoot was, the highlight of the day was the Littlefoot 1K. I love watching the kids run. Today there was a strong showing from the Martins, Cabas, Altmans, and Dennis family. Martin claimed a "family victory," although that claim is being hotly contested by the Cabas. Here's how the race(s) broke down. Andy and Miles defeated Jeff and Grant. Abe crushed Nate (as did Grant), and Charlie and Ben tied. It would appear the Martins would indeed be the winners if we went on head to head competition based on age. However if we spin the race a little and base it on total time, the Cabas could claim victory as Abe's gap on Nate easily put the Cabas out front. Plus Miles cheated and I have it on video.

Not that we're competitive families. After all it was just a fun run.

All night I have been attempting to publish a video of the event, but something on this website isn't connecting. In the meantime, here are a few of the still shots. The kids had a blast and ran hard. They all earned ribbons, which, like everything else they collect, wound up on the floor of the car.

After the events, I cooled down with Andy and Michael Dennis on a nice, relaxing 13 mile trail run. That gave me 23 miles for the day. That should be my last 20+ day before Twin Cities in two weeks. We'll see if I can get over my nagging injuries and get speed back into my legs. Still hoping for sub 2:30:00.

Caba Running Update

The four week countdown to Twin Cities marathon begins tomorrow. That means a couple more weeks of hard training followed by some recovery. The past few weeks of training have been challenging. Following a week of recovery after the Haulin Aspen marathon, my training picked back up. I was able to put in 91 miles two weeks ago but slipped a little last week putting in 71. We were on vacation in Hawaii however and I didn't want to spend the entire time running and recovering. The positive side is, I was able to run just about every day, most days twice. As a result, I drank fewer mai tai's and a lot less beer than I had anticipated. As the picture shows, I also didn't spend a lot of time sunbathing.
My legs have continued to feel really fatigued ever since the Haulin Aspen marathon, but I'm hopeful things are changing. I was finally able to hit a workout this week while feeling strong. Over the previous two weeks I have struggled with all of my speed work, laboring through each workout. This week I completed a 10 mile treadmill workout averaging a 5:38 pace. Now I just have to figure out how to run close to that pace for 26.2 miles. I'm optimistic my training will push me towards a new marathon PR, but at times I think it's crazy to shoot for a sub 2:30 (5:43 pace). I'm considering readjusting my goal to a sub 2:33:00.

More importantly however is the progress with Katie's foot! She has had miserable plantar fasciitis for months, progressing to the point where she has been unable to run. Over the past 24 hours, she has felt a dramatic improvement giving her new hope. In fact, she just completed a 6 mile run, which is her first in the past two weeks. She has been disciplined about cross training though, so hopefully her fitness will be there when she picks up the miles. If she can get a few more speed workouts and long runs in, I think her confidence will pick back up and we'll see her flying across the finish line sub 2:50.

Next up for Katie is the Xterra 21k national championships here in Bend. She should finish well if her foot behaves. Next up for me is the Bigfoot 10k. I would like to run sub 33:00. Most importantly though is I have to kick Meissner's butt as he has been dishing it out a bit. We'll see what happens.