Time for some extra-strong morning coffee!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Vacation Hangover
I've been back since late Sunday night, and am still exhausted! I'm working on race reports to be presented in several parts but my brain is like mud so it's taking a while. I hope to have the first part posted tonight.
Time for some extra-strong morning coffee!
Time for some extra-strong morning coffee!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Taper Pains
They're here! You know the nagging little pains you get during a taper week when you have nothing better to do should be packing or cleaning but spend time worrying about every little ache and pain? Wondering, "did I train hard enough?", "Should I squeeze just one more speed session in?", "Was it a mistake to do all that yardwork this week?"
I only have a couple days before I head to San Diego for my "3 races, 3 days" weekend. I am excited- who wouldn't be? Nervous- I usually don't like to go do things by myself, I'm really shy around people I don't know. Self-doubting- Did I bite off more than I can chew here? Anxious about the weather- Really, San Diego? Rain all three days I'm there? Hopeful- I really want not only a PR, but a big one in the half-marathon.
For me, the key to a good taper really is mental. I know in the past, my physical efforts have been undercut by my mental effort and attitude. For me, these are the keys to a good mental taper:
1. Realizing that the training I have done is enough. It has to be. Last-minute panic training never really helped anyone. I do better (at least to my perception) when I've had a little too much rest rather than too little.
2. Race visualization. I like to go through the race in my head from the time I will wake up on race morning through the end of the race and the finish line. I don't just do this once. I try to do this almost every day for a couple weeks preceding the race. We used to do this in high-school cross-country. Our coach called it "mind-stretching" and it was a part of practice every day.
3. Being present in the moment. It's easy to let thoughts of a big race consume every moment of your day. But I have other things that are important in my life as well. When I am playing with my son, that's what I think about. When I am preparing supper, I think about how much I love to be in the kitchen and cook for my family. Set aside some time to think about the race, then put it in the back of your mind for the rest of the day.
4. Talk it out. Getting it out of your head and into words can help you deal with your pre-race nerves. Talk it over with a friend or write it down (or blog it so the whole world knows you're nervous!) Just organizing the thoughts running around your head can be extremely helpful in overcoming your race-day fears.
5. Realizing that all the little aches and pains that show up during taper week are not important. Now, this is not to say that all pains should be ignored. Pains that have been occurring throughout your training should be paid attention to lest they lead to injury. But the one that just showed up this afternoon and will probably be gone by this evening? Mental. Had you been in a regular training week, you probably wouldn't even have noticed. Or, you would have said to yourself just what you should be saying now, "Oh, that little twinge? That won't affect my run at all!"
Now that I've talked all that out (see number 4!) I'm going to get ready to take my son outside to play (number 3) as soon as he wakes up from his nap. Happy tapering!
I only have a couple days before I head to San Diego for my "3 races, 3 days" weekend. I am excited- who wouldn't be? Nervous- I usually don't like to go do things by myself, I'm really shy around people I don't know. Self-doubting- Did I bite off more than I can chew here? Anxious about the weather- Really, San Diego? Rain all three days I'm there? Hopeful- I really want not only a PR, but a big one in the half-marathon.
For me, the key to a good taper really is mental. I know in the past, my physical efforts have been undercut by my mental effort and attitude. For me, these are the keys to a good mental taper:
1. Realizing that the training I have done is enough. It has to be. Last-minute panic training never really helped anyone. I do better (at least to my perception) when I've had a little too much rest rather than too little.
2. Race visualization. I like to go through the race in my head from the time I will wake up on race morning through the end of the race and the finish line. I don't just do this once. I try to do this almost every day for a couple weeks preceding the race. We used to do this in high-school cross-country. Our coach called it "mind-stretching" and it was a part of practice every day.
3. Being present in the moment. It's easy to let thoughts of a big race consume every moment of your day. But I have other things that are important in my life as well. When I am playing with my son, that's what I think about. When I am preparing supper, I think about how much I love to be in the kitchen and cook for my family. Set aside some time to think about the race, then put it in the back of your mind for the rest of the day.
4. Talk it out. Getting it out of your head and into words can help you deal with your pre-race nerves. Talk it over with a friend or write it down (or blog it so the whole world knows you're nervous!) Just organizing the thoughts running around your head can be extremely helpful in overcoming your race-day fears.
5. Realizing that all the little aches and pains that show up during taper week are not important. Now, this is not to say that all pains should be ignored. Pains that have been occurring throughout your training should be paid attention to lest they lead to injury. But the one that just showed up this afternoon and will probably be gone by this evening? Mental. Had you been in a regular training week, you probably wouldn't even have noticed. Or, you would have said to yourself just what you should be saying now, "Oh, that little twinge? That won't affect my run at all!"
Now that I've talked all that out (see number 4!) I'm going to get ready to take my son outside to play (number 3) as soon as he wakes up from his nap. Happy tapering!
Featured Fitblogger!
I'm honored to be the featured Fitblogger today! Check out my post here. While you're at Fitblogger, check out past featured bloggers as well. Being featured puts me in the company of some awesome bloggers. Thanks, Fitblogger!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Training Log Oct. 30-Nov. 5
I feel pretty good about this week, even though I didn't get all my workouts in. We had an out-of-town funeral to attend and the travel time and family obligations didn't allow time for running. I suppose I could have run after dark, but I wasn't comfortable doing that in an area unfamiliar to me.
Sun: half of P90X Core- lower back started to fatigue so I quit halfway through
Mon: 3 miles on treadmill, 30 min
Tues, Weds, Thurs: unplanned rest days
Fri: 5x400 @ 2:00 each, 400 recovery, with warmup and cooldown total of 3.18 miles, 30 minutes
Sat: 12 miles on treadmill. I was really looking forward to running outside. It was EXTREMELY windy (30mph with gusts over 40). I had planned to run one direction with the wind and have Dave pick me up. My dad advised me to rethink that, having done the same thing in similar wind conditions once and ending up with extreme quad soreness from the braking action of being pushed along by such a strong wind. I can't afford to be that sore right now.
I've got just a few days until I leave for San Diego and my "3 races, 3 days" weekend! I've got a 5K on Friday, a 5K on Saturday, and a half-marathon on Sunday. I hope to use Friday's 5K as speedwork, Saturday's 5K as recovery, and then hope to run my goal time of 2:05 in the half on Sunday. I was on pace for well under that in my last half before I crashed at mile 7.
I'm trying a little different nutrition strategy this time and am hoping that will help. I am carrying a water bottle with a mixture of water, Hammer gel & Endurolytes. I plan to sip on this every mile rather than taking a gel every 45 minutes like I have done in the past. This worked well during my long run yesterday. I didn't feel any of the ups and downs I usually do when taking gels only every 45 minutes.
I also plan to go out a little more conservatively. At Mankato I ran my first 7 miles at 9:13 per mile, putting me just over 2-hour pace. Far faster than my goal time. 2:05 is 9:33 per mile. I know I don't pace evenly, so I'm hoping to go out at around 9:20-9:25 per mile, giving me a little room to slow down, but (hopefully) not unsustainably fast.
Race prep throughout the week will include one last speed workout, a couple easy days, lots of foam rolling, paying special attention to my nutrition, and race visualization.
And, totally unrelated... I just figured out I could use the computer and walk on the treadmill at the same time. I love finding new ways to multi-task!
Weekly total: 18.18 miles run
Sun: half of P90X Core- lower back started to fatigue so I quit halfway through
Mon: 3 miles on treadmill, 30 min
Tues, Weds, Thurs: unplanned rest days
Fri: 5x400 @ 2:00 each, 400 recovery, with warmup and cooldown total of 3.18 miles, 30 minutes
Sat: 12 miles on treadmill. I was really looking forward to running outside. It was EXTREMELY windy (30mph with gusts over 40). I had planned to run one direction with the wind and have Dave pick me up. My dad advised me to rethink that, having done the same thing in similar wind conditions once and ending up with extreme quad soreness from the braking action of being pushed along by such a strong wind. I can't afford to be that sore right now.
I've got just a few days until I leave for San Diego and my "3 races, 3 days" weekend! I've got a 5K on Friday, a 5K on Saturday, and a half-marathon on Sunday. I hope to use Friday's 5K as speedwork, Saturday's 5K as recovery, and then hope to run my goal time of 2:05 in the half on Sunday. I was on pace for well under that in my last half before I crashed at mile 7.
I'm trying a little different nutrition strategy this time and am hoping that will help. I am carrying a water bottle with a mixture of water, Hammer gel & Endurolytes. I plan to sip on this every mile rather than taking a gel every 45 minutes like I have done in the past. This worked well during my long run yesterday. I didn't feel any of the ups and downs I usually do when taking gels only every 45 minutes.
I also plan to go out a little more conservatively. At Mankato I ran my first 7 miles at 9:13 per mile, putting me just over 2-hour pace. Far faster than my goal time. 2:05 is 9:33 per mile. I know I don't pace evenly, so I'm hoping to go out at around 9:20-9:25 per mile, giving me a little room to slow down, but (hopefully) not unsustainably fast.
Race prep throughout the week will include one last speed workout, a couple easy days, lots of foam rolling, paying special attention to my nutrition, and race visualization.
And, totally unrelated... I just figured out I could use the computer and walk on the treadmill at the same time. I love finding new ways to multi-task!
Weekly total: 18.18 miles run
Friday, November 4, 2011
GMMC Members in Runner's World!
Congrats to Greater Mankato Multisport Club Members Becky Brudwick and Cindra Kamphoff for their appearance in this month's issue of Runner's World. It's great to read articles about people I "know"!
Click the picture below to go to the article:
Click the picture below to go to the article:
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| Screenshot from runnersworld.com |
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