I never thought I’d say that running only 13.1 miles feels like a treat. Welcome to marathon tapering, population ME.
I’ll do a full Nike Women’s Half Marathon recap later this week. What I will tell you now is I had the most fun during this race because I had zero pressure. My only true goal was to conquer the insane hills of San Francisco (and trust me, they were HUGE), and keep a strong pace throughout. It was my slowest half marathon to date by far, but I couldn’t care less. It wasn’t my half marathon to “win,” it was just another training run before the grand finale. My nonchalant approach also let me take a million selfies during the race because WHY NOT.
I’ve heard about the taper crazies before and I think I’m experiencing them for the first time. In my head it doesn’t feel natural to cut back so drastically on my workouts. Shouldn’t I be keeping my body strong as possible!? I obviously trust Coach Jess and her workout recommendations, but let me tell you the taper crazies are real. I am currently filled with this weird paranoia that cutting back on exercise like I currently am will leave me a blob on race day. Jess assured me though that even if I didn’t run between my last 20 miler and the marathon, I would still be fully trained. Kind of crazy to think about it like that!
Besides the insane urge to workout more, my hunger and snacking habits are still going strong. My parents were making fun of my every 3 hour eating habits in San Francisco. Hey, marathon training will do that to ya!
San Francisco is a great city for carboloading because SOUR DOUGH BREAD!
At this point in training, my body is starting to feel the adverse effects of marathon training. I’ve been having some twinges of knee pain both during my shorter run this week and during the half marathon. It’s a little scary and concerning this close to the marathon and I’m trying to keep a positive attitude about it and not totally freak out. I mean, someone who is old or has been injured in an accident might experience pain after knee replacement or any such procedures. But I find it hard to accept the fact that I am experiencing knee pain at such an early age, being as young and healthy as I am.
Anyways, I’m scheduled for a massage tomorrow and I am SO excited. Not sure if it’s from traveling, marathon training or the deadly combination of both but the left corner of my lower back has been seriously bothering me in addition to my knee pain. I only really treat myself to massages after big races and this one certainly feels well deserved.
It’s weird to realize that in two weeks it will all be over. Since I signed up for the New York City Marathon it’s something I’ve thought about every day. It’s something I bring up in conversation with almost everyone I talk to because it’s always on my mind. It’s been a pretty big part of my life for the past 14 weeks (and a pretty big part of my boyfriend and family’s life as well…). I book my workout classes two weeks in advanced with FitReserve and had the realization today that I most definitely won’t be working out two weeks from now because I will have just run the marathon. During the summer November 1st seemed so so far away and now it’s almost here. Eeep!
This Week’s Plan
MONDAY: Rest day
TUESDAY: Exceed
WEDNESDAY: Yoga
THURSDAY: interval run
FRIDAY: Rest
SATURDAY: 10 miles
SUNDAY: Spin
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