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May 25, 2005
Taper Week 2
Well, except for a "loosen up" run Saturday, I'm done. My half-marathon training is complete. I'm ready.
Accoring to my training log, I've put in 555.8 km running so far this year, with an average pace of 5:21/km. Along with that, I've swam over 57km.
I've been taking it easy (sort of) this week. The weather this weekend was bleak, but the triathlon had me itching to get on my bike. So Sunday morning, I drove down to Hog's Back Falls, and took advantage of the weekly Colonel By Drive road closure to bike along the canal. I rode for half an hour, going reasonably hard, but certainly not full-out.
Monday, I ran my local 5km route. Right from the start, I knew I was going pretty hard. Assuming that I've measured it correctly (and really, 5.2km is just an estimate), I've only run sub-5:00/km on it twice. Monday, though, I felt strong, relatively free to push, and I set a PB for the training route, at around 4:40/km. This is faster than I'll likely go at any point during the half marathon on Sunday. While it wasn't comfortable, I felt strong at the end. I was far from spent.
Tuesday's swim was moderately hard. I cheated on the sprints, and took plenty of breather breaks. No point in killing myself.
Today I ran the same route as Monday. Put in a 5:02/km pace, for the fourth fastest time. I'm not TRYING to run fast, I just am. Again, though, I felt strong at the end, like I could easily keep going.
The weird part was that I ran something like a negative 1:40 split. Wierd.
Anyways, I'm up for a couple of days of rest now. Time to start mentally preparing for the half marathon. The forecast calls for a high of 20, with scattered showers. Can I deal with heat? Rain? Pacing errors? Untied shoelaces? Will I bring gel?
My physical preparation may be over, but I still have some work to do.
Posted by warren at May 25, 2005 10:04 AM
Comments
i was just thinking the other day that if ken and i were still running ottawa, we'd be in the same spot as you right now. kinda sad. ottawa again would have been a very bright spot in the year.
super anxious to read your race report on sunday...
Posted by: jeff at May 25, 2005 01:04 PM
Goodluck with your race!
Posted by: Dawn (aka Pink Lady) at May 25, 2005 02:37 PM
All the best, and I look forward to reading all about it.
Posted by: beverly at May 25, 2005 04:29 PM
I know people who get taper rage! But I love the taper ... good luck, have an awesome race. Looking forward to hearing all about it
Posted by: ali at May 25, 2005 10:30 PM
Good luck and speedy feet
Posted by: Terry from Knoxville at May 26, 2005 09:42 PM
Yup, sounds like you are ready. Run strong and have a blast:)
Posted by: susan at May 27, 2005 05:31 PM